In our recruiting practice, we sit on the receiving end of the post-interview debrief. After the panel meets and the hiring manager calls us back, we hear what was actually said in the room. And in our experience, there are four primary reasons why qualified candidates are consistently getting interviews but no offers.

I will start by stating that hiring managers rarely tell a candidate why they didn’t extend the offer. Unfortunately, the candidate is left guessing as to why…so when a strong clinical research professional racks up four, five, six interviews without an offer, they reach for the worst explanation available: it must be me.

Most of the time, it isn’t.

It is usually one of four patterns we see over and over again across our pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and CRO clients.

Pattern One: Storytelling

The most common debrief comment we hear is some version of, “He seemed qualified, but I never got a clear example of him actually doing the work.” Behavioral interviews are won and lost on specific stories. When a candidate answers a “tell me about a time” question with a hypothetical (“I would handle it this way…”), or with generalities, the interviewer can’t picture the candidate doing the job.

The net? They can’t defend a hire decision when they can’t picture the candidate performing in the role.

The fix? Craft and practice elevator pitches. We show you how in these posts and real podcast examples.

Pattern Two: Enthusiasm for the Specific Role

This one sounds like, “She was good, but I don’t think she really wants this job.” The candidate may have wanted the job badly. But if every answer could have been delivered to any sponsor or CRO in the industry, the hiring manager hears interest in a job, not interest in this one.

And this is especially important in a final interview (or even an advanced round interview). The manager is choosing the person who already feels like part of the team. Generic enthusiasm reads as risk….and this is why ‘anything with a paycheck‘ backfires for candidates.

Every hiring manager wants to believe that you have hand-selected their particular position. If you can’t show your passion for this particular role, your candidacy won’t be taken as seriously.

Pattern Three: Alignment to the Employer’s Actual Problem

“The skills are there, but I’m not sure he has solved our version of this problem.” Clinical research experience doesn’t translate itself. A CRA moving in-house, a functional expert pivoting into CRO leadership, a Site Manager moving into a sponsor role…the experience is real, but the candidate hasn’t done the work of connecting it to the role in front of them.

The interviewer is left to do that work, and most won’t. The biggest mistake most mid-career job seekers make is to sell their history instead of their skills. You have to get detailed, get specific, and become personal.

Pattern Four: Perceived Risk

This is the quietest reason and the most common in advanced rounds. The candidate is competent, but not the easiest hire to defend internally. Hiring teams don’t only choose the most qualified person on paper. They choose the person who feels lowest-risk: easiest to manage, easiest to onboard, least likely to create friction.

A technically excellent candidate who shows any tension around feedback, coachability, or fit will lose to a slightly less polished candidate who feels safer.

Some Final Thoughts

If you are a clinical research professional reading this and feeling the sting of recognition…that is useful information. Each pattern has a repair, and the repair starts with naming which pattern is yours. We offer support for that!

And if you are a hiring team frustrated by the search for a high-quality clinical research candidate, we see the trends and continually update our recruitment process to adapt and refine. That is most of the value of working with a niche firm: we sit in both rooms, hear both sides, and translate. Reach out to find out how we can work together.

The post Why You Are Getting Interviews But No Offers appeared first on craresources.

Why the Job Market “Trust Gap” is an Existential Threat to Clinical Research

This week was very much like most: my team and I flagged twelve fraudulent candidates. These weren’t just “embellished” resumes or slightly padded dates. These were sophisticated, coordinated attempts to bypass the vetting process for high-stakes clinical trial roles like Clinical Research Associates (CRAs) and Mid-level Management.

And what makes this scarier?

For most clinical trial hiring managers at small to mid-sized pharmas, biotechs, or medical device companies, these twelve individuals would have looked like the “perfect” hires. But in today’s market, the “perfect” resume is often a mask for a catastrophic risk.

The Anatomy of the Job Market “Trust Gap”

We are currently operating in what I call the 80% Noise Market. Based on our internal data and the current landscape of the Clinical Research sector, the applicant pool has fractured into three dangerous tiers:

• 60% are Falsified: These candidates have faked all or part of their experience, education, or references, often using sophisticated digital footprints that appear legitimate at first glance.
• 20% are AI-Generated: These are “ghost candidates.” They don’t exist but are AI-driven personas designed to farm interviews or collect sensitive company data.
• The “Real 20%”: These are the genuine professionals with real credentials. AKA…these are the ones you want to evaluate and qualify.

If your internal HR team is drowning in hundreds of applications, they aren’t just looking for a needle in a haystack. They are trying to identify a real needle in a pile of five hundred high-quality fakes.

Why the “Fast Hire” is the Enemy of the Safe Trial

I have spent over three decades in the hiring seat, including a decade in leadership at IBM. Before co-founding our firm, I was an executive at IBM, leading projects involving over 17,000 people.

I know the pressure you are under. 

When you have a clinical trial to monitor or a department to scale, an empty seat feels like a bleeding wound.

However, in the Clinical Research world, a “bad hire” isn’t just an HR headache. It is a liability that can tank your company.

Let’s look at the Clinical Research Associate (CRA) role. CRAs are the primary line of defense for patient safety and data integrity. They operate with high independence, so a fraudulent CRA hire can go unnoticed for months, but the damage they leave behind is permanent:

• Patient Safety & Ethics: An unqualified person may miss protocol deviations or fail to verify informed consent. This isn’t just a paperwork error; it’s a direct threat to human lives.
• Data Integrity Failure: If the FDA or EMA identifies that your Source Data Verification (SDV) was handled by someone with falsified credentials, they won’t just ask for a correction. They can reject your entire dataset.
• The “Rework” Multiplier: The cost of a bad hire is often cited as $50,000. In Clinical Research, it is 10x that. Every site that a fraudulent CRA monitored must be re-monitored by a qualified professional. You are paying twice for the work and losing months of progress.
• Regulatory & Legal Fallout: We are seeing an increase in “negligent hiring” lawsuits. If a fake employee harms a study participant, the company faces millions in fines, and in extreme cases of GxP non-compliance, leadership can face criminal charges.

Finding the “Real 20%”

So, how do you navigate a market where 80% of the entries are noise?

It requires moving away from “Active” applicant pools and leaning into Passive Sourcing and Niche Partnerships. The high-quality, mid-career professionals you need are those with the resilience and adaptability to thrive in a startup or mid-sized environment. And guess what? They aren’t usually spending their time in a sea of AI-generated applications.

They usually don’t apply at all. Instead, they are working, being referred, and being vetted by people who know how to spot the “formulaic” interview answer and the “mismatched identity” red flags.

At my agency, we don’t just “find” candidates; we verify the unverifiable. We use our three decades of hiring expertise to protect your trial, your data, and your reputation.

You don’t have time to be a fraud detective, but you do have a clinical trial to run. Let’s make sure the people running it with you are the real deal. Don’t let a ‘ghost candidate’ become a regulatory nightmare. Message me today to learn how we identify high-quality CRAs in a market full of noise.

Sources and Additional Reading

• PharmiWeb: Recruitment Fraud Risks Report: Analyzes the “Applicant Avalanche” and the rise of automated/fake credentials in Life Sciences.
• CCRPS (Center for Clinical Research Practice): Their “5 Strategies to Prevent CRA Fraud” lists the specific red flags of candidates using generic “Formulaic” interviewing.
• FDA: GCP Inspection Findings & Data Integrity: Official reports highlighting how data integrity failures lead to trial rejection and market delays.
• ACRP: Elements of Fraud and Misconduct: Professional standards defining the red flags and ethical requirements for CRAs and monitors.
• U.S. Dept. of Justice: The Jessica Palacio Case: A case study on the criminal indictment of a study coordinator for falsifying clinical trial data.
• Inop.ai: True Cost of a Bad Hire: Quantitative research on the financial impact of hiring failures in specialized technical roles.
• Crosschq: Quality of Hire Report: Statistics on candidate misrepresentation and the “Trust Gap” in modern screening processes.
• Resume Builder: Candidate Survey: Data showing the percentage of applicants who admit to falsifying details on resumes and during interviews.

The post The Ghost in the Clinical Trial: A Needle in a Pile of Fake Needles appeared first on craresources.

In clinical research, one decision shapes everything: where your talent comes from. Behind every trial lies a complex web of candidate sourcing choices. When to outsource to CROs, when to hire in-house, and how to balance quality, cost, and speed. In this first episode of a two-part series, I sit down with Directors of Clinical Operations Brian Dempster and Lyle Gee to unpack the evolving resource strategies driving clinical trial success.

Why Job Seekers Need This

Listen up if you’re hunting for CRA or operations roles. This episode pulls back the curtain on hiring from the director’s chair in today’s employer-driven market. You will learn the edge to stand out amid AI-generated resumes and applicant floods.

Hidden Drivers of Hiring Decisions

Brian and Lyle explain why companies swing between in-house teams, CRO outsourcing, and hybrids. Not just for cost, but based on study phase, expertise needs, and integration risks. You will learn how to tailor your pitch to show how you have solved those real problems, making you a stronger competitor against those job seekers who just list years of experience.

What Really Wins Interviews

They tell you to ditch rote credentials. They stress storytelling your impact, like rescuing studies from bad CROs or fixing system mismatches. We also dig into the importance of asking sharp questions (“What challenges are your teams facing right now?”).

These tactics prove adaptability, ownership, and cultural fit, flipping interviews into two-way conversations.

Thriving in Hybrid Realities

This podcast will help you understand fragmented models (staffing agencies, multiple CROs) so you can highlight your critical thinking, tech-savviness, and ability to plug into existing teams.

And that is what lands roles when cross-functional pros rule amid layoffs and tighter opportunities.

Tech and Market Shifts

We dive into the pendulum between employer and job-seeker markets, AI’s role in screening, and why no ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy exists. Especially as hybrid models reshape CRO ties.

Whether you’re leading projects or breaking into clinical ops, this podcast changes how you see companies, CROs, and talent. It arms you with strategy and confidence to navigate it all.

Listen to Secrets of a CRA Recruiter on Your Favorite Channel! 

The post Podcast: Candidate Sourcing – The Clinical Hiring Pendulum appeared first on craresources.

Ever been asked to be a reference and felt unsure how to respond? You are not alone. Our latest roundtable podcast dives into how to be a reference, including when it is okay not to say yes.

In this candid discussion, our panel shares what really happens behind the scenes of reference checks. We address why accuracy matters, how honesty protects all parties, and what information you, as the reference, will want to have ready before the call. Think of today’s roundtable as a professional checklist:

• Know the basics like the dates you worked together,
• What role each of you held, and
• The scope of your colleague’s responsibilities.

These details not only help paint a credible picture but also prevent confusion or red flags for potential employers.

Just as important, it is perfectly fine to decline a reference request when you don’t feel comfortable or feel you can’t give a balanced perspective. As one guest noted, a simple “I don’t believe I can provide the best reference for you” can save everyone time and preserve relationships.

Our team also explores the fine line a reference walks between being supportive and being factual. A good reference isn’t about glowing praise or gossip. It is about giving fair, professional insight that helps both the candidate and employer find the right fit.

If you have ever hesitated before agreeing to be a reference or wondered what you are really signing up for if you say yes, this conversation is worth a listen.

Tune in to the full roundtable discussion to learn when to step forward, when to politely decline (and how), and what details truly make a reference valid and meaningful.

Listen to Secrets of a CRA Recruiter on Your Favorite Channel! 

Related Posts

• The Importance of Strong Professional References
• Roundtable: How to Ask Someone to be a Reference
• Are Backdoor Reference Checks Legal?
• Reference Check vs Background Check
• Roundtable: Candidate References – Top Mistakes

The post Roundtable: How to be a Reference (or Not) appeared first on craresources.

Today’s hiring market faces a significant disconnect that affects both job seekers and employers in profound ways. This disconnect reflects a volatile environment where job seekers experience sticker shock as the once plentiful outreach from hiring entities has slowed dramatically. Meanwhile, employers are expressing frustration over a seemingly scarce supply of qualified candidates. Likewise, hiring entities are experiencing an oversupply of underqualified and fraudulent applicants.

Supply and demand in the hiring market feel out of sync. And this is highlighting a challenging reality where hiring standards have become increasingly picky, ranging from stricter geographical requirements to unrealistic compensation expectations.

The Impact

This imbalance leaves many quality positions unfilled despite a pool of eager candidates.

For job seekers, the market demands much more effort to gain recognition. Candidates have to navigate strategic resume updates, focus on personal branding, and participate in active engagement beyond simply applying. Today’s ideal job candidate cannot rely solely on past experiences and achievements. But instead, must consider broader career growth, continual skill development, and flexibility in job roles.

And to cure the disconnect, I believe employers must also reassess what I believe to be rigid criteria in areas that matter less. Instead, I encourage hiring entities to consider the value of transferable skills. This compromise is more likely to build successful, long-term matches in today’s shifting landscape.

Economic factors such as inflation, budget constraints, and evolving work models contribute to a more complex hiring market. Moreover, the rise of AI is altering hiring processes and candidate screening, increasing the need for transparency and ensuring authenticity in applications.

This podcast episode explores these challenges, highlighting the reality of the 2025 hiring market and offering insights into bridging the gap between employer expectations and job seeker realities. Understanding this disconnect is essential for navigating the current landscape and finding success in both hiring and job searching endeavors.

This discussion aims to equip listeners with strategies and perspectives to adapt effectively in today’s hiring market.

Listen to Secrets of a CRA Recruiter on Your Favorite Channel! 

The post Roundtable: Disconnect in the Hiring Market? appeared first on craresources.

LinkedIn Groups are one of the most effective tools on LinkedIn for building a professional network, sharing expertise, and discovering new career opportunities. When used strategically, they can help you enhance your personal brand. These groups also afford the ability to connect with industry leaders and stay informed about trends in your field.

According to LinkedIn, active engagement in LinkedIn Groups can improve your visibility, demonstrate thought leadership, and expand your network within your target industries. If you have not yet joined relevant LinkedIn Groups, you may be missing valuable opportunities to grow your career.

Why LinkedIn Groups Are Valuable

LinkedIn Groups function as specialized professional communities. Members share information, exchange ideas, and help one another achieve career goals. Participating in discussions, asking insightful questions, and providing helpful resources can establish you as a trusted professional in your field.

Career development experts, including those at the Society for Human Resource Management, note that active involvement in LinkedIn Groups can lead to concrete opportunities, such as new job offers, speaking engagements, and collaborative projects.

At craresources, we operate our own LinkedIn Group dedicated to the clinical research industry. Members gain access to job search strategies, industry news, and current position openings while engaging with like-minded professionals.

How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Groups Experience

You can customize your notification settings for each LinkedIn Group to ensure you stay informed without overwhelming your inbox. Here is how:

• Access Your LinkedIn Group Settings
• Open the LinkedIn Group homepage you belong to.
• Click the ellipses (…) menu in the upper right corner.
• Select “Update Your Settings”.
• Adjust your Messaging preferences (we recommend toggling ‘Yes’ to allow group members to message you).
• Adjust Communication preferences by selecting the type and frequency of notifications you receive.

Best Practices for Engaging in LinkedIn Groups

To get real value from LinkedIn Groups, you should do more than simply join. Consistent, high-quality participation is essential.

• Be Active: Comment, post, and share relevant resources regularly.
• Add Genuine Value: Avoid overt self-promotion and focus on sharing expertise that benefits the group’s members.
• Build Relationships: Connect with individuals who share similar professional interests and goals.
• Follow Group Rules: Professional etiquette ensures a positive and productive group experience.

Final Thoughts

Whether you want to exchange ideas, discover job opportunities, or grow your professional brand, LinkedIn Groups are powerful tools that, when optimized correctly, can accelerate your career growth.

At craresources, we encourage members to explore the functionalities of LinkedIn Groups, adjust their settings for a personalized experience, and actively contribute to discussions. When used strategically, LinkedIn Groups can help you position yourself as a thought leader, keep you informed about your industry, and expand your network far beyond your immediate connections.

Need some help setting up your LinkedIn Profile or establishing your personal brand? Reach out; we are here to support you.

The post How to Get the Most from LinkedIn Groups appeared first on craresources.

Great Recruiters Are Nothing Like Used Car Salesmen

There is a persistent misconception in the public imagination: when some people hear the phrase “recruiters,” they immediately picture a pushy used car salesman. Flashy, slick, and only interested in making a quick deal.

No offense to those in car sales.

Here is the truth: great recruiters could not be further from those stereotypes. If you are a candidate seeking your next opportunity or a client hoping to add top talent to your team, knowing what sets great recruiters apart is essential. Here is how you can identify truly great recruiters and recruitment agencies.

Great recruiters are true industry experts

They do not just skim the surface. Instead, they immerse themselves in your sector, mastering its language and cultural nuances. This is much like learning a foreign language. You do not become fluent just by reading a phrasebook, but by living the experience. The best recruitment agencies specialize in your niche. This ensures their recruiters can quickly recognize exceptional candidates and understand the unique needs of hiring companies.

Great recruiters offer consultative guidance

Rather than acting as transactional matchmakers, great recruiters provide valuable hiring consultation, such as training on effective interview techniques for both candidates and hiring teams. You should look for agencies that help with resumes, craft tailored job descriptions, and offer thorough compensation insights. These are signs of a recruitment firm that prioritizes your long-term success.

Great recruiters build genuine relationships

Top recruiters understand that recruitment is about partnership, not one-off arrangements. You deserve a dedicated, experienced Account Manager who stays the course and earns your trust over time. If your recruiter is not honest, transparent, and truly invested in your best interests, you have not yet found a great recruiter.

Great recruiters stand by their placements

The confidence of great recruiters is shown through placement guarantees. With a robust screening process and a strong belief in their ability to deliver exceptional talent, they are willing to offer money-back guarantees on placements to clients. This demonstrates a true commitment to quality.

Great recruiters go beyond job boards

Instead of relying only on postings and waiting for applicants, great recruiters proactively source talent. They target, engage, and attract top performers. Even those who are not actively seeking new roles. This means your new hire will be someone genuinely motivated to join your organization, not just someone in need of a job.

Great recruiters are true partners

The best agencies behave as though they are on retainer, fully invested in your search, but they only get paid when they make a successful placement. As a candidate, you should never be asked to pay a fee. Agencies operating on this basis are rare, but they are the ones who demonstrate true partnership and the “and then some” factor.

Ultimately

Great recruiters act as trusted guides and advocates, not as fast-talking salespeople. They bring expertise, integrity, and a commitment to building long-term relationships that benefit both candidates and clients.

Looking for a great recruiting agency? You have found it! Give us a call. 

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With over 1.1 billion members worldwide in 2025, LinkedIn has evolved far beyond its origins as a basic professional networking site. Today, it stands as a dynamic talent marketplace, offering a robust suite of sourcing tools, AI-driven matching algorithms, and advanced engagement channels. For hiring managers and talent acquisition professionals, true mastery of LinkedIn as a recruitment platform is no longer just about knowing how to use a platform. It is about strategically navigating and leveraging the most influential ecosystem for finding, engaging, and hiring top talent in the digital era. Here is how to use LinkedIn for recruitment effectively, with the latest best practices and features.

Build and Optimize Your Employer Brand

LinkedIn is a great platform for attracting top talent. High-quality candidates hand-select opportunities that align with their career goals. Therefore, to attract quality candidates and boost credibility, companies need to have an engaging company page that shares authentic content about the company culture. It should also clearly communicate flagship products, innovative projects, and share industry insights.

Define the Ideal Candidate Profile

Collaborate closely with internal HR staff, operational managers, and recruiters to define the specific skills, experience, and cultural attributes needed for each role.

You can also use LinkedIn’s data-driven insights to benchmark roles and identify the competencies that will drive success in your organization.

Use Advanced Search and AI Tools

LinkedIn has advanced search filters and Boolean operators to target candidates by title, skills, location, and more. AI-powered recommendations will surface candidates based on keywords as well as inferred relationships between skills and roles.

You will also be able to prioritize candidates with a higher likelihood of interest, as indicated by LinkedIn’s AI-driven engagement metrics. Sounds too good to be true? Metrics show it takes less than 5 minutes on average to find and engage with a qualified candidate on LinkedIn Recruiter. And when you have found candidates that you would like to engage, LinkedIn has AI-assisted messaging that will draft personalized outreach messages to increase response rates and save time.

Post and Promote Jobs Strategically

LinkedIn’s AI tools help craft compelling, keyword-rich job descriptions that maximize visibility and attract qualified applicants. Additionally, the platform makes it simple for candidates to apply, reducing friction and thus increasing application rates.

And if your application rates are lower than desired, you can engage sponsored job posts. Promoting job openings will reach a broader and more targeted audience.

Leverage Your Network and Employee Connections

Encourage employees to share job postings and refer candidates, creating warm introduction pathways that significantly outperform cold outreach. You can also engage with passive candidates by building relationships and keeping your talent pipeline active.

Analyze and Refine Your Recruitment Funnel

LinkedIn enables you to monitor conversion rates at every stage from profile views to replies, interviews, and hires. You can then use these insights to adapt your approach based on real-time analytics and feedback to optimize recruitment outcomes by refining targeting, messaging, and engagement strategies.

In Conclusion

By following these steps on how to use LinkedIn for recruitment, hiring managers can attract, engage, and hire top talent faster and more efficiently than ever before. The integration of AI, strategic networking, and continuous optimization makes LinkedIn the cornerstone of modern recruitment.

The post How to Use LinkedIn for Recruitment appeared first on craresources.

Michelle sent an email asking if we could speak. Michelle was the Senior Director of a device company getting ready to launch a high-acuity cardiac device study. The team needed CRAs, and she had provided me with the job requirements a few days prior. Several CRAs had interviewed – a couple of them had interviewed several times.

“I am finding it difficult to obtain buy-in from all of my team,” said Michelle. 

I asked her what she meant, and she explained that her team didn’t agree with the minimum job requirements. The Program Manager felt the CRAs should have at least 10 years of cardiac device experience. The VP felt 5 years would be enough, but the rest of her team was okay with only 3 years. 

The job description asked for 3 years of experience, so while all of the CRAs met the position’s minimum requirements, there was a gap that needed to be addressed. 

The Real Challenge: Getting the Team In Alignment

The real challenge isn’t finding a qualified candidate. It is agreeing on what ‘qualified’ means. It seems logical that if you want your team to agree that a candidate will be a great fit, you must first make sure the team agrees to the position’s job requirements.  

But how many companies engage their operations team when crafting a job description? And, is engaging the entire team overkill? 

Let’s dig into this concept.

Who Should Be Involved In Establishing Job Requirements? 

Does the entire team need to be involved? Not necessarily. But there can be benefits to involving everyone who will interact with the new team member’s function. 

Improved Accuracy and Quality

Fostering collaboration when creating the job description ensures the requirements will reflect diverse perspectives. In essence, you will have more confidence that the majority of relevant details about the role have been captured while avoiding unconscious bias that may creep in if there is only one author. 

Team members who interact with the position should provide insights into the responsibilities. Tools and workflows should also be assessed by the broader audience with relevant hard and soft skills outlined in the job description. 

Shared Responsibility and Team Buy-In

Distributing the workload among team members can streamline the process while reducing the burden on one person. And importantly, team members who have helped create the job description will ‘buy in’ to the overall position requirements. 

Enhanced Understanding of Role

Collaboration also ensures a deeper understanding of how this role will fit within the team and organization. Team members can learn from each other’s perspectives, which may help refine the role and better align it with organizational goals.

The Challenges of Engaging the Broader Team

Time Coordination

Organizing schedules for collaborative meetings can be challenging, especially if multiple people are involved. This may temporarily disrupt normal workflows. It also means the job description will take longer to create.

If involving the entire team using formal meetings is impractical due to time constraints or size, consider soliciting feedback through other methods such as email or via a Google document. Once the feedback is collected, have HR or the hiring manager draft the description based on collected input and then review it with key stakeholders for final approval.

Be Prepared for Lack of Expertise

Team members without experience drafting job descriptions may unintentionally include irrelevant or non-compliant details. Provide proper oversight, training, or templates so this issue can be mitigated.

Best Practices for Effective Collaboration

Identify Key Contributors

Focus on involving individuals who will have direct interaction with the role, thus knowing the tasks specific to the position. Examples include current team members performing similar tasks, managers, team members taking work direction from the role, and HR representatives.

Use Templates and Guidelines

Standardized formats and clear collaboration guidelines help ensure consistency and compliance across job descriptions. Using templates will also ensure your job descriptions meet legal requirements. 

Appoint a Project Leader

A designated leader can manage input from various contributors, compile feedback, and finalize the document.

Establish a Review Process

Putting a formal review process in place will ensure accuracy, inclusivity, and alignment with organizational standards before finalizing the job description.

Checklist for an Effective Job Description

While individuals experienced with crafting job descriptions will understand what should be included, novice professionals may not. Here is a quick checklist of items to include when drafting your job requirements. 

Position Details

• Job Title: Does everyone agree on the title of the position?
• Flexibility: Are hours or location negotiable? For example, for the right candidate, would you consider remote work, flexible hours, or accommodating family needs?
• Employment Type: Have you confirmed whether the role will be contract, permanent, or temp-to-perm? Consider the pros and cons of each option.
• Compensation: Is there agreement on salary or hourly rate? Has this been approved by finance and senior management?
• Start Date: Is there a clear start date (and end date for temporary roles)? What factors could delay or jeopardize this start date (e.g., project delays or funding issues)?

Internal Processes

• Internal Candidates: Have you considered filling the position internally? Are there any company policies requiring you to prioritize internal candidates?
• Hiring Freeze Risks: Is there a chance of a hiring freeze or financial restrictions that could impact this hire?

Job Skills, Qualifications, and Personality

• Key Qualifications: What are the most critical job requirements? Ask your team to prioritize these and identify which are “nice-to-haves” versus mandatory. Stay with this task until you have consensus across your team. In Michelle’s case, she would have had a faster hire if her original requirements met everyone’s expectations. This is important: You can’t find a ‘great fit’ if the team doesn’t agree with what a ‘great fit’ is. 
• Soft Skills and Personality Fit: What soft skills and personality traits are important for this role? For example, does your team prefer someone bubbly or reserved, chatty or focused? Do you need someone with leadership capabilities? A problem solver? 
• Work Style: Should the candidate work independently or as part of a team? Don’t assume—ask your team!
• Company Background: Does your team prefer candidates from large corporations, small businesses, or specific industries? Past experiences shape professionals differently, so make sure you understand your team’s preferences.
• Career Goals: What career ambitions should your new hire have to align with your team’s long-term goals?

Key Takeaways

When hiring, it’s crucial to clarify both hard requirements (skills, experience, education) and soft requirements (personality, work style, background, career goals). By asking the right questions and aligning expectations within your team upfront, you’ll be well on your way to finding the perfect addition to your workplace family.

Need help writing job descriptions? We are here for you.

The post Job Requirements Your Team Can Agree On appeared first on craresources.

Is it possible for someone to shout over social media? Chris certainly seemed to be shouting at me. Why? Because as the hiring manager, I had just rejected him. 

Chris accused me of being too picky. 

But let me ask you this: Is it wrong to want to hire someone perfect? I see gaggles of posts from disgruntled job seekers complaining that the hiring manager should stop looking for the perfect candidate. 

Why can’t we search for the perfect candidate? Why should we settle? Don’t we advise job seekers to look for their perfect position? Isn’t that the concept of a dream job? The hiring manager has the same right to hire perfect team members in an effort to build a dream team. 

But…

Perhaps We Should Define Perfect

A sponsor approached me several months ago, asking if we could provide CRAs with Parkinson’s experience. Her current recruitment agency had told her, ‘No one has conducted Parkinson’s studies for years, and therefore, we can’t find CRAs with that experience.’

Wait, what? 

I often hear this. Clients are told they have to settle for CRAs who don’t have the desired therapeutics or who are in the right location. A perfect candidate fits all of the important soft and hard skill ‘have-to-have’ criteria, which usually includes experience with certain therapeutic experience and living within a specific location. 

This is why there is value in a well-written job description.  

Can you hire the ‘perfect candidate’ without a well-written job description? I don’t believe so. The perfect candidates are those who meet your ‘have-to-have’ requirements as listed in the job description, and if you and your team haven’t agreed to those firm requirements, how will you find a candidate the entire team believes will fit? 

Seems simple, but the ‘perfect candidate’ as defined in this context is exactly what the hiring manager should be looking for. 

Why?

Because Hiring The ‘Runner-Up’ Is Dangerous

We just had a situation where one of our clients made an offer to their top candidate, and he declined it. All of us knew he was perfect for the position. We were surprised he didn’t accept, and our client was extremely disappointed. 

The next morning, in a panic, he reached out. He told us he realized he had made a bad decision. He wanted to know if the offer was still on the table. 

The answer was no. 

Why? 

Because our client had already made an offer to their runner-up, and that candidate had accepted it. 

Our client’s thought process? The runner-up ‘would do.’ They urgently needed to fill this position, and there weren’t any major red flags (maybe some pink ones). The minor issues they had noted were things they could overcome. 

Right? 

Why Hiring the “She will Do” Candidate is Problematic

I believe hiring the ‘she will do’ (otherwise known as the mediocre) candidate is worse than engaging a bad hire. You will keep your eye on the bad hire. However, a mediocre hire will cost you time because you will give them more independence and leeway.  Leadership will have to put more effort into her training. Even though she excels in some tasks, she will not perform as expected in others; therefore, your team will also have to fix more issues. And when you decide to manage her out of the business, it will be hard to justify. 

After all, she isn’t that horrible. Right? 

Wrong. Settling for less than the best sends the wrong message. It damages the morale of your team and could impact your shareholders’ or investors’ perception of the way you select your team members and manage your operations. 

Don’t make a significant investment in someone who isn’t a keeper. If your top candidate gets snatched up by another company, don’t settle for a runner-up that falls short of what you have already defined as a ‘perfect candidate.’ 

Keep looking. 

How to Keep Searching Without Annoying Your Team

I understand how hard it is to keep a position open for a long time. But if you aren’t finding the perfect candidate, here are some things you can do.  

Review the Job Description

Have your team re-review the job description and confirm their agreement to the ‘must-have’ and ‘like-to-have’ requirements. 

Note that this isn’t an act of settling. This is a task to ensure clarity across all parties. Now that you have interviewed candidates, your requirements may have changed slightly; therefore, take the time to tweak the job description as appropriate.

Assess the Job Title and Re-Post the Position

You never know what titles candidates are searching for. Therefore, making a slight change to the job title will attract candidates with different backgrounds and experiences. For example, instead of posting the position for an Administrative Assistant, perhaps call the role Administrative Operations Specialist, Administrative Coordinator, Project Coordinator (if relevant), etc. 

Re-Interview Your Runner-Ups

Now that you have reviewed your job description, reposted the position, and are attracting new candidates to consider, perhaps bring your top runner-up candidates back for another interview. Dig deeper into the areas that may have been pink flags during the first interview. 

Maybe the answer is still no because you don’t want to settle. But you also may see something different in the candidates during their second round of interviews. 

But Before You Extend an Offer

Don’t side-step the basics. Be extra diligent when checking references and conducting a background check. Once you have gathered all the details, sit down with your team and make a team decision. 

Break out the pros and cons, and if the team is sure about a ‘perfect’ candidate, make an offer. If not, work with the entire team to obtain buy-in and start the search over again. 

What Really Happened With Chris

I want to close the loop on the story I started telling about Chris. I didn’t reject him because he “shouted” at me through LinkedIn. Chris has submitted three resumes to our firm over the past four years. The most recent two resumes were just submitted this week, and his employment didn’t match across all three resumes.  

The differences between the resumes were egregious.  

While a date error can happen here and there, the mismatching employment history wasn’t something we could attribute to a grammatical error. As an example, one resume stated he worked for PPD, while another stated he worked for IQVIA. The dates of all of his employments were so different across the three resumes that it was obvious Chris was quite creative (or had a very crooked pencil). 

I was respectful. Instead of ghosting him, I told him we couldn’t represent him because of the resume discrepancies.

His Response? 

He responded that I didn’t understand the difference between a CV and a resume and that he was going to broadcast to his network that we were outdated and too picky. 

My response? 

I do understand there are differences between CVs and resumes. However, there are also many similarities, the primary one being that you should honestly and accurately represent your employment history. 

I then told him I would appreciate him broadcasting to his network about our ‘pickyness’. Folks who falsify their employment should know that we compare current resumes (or CVs) with past ones and will pull them from our candidate pool if the employment history doesn’t match. 

After all, it isn’t complicated. You either worked for PPD, or you didn’t. Start dates are start dates, just like end dates are end dates. Providing accurate employment history on your resume (or CV) isn’t just important. It is a firm requirement. 

In Conclusion

I encourage hiring teams to be clear about what they are looking for. Writing a detailed job description and obtaining buy-in from your team is a great starting point to outlining the firm skills and competencies that qualified candidates will possess. 

Then stay focused on these ‘must have’ qualities to find the perfect candidate. Don’t settle, and never accept fraudulence (or candidates who shout at you across social media platforms). 

Need help? We are here, and yes, I will gladly write your job description for you.

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