The Real Question

I had a professor in college who asked the class a simple question. If you were buying a car - what is the most important factor in your decision?

The answers came fast. Speed. Horsepower. Color. How it looks pulling into a parking lot. Whatever my parents will actually pay for.

He let everyone finish. Then he shook his head slowly and said - Wrong. Every single one of you. The most important factor is what job the car needs to do. What problem is it solving. What does your life actually require it to be. Because a two seat sports car is a terrible answer if you have three kids and a dog. And a minivan is a terrible answer if you are twenty two and single and need to believe in yourself. The right car isn't the best car. It is the right tool for the specific need.

I've thought about that classroom moment more times than my professor probably expected. Because I see the exact same mistake made in hiring every single day.

Companies go to market for a role with a vague picture of the perfect candidate in their head. Not the right candidate for the specific role at this specific stage of the business. The perfect one. The unicorn. The mythical A player who has done everything, leads everyone, costs nothing, and is available immediately.

So they search. And search. And keep searching.

Meanwhile the candidate who has every qualification the role actually requires - and then some - came through the process three weeks ago. Sharp. Culturally aligned. Ready to contribute from day one. Checked every real box on the list. But they weren't the unicorn. So the search continues.

And that candidate - the right one - took a call from someone else. Accepted an offer. Is now building something for a competitor while the original company is still scheduling first round interviews with people who are increasingly less qualified than the one they let walk.

I've seen this play out more times than I can count. The unicorn search is expensive. Not just in recruiting costs and time to fill. In momentum lost. In team capacity stretched. In the signal it sends to the people already inside the building who are watching leadership chase a fantasy instead of making a decision.

Here is the question every hiring manager should answer before a single resume gets reviewed. What does this role actually need to do. What problem is it solving. What does success look like in ninety days - not in the best case scenario version of this hire but in the realistic one.

Answer that honestly and the right candidate becomes obvious much faster. The unicorn doesn't exist (except in the case of me - 😆 ). The right person usually already has. You just kept looking past them.