Is “done” better than “perfect” (when it comes to hiring)? 

The current candidate market is tight, and the shortage of potential employees looking to make a move means many companies are struggling to find their “perfect” candidate. 

Does this mean you should wait to find the exact right candidate, even if it takes months longer than you’d like? Or is choosing someone who can adequately do the job your best option? 

In the current market, we believe done really is better than perfect. Here’s why: 

‍Done means you have someone in the position moving the ball forward. 

Leaving a position vacant means you no longer have a designated person filling that role. Tasks go undone, sales opportunities get missed, efficiencies are lost, and no one is thinking proactively about how to move your company forward. By filling a vacant role, you can ensure someone is there taking care of essential tasks.  

‍Done means you’re not overworking your managers or other employees because of an unfilled position. 

When positions go unfilled, managers and employees are often left taking up the slack. Even if they’re compensated for the extra workload, they’re likely going home exhausted at best and highly frustrated at worst. Exhaustion and frustration can prevent them from completing their own tasks well, cause them to have a short fuse with colleagues, or even create a desire to move on to a company that doesn’t overwork them. 

‍Done means you’re not losing out to your competitors who are getting sales because their roles are filled. 

Allowing a role to remain vacant for an extended period of time is a wonderful opportunity for your competitors to make inroads. While their employees are busy pitching ideas, moving the company forward and finding sales opportunities, your team is experiencing burnout and scrambling to simply get tasks done. A company that’s reactive will never rise to the level of one that’s constantly thinking proactively. 

‍Done means you’re not losing market share (and potentially damaging your reputation) while you wait for the perfect person to appear. ‍

Leaving a role unfilled usually comes with consequences. While you’re waiting for the perfect person to appear, you could not only be losing market share, you could also be damaging your reputation. Future candidates may wonder why you haven’t filled the role yet. Are you not capable of finding a great candidate? Are you difficult to work for? Are there skeletons in your closet they don't know about? The longer your position is open, the harder it will be to fill with a top candidate. 

For these four reasons—in today’s hiring market, done is so much better than perfect.