June 10, 2026 • Nawia
Why do we prepare for failure in recruitment?
No one sets out to fail at recruitment. Yet many people approach the process in a way that makes success unnecessarily difficult.
When it comes to people, of course, there’s no such thing as perfection, and unexpected situations arise all the time. One major factor is reactivity and rushing the recruitment process. This manifests itself, for example, in job descriptions created in a hurry, an unclear understanding of the need, an unclear process, and a wish list that doesn’t match the market situation.
Based on these factors, an excellent outcome is expected. Would you, for example, board a flight knowing that the preparations were at this level, or would you build a house with the same level of preparation?
We are hiring someone; no need for the position mentioned above
Almost always, recruitment or the planning of it begins with the question “What kind of person should we hire?” when the more appropriate question would be “What problem are we trying to solve?” This question not only defines the business need but also likely opens doors to a broader pool of talent. It also makes it easier for a potential candidate to answer the question, “What real added value can I bring?”
It’s easy to list requirements, preferences, and ideas about what skills a candidate should have or what kind of educational background they should possess. While this certainly helps prepare for the hiring process, it doesn’t necessarily ensure success.
The company knows what it wants, but not what it needs
This is particularly evident in the recruitment of specialists and executives. Often, when expectations are unrealistic, the process goes off the rails even before the job posting or direct search begins.
For example, we are looking for someone who grows the business, leads people, develops strategy, improves processes, handles operational tasks when necessary, brings in new customers, masters technology, coaches leadership, and drives change to completion. This already encompasses multiple roles and a single person in a single sentence. While it is certainly possible to find rare, one-of-a-kind talent on the open market, you shouldn’t count on this list for successful—let alone rapid—recruitment.
React, don't anticipate
One of the most common requests or wishes when starting a recruitment process is that the new hire is needed “as soon as possible—actually, preferably yesterday.” And once again, to quote Kummel: take the curve fast and aggressively, but you also have to get out of it.
Often, the need to recruit isn't recognized until we've figuratively already switched from being the driver to the passenger and are heading straight for the ditch. Headfirst.
In practice, this means that the team’s workload becomes too heavy, customers are left waiting, and work turns into a series of firefighting tasks—vague, reactive, unplanned, and short-sighted.
Time pressure forces compromises, and compromises are rarely the result of a poor market. They are the result of inadequate preparation and planning.
Let's design the process, not the experience
When it comes to recruitment, a lot of time is spent considering who will participate in the interviews, how many rounds there will be, what kinds of tasks candidates will be asked to perform, and how decisions will be made. These are all important considerations, but less attention—or significantly less attention—is paid to how all of this looks from the candidate’s perspective. Depending somewhat on the field and position, it’s good to remember that candidates often have multiple options, just as the hiring organization does. Therefore, the candidate evaluates the organization at least as much as the organization evaluates them.
If the hiring process is confusing, slow, or the communication is unclear, they’ll likely look elsewhere.
Only partially prepared
One of the biggest mistakes is that, in many organizations, preparing for recruitment simply means approving a budget, defining a job description, and posting a job listing.
In reality, these are just the first steps—or the bare minimum. True preparation means understanding what the business needs, what the market looks like, how the company stands out in the market, and why the ideal candidate would be interested in the role and the company.
In summary: The recruitment process is won long before the first application is even submitted
Many organizations devote a great deal of energy to evaluating and comparing candidates. Far fewer devote the same amount of time and energy to assessing their own preparation and recruitment capabilities.
However, preparation and groundwork are precisely the foundations upon which successful recruitment is built. When and if recruitment fails, the cause is rarely a single candidate selection, but more often than not, it stems from inadequate groundwork, poor time and resource management, and vague and unrealistic expectations.
Successful recruitment doesn’t start with posting a job ad. It begins long before that.
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Author of the article
Janne Kuikka
Senior IT Recruitment Consultant
