Welcome to The Hero 🗞️. This is approximately a 2.5-minute read.
🔍 Why exact-match hiring is bleeding your pipeline (+ budget)
📩 How to fill roles 50% faster
💡 The hack that turns candidates from "maybe” to “yes”
TL;DR
Your next hire doesn’t need to be a unicorn.
You just need someone who can deliver - and grow into the role.
Overly specific job descriptions choke your candidate flow:
Most roles list 10+ distinct responsibilities
New hires cost around $4,700 each and take 12+ months to fully ramp
Drop the rigid filters.
Hire smart, adjacent talent.
Train them up.
The Purple Squirrel Trap
You post a role with 12 bullet points.
Nobody applies…
Or worse -
You hire the "perfect match" and they bounce in 6 months ✌️
In fact, most companies lose nearly half of new hires within 18 months…
Which is terrible.
I’ll admit, holding out for a 10/10 candidate - sounds safer.
But it leads to:
Longer hiring timelines
Higher cost per hire
Missed upside and production from 9/10 talent
The full breakdown is just below - don’t miss it! 😉
Links of the Day:
🔗 Best Links
Here are some of the best links I’ve found since last time I emailed you:
🗺️ Interview Strategy
🔎 Find Candidates
✅ Employer Branding
📰 News
Here’s How To Expand Your Candidate Pool
1. Widen your Search
Remove must-have degrees and hyper-specific stack requirements.
Removing degree filters can expand your pool up to 19x
Focus on what candidates can do, not where they went to school
Look for related industries, adjacent roles, and core competencies - not resume bingo
2. Hire for Transferable Skills
Here's what actually transfers:
Product Manager ← Management Consultant
Customer Success ← Teacher
Sales Engineer ← Solutions Architect
They already bring:
✔ Strategic thinking
✔ Communication
✔ Problem-solving
They’ll learn the rest within 90 days - if you give them a plan.
3. Screen Smarter
Use skills-based assessments instead of keyword filters:
78% of HR professionals say pre-employment tests improved hire quality.
71M U.S. workers lack degrees but have in-demand skills.
Skills-based hiring isn’t just faster - it’s more inclusive, more predictive, and more effective.
4. Upskill With a Plan
Skill-adjacent hires ramp faster when supported.
Pair with:
Mentorship
Microlearning
Clear 30/60/90-day goals
👉 Deloitte found skills-first organizations are 98% more likely to retain top performers.
Hire someone at 80% today, and build a plan for the other 20% tomorrow.
To Sum It Up…
Unicorns don’t exist…
But the person who can become the unicorn in 90 days?
Chances are, they’re already in-front of you.
Hire for potential + transferable skills, instead of a perfect candidate.
And To Wrap It Up…
You can't afford to keep chasing unicorns.
But you can:
Drop degree/pedigree filters
Prioritize transferable skills
Add structure, coaching and mentorship to level up.
Skill-adjacent hires move faster, stay longer, and cost less to find.
You’re not lowering the bar - you’re redefining where it’s set.
HOW WE CAN HELP?
There are a few ways:
Or you can just reply to this email.
I reply to absolutely everyone who writes me back 🙂
