The client context
A fast-growing SaaS company had been trying to hire a Senior Product Manager for nearly six months. The team was under pressure to accelerate delivery and strengthen their product roadmap, and this role had become mission-critical. Despite multiple interview cycles and several strong shortlists, no one made it through the process. Every candidate seemed to be “missing something,” and leaders were convinced the right person simply hadn’t surfaced yet.
The challenge
During our intake, the team walked us through the long history of candidates they had interviewed — smart, capable people who had been rejected for reasons that didn’t meaningfully affect their ability to do the job. As we dug deeper, it became clear the issue wasn’t the talent pool at all. The expectations were the problem.
The job description had grown into an unrealistic blend of three different roles: a UX strategist, a technical product expert, and a commercial roadmap owner. They wanted someone who could walk in on day one and deliver across every dimension without a ramp-up period. But roles designed this way rarely attract the strongest candidates. If someone can already do one hundred percent of the job, they have no compelling reason to move. Top performers look for stretch, scope, and growth — not replicas of the work they’re already doing.
The company needed an advisor to help them understand the market, align expectations, and define a role that would actually attract the level of talent they wanted.
The solution
After completing a detailed intake, we provided a direct, data-based assessment of the market. We showed them how few candidates existed who truly matched the full scope as written, and how compensation expectations increased dramatically for candidates with that level of breadth which was outside their budget. The patterns were clear: the role was over-specified, and the market knew it.
We then worked with the hiring manager and key stakeholders to reshape the mandate. Together, we clarified what competencies were essential, which responsibilities could be deprioritized or shifted to other team members, and what realistic success looked like in the first year. Most importantly, we reframed the position so it offered meaningful growth — the kind of stretch that strong candidates actually find motivating.
Once expectations were aligned, we relaunched the search with a role that was strategically sound, market-aligned, and attractive to the right talent.
The results
Within three weeks, we presented a shortlist of high-calibre candidates who were both qualified and genuinely excited about the opportunity. The company hired a strong Product Manager who had mastered key elements of the role and was ready for expanded ownership — exactly the kind of person who would grow with the business rather than plateau in it.
The new hire ramped quickly, brought stability to the product function, and became a key contributor to the roadmap. Even more valuable, the experience reshaped the client’s entire approach to hiring. They now engage us early to validate expectations, align on the right stretch, and position their roles competitively in the market.
What started as a long, stalled search became a lesson in clarity: when expectations match the reality of the market — and when a role offers genuine growth — great hires follow.
