The Perfect Candidate Probably Doesn't Exist: Why Waiting for 100% Costs Australian Employers

The perfect candidate probably doesn't exist. Yet we still spend an incredible amount of time looking for them.

As an IT recruitment agency in Sydney with more than 25 years in the Australian tech market, we see this play out every week. A company meets someone who can do 80% or 90% of the role, fits the team, wants the job and has plenty of room to grow. And they decide to keep looking.

Three weeks later, they're still interviewing. Six weeks later, the original candidate has accepted another offer.

When the Brief Starts to Bend

Then, eventually, the brief starts to change.

• Maybe we can flex on that requirement.
• Maybe that skill isn't actually essential.
• Maybe we'd consider someone with slightly less experience.

Which usually raises an uncomfortable question: was any of it essential in the first place?

When a brief softens after six weeks, it's rarely because the market changed. It's because the original list mixed genuine must-haves with a wish list. The cost is the strong candidate who was ruled out under the old version of the brief.

What Slow Hiring Costs Australian Employers

Australian hiring data shows how quickly good candidates disappear while a business waits for perfect:

Put simply: the best tech candidates in Australia have options. Job seekers expect a process of around two weeks, yet 45% of companies take two months or more [2]. Every extra round of interviews looking for a slightly better match is a risk to the very good match you already have.

High Standards vs Hunting for Unicorns

There's absolutely nothing wrong with high standards. But there's a difference between high standards and looking for a unicorn.

Particularly in senior and specialist tech hiring, you're rarely going to find someone who has done:

• the exact job,
• in the exact industry,
• with the exact technology stack,
• at the exact scale,
• for the exact salary you're offering.

Every extra "exact" shrinks the pool. The reverse is also true. LinkedIn's research found that talent pools expand by nearly 10x on average when employers hire on skills rather than on job titles and past roles alone [3]. With Jobs and Skills Australia still classing 29% of assessed occupations as in national shortage [4], that difference matters.

How an IT Recruitment Agency in Sydney Hires for Potential

At some point you have to hire for what someone can become, not just what they've already done. Here's the framework our recruitment consultants in Sydney use with clients on specialist and senior IT roles:

1. Cap the must-haves at three to five. If everything is essential, nothing is. Agree them before the role goes live, not after week six.
2. Define what 85% looks like. Decide in advance which gaps you're prepared to train or support.
3. Assess learning ability, not just experience. Ask how a candidate has picked up a new technology, domain or team before.
4. Set a decision deadline. Agree interview stages and feedback turnaround up front, ideally within 48 hours of each stage.
5. Plan for the gap. A clear 90-day onboarding plan turns an 85% match into a 100% performer faster than another month of searching.

Perfect Is the Enemy of Very Good

We'd take an excellent 85% match with the right attitude and potential over waiting three months for a mythical 100% candidate every time.

Because while you're waiting for perfect, someone else is hiring very good.

So we'll ask the question: are companies too focused on finding the perfect candidate?

If you have a technology role that's been open too long, or a brief that keeps changing, talk to TRC. As a specialist IT recruitment agency in Australia, we help clients define what really matters and move quickly when the right person appears.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a unicorn candidate?

A unicorn candidate is someone who meets every requirement on a job spec: the exact role, industry, technology, scale and salary. In specialist tech hiring they are extremely rare, and waiting for one usually lengthens the search.

How long does it take to hire in Australia?

people2people's 2025 research puts the average time to fill a permanent role at around 1.5 months, with 45% of companies taking two months or more and one in three tech companies taking over two months.

Should I hire a candidate who meets 85% of the job requirements?

Often, yes. If they meet your core must-haves, fit the team and show strong learning ability, an 85% match with a clear onboarding plan is usually a better outcome than a long search for 100%. A specialist IT recruitment agency in Sydney can help you define the must-haves.

About The Recruitment Company australia

The Recruitment Company (TRC) is a specialist IT recruitment agency in Sydney with more than 25 years in the Australian tech market. We recruit across data, analytics and AI, software development, project services, IT infrastructure, networking, systems and virtualisation, and cyber security, working with clients across Australia and internationally.

Sources

1. Robert Half Australia hiring research (500 hiring managers, October 2025), via Staffing Industry Analysts: https://www.staffingindustry.com/news/global-daily-news/most-australian-employers-lost-candidates-in-past-year-robert-half

2. people2people, 2025 Workplace & Employment Trends (3,500 respondents), via ACS Information Age: https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2025/hiring-decisions-taking-way-too-long.html

3. LinkedIn Economic Graph, Skills-First Report: https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/research/skills-first-report

4. Jobs and Skills Australia, 2025 Occupation Shortage List: https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-shortage