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Aurelius · Work & Leadership
Knowledge + Guidance

Why do hiring managers keep changing what they want?

You bring in strong candidates. Then the manager decides, after the fact, that this was never what they wanted. You start to doubt your own judgment. Your judgment is not the problem. A process with no fixed target will chew through good candidates and good judgment alike. If the goalposts move after each round, that is not feedback. That is a system refusing to decide. You cannot control what a hiring manager wants. You can control whether your team lets 'what we're looking for' stay vague. Fix the target before the search, in writing, with everyone's name on it. Then hold the search to that — not to whoever is loudest in the room afterward.

◆ How this problem reads on the two dials
GuidanceKnowledge
More coaching
Some to learn
1:1 with AureliusWith others (a Pod)
Some one-to-one
Practise with peers
The core insight (this is a process problem, not a people problem) is quick to teach; the harder work is building the habit of naming and enforcing it as a team.
How the two dials adapt to you →
What’s really going on

You are not bad at reading people. You are being asked to hit a target that no one has fixed in place. Stop guessing what they want this week. Make your team write the criteria down before the search starts, and hold every manager to that page — not to their mood.

🔒 What you’ll build togetherUnlock by starting
A moveBefore the next search opens, write the criteria down together and get every manager's sign-off on that page.
A moveThe moment a manager changes the ask mid-search, say it out loud in the room. Do not quietly absorb the shift.
A moveWhen reviewing candidates, hold them against the written criteria, not against the manager's latest comment.
A moveIf the target moves twice in one search, stop the search and ask the manager to re-fix it in writing.
A moveKeep a simple log of when and how the criteria changed. Patterns tell you who the real problem is.
PractiseFix the Target · a Pod of 4 · 30 min

What changes unlock by starting

  • Your team stops absorbing blame for a manager's indecision
  • Written criteria that hold up past the first round
  • Fewer wasted searches and fewer good candidates lost to shifting goals
  • A clear record showing where the process actually breaks down

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