Recruiting a 5 legged sheep candidate : When should you give up

We drafted this article for CEOs and Managing Directors. More often than not, companies persevere in recruiting “five-legged sheep” candidates. When this happens, the questions start to arise: When do we give up on this recruitment?

When this happens, you usually start asking questions about why the recruitment is so time-consuming. Internal teams are becoming stretched due to a lack of resources, morale is decreasing because of the workload, and overall, your productivity and revenue are declining.

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What is a “five-legged sheep” candidate exactly?

In recruitment, a "five-legged sheep" refers to an ideal candidate who perfectly matches all the desired qualifications, skills, and experiences for a job position. The term is used metaphorically to describe a candidate who is exceptionally rare and nearly impossible to find, much like a sheep with five legs. This phrase emphasises the unrealistic expectations sometimes set by employers or recruiters when seeking the perfect candidate.

Knowing when to identify such events is critical for an organisation. It can be make or break, often compromising the results for an entire year of activity and causing collateral damage.

Why recruiting a 5 legged sheep candidate occur?

Complex Organization, Complex Job Scope: Organizations may dig their own holes with unnecessary complexity, often accommodating personal expectations to the detriment of a collective structure that makes more sense. While providing more options for your staff to grow, ensure it remains “market relevant.”
“The Grass is Greener Elsewhere” Line Manager Syndrome: When there is a new opening, a line manager’s first reflex is to seize the opportunity to hire the next superstar, thinking that an external individual will perform better than the internal resources available—until the new person onboards.
Over-expectations from the New Hire to Overcome Internal Deficiencies: Overstuffing job descriptions with responsibilities can deter candidates in the market. Ensure the job responsibilities are coherent and compatible with the labor market.
Labor and Skills Shortage: The skills you are looking for might simply not be available in the labor market. For example, PLC development and programming are positions in deep shortage in countries such as Thailand. When the talent pool is scarce, you’ll need to adjust your sourcing strategy or lose months of searching.

When do you need to pivot your recruitment strategy?

Here are the most common cases where we advise companies to pivot, along with a list of red flags you should carefully identify and react to accordingly:

⚠️ No Applications After a Month: If the pond is dry, there is a reason for it. Assuming you have been leveraging the right recruitment channels for the role, your job requirements might not be clear enough, or there is a talent shortage in your industry.

⚠️ Candidates Say “No Thanks”: Candidates report unmet expectations to your recruitment team. This could be due to:

The location being too far without shuttle support or flexible hours.
The salary range is not matching expectations.
Benefits being aligned with the strict legal minimum when the industry standard is higher.

⚠️ You Have Passed the Six-Month Bar Without Tangible Results: If your hiring team has been working for months without providing a shortlist worthy of qualifying for the final round, pull the plug on the process. It’s not likely additional months will yield better results.

⚠️ Your Selected Candidates Are Dropping Out Consecutively Following the Offering Stage: A common red flag is seeing candidates drop out consecutively at the offering stage.

Uncompetitive Compensation and Benefits
Poor Candidate Experience
Misalignment of Job Expectations
Company Culture and Fit Concerns
Better Offers from Competitors
Lack of Flexibility or Work-Life Balance

What should you do to stop searching nearly impossible to find candidates?

Look at Your Competitors and Organizations Within Your Industry and Adjust Your Strategy

First, analyse if your organisation is the "five-legged sheep". What is the standard in your industry? Although you may not have access to an org chart of your industry peers, it is fairly easy to understand the organisation of comparable companies by looking at their existing resources and job titles on LinkedIn. If you do not have access to such information, ask your existing employees. The odds are that they come from your industry or similar companies and can share insights. In addition, ask your HR team insights about your competitors to double check if your salary and package structure are relevant.

For example, we worked with an organisation in the food processing industry to fill their Project Manager role. The responsibilities included overseeing regional projects for Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. For such a role requiring English-speaking skills, the salary range was not aligned with what candidates were earning at this position. The appropriate salary range for these professionals was 50% higher to attract the right candidates.

Go Back to the Org Chart and Rethink the Organization

In this event, a first practice is to ask your department manager to look for optimization opportunities.

Do you have the internal resources to meet the expectations of the job position?

What can be done differently?

Consider solutions such as:

Splitting the role between two resources in the same or another department.
Promoting an existing resource with a trial period (monitor carefully).

Focus on Internal Promotion and Training

This often overlooked strategy prioritizes developing existing talent, which yields the highest long-term return on investment (ROI). By investing in training and career development for current employees, you enhance skills, boost loyalty, and reduce turnover. Internal promotions foster a culture of growth, morale, and productivity, leveraging employees' familiarity with company culture and processes. This approach retains institutional knowledge, supports innovation, and signals recognition for hard work. Continuous learning opportunities like workshops and mentorship programs keep teams competitive and adaptable, leading to better performance and customer satisfaction. Overall, focusing on internal promotion and training establishes a sustainable talent pipeline crucial for sustained business growth.

Ask for External Hiring Advice from Recruitment Experts

If your internal hiring team does not present the insights to pivot the recruitment to realistic requirements, ask experts. Use the following question checklist:

Does your position align with labor market requirements (salary, skills, scope)?
Are there overlapping industries when there is a shortage in the labor market?
Are the recruitment channels being used effectively?
What recruitment/marketing strategy tactics can be deployed to get candidates quickly?

In conclusion

Don’t blame the market; blame your strategy. Competitive businesses devise plans to navigate through shortages. Stay attentive to the labor market's response and be prepared to adjust. The key is not to persist in recruiting a "five-legged sheep," as this could harm your overall strategy.

About Huneety

Huneety is Southeast Asia's talent-matching platform for the B2B and industrial sector. Our mission is to address the talent shortage by connecting qualified individuals to job opportunities, leveraging our proprietary AI matching algorithm and skills assessments.

As part of its vision to address talent shortages, Huneety aims to make HR technologies accessible and affordable for Southeast Asian organizations.

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