Have a Hiring Thesis...and stick to it

Once I was hiring for a hard-to-fill position in a competitive environment. After interviewing multiple candidates didn't impress, one candidate stood out. Resume matched up with what I was hearing in the interview.

The candidate went through our interview process. The interview panel expressed a concern - which would need to be addressed before I made an offer. I didn't think it was much of an issue. I picked up the phone and called the candidate, intent on making an offer.

After letting the candidate know how the process was going, I asked about the concern the panel had raised. The candidate lost it, started yelling and hung up, without giving me a chance to make the offer. I was shocked, and our pipeline was empty.

The next day a better candidate showed up in our pipeline. I ended up hiring this new candidate. I've never regretted walking away from a red flag from the interview panels since. When your team that you trust says they've got a concern, it almost never works out, and its best to cut your losses and move on.