Some roles are genuinely difficult to fill.
The required expertise may be scarce. The relevant candidate market may be small. The strongest people may already be securely employed and unlikely to respond to a standard job advert. But a hard-to-fill role is not always evidence that the talent does not exist.
The real problem may sit with:
- the candidate market
- the employment offer
- the recruitment brief
- or the hiring process
Before posting the vacancy again or adding more sourcing channels, establish which problem you are trying to solve. More sourcing will not resolve all four.
What is a hard-to-fill role?
A hard-to-fill role is a vacancy an employer is experiencing difficulty recruiting for. It is not necessarily the same as a skills-shortage vacancy. The UK Employer Skills Survey recorded 345,300 hard-to-fill vacancies in 2024. Of these, 250,500 were classified more specifically as skills-shortage vacancies, meaning employers believed applicants lacked the required skills, experience or qualifications. That distinction matters. Some vacancies are difficult because the capability is genuinely scarce. Others remain open because the role, package, location, expectations or hiring process do not reflect the market. The first useful step is diagnosis.
1. Is it a market problem?
A genuine market problem exists when relatively few people possess the required combination of capability, experience and professional context.
This may apply when a role requires:
- specialist technical or regulatory knowledge
- senior leadership experience
- experience in a particular international market
- an unusual combination of commercial and technical capability
- or discretion that makes public advertising unsuitable
In these situations, the strongest candidates may not be actively applying for roles. They may need to be identified through market mapping, professional networks, direct approaches and informed introductions. The organisation should still test whether every stated requirement is essential. However, when the relevant market is genuinely limited, a more focused search is often more useful than a wider advertising campaign.
2. Is it an offer problem?
Sometimes the right people exist but see little reason to move. The employment offer includes more than salary.
It may also involve:
- location and office attendance
- reporting lines
- decision-making authority
- team resources
- flexibility
- progression
- relocation expectations
- and the condition of the business the person will inherit
The organisation should be able to answer one direct question:
Why would a credible candidate leave their current position to take on this particular role?
“Exciting opportunity”, “competitive package” and “fast-paced environment” do not answer that question. A strong candidate proposition should explain what makes the appointment meaningful, what the person will be trusted to do and why the opportunity is relevant now. When expectations are high but the authority, package or working conditions are not competitive, more sourcing may produce more names without producing more serious candidates.
3. Is it a brief problem?
A job description can list responsibilities without explaining the real purpose of the appointment. This often happens when different business needs are combined into one role.
The organisation may be trying to:
- replace someone who has left
- resolve an immediate operational problem
- introduce a new capability
- prepare for growth
- enter a new market
- and change how the wider function operates
Each need may be valid. Together, they may describe several positions rather than one realistic appointment. The recruitment brief should clarify:
- why the role exists now
- what the person must deliver
- what challenges they will inherit
- what authority and support they will have
- and how success will be recognised
Without those decisions, each stakeholder may assess candidates against a different version of the role. One person may prioritise sector experience. Another may want leadership capability. A third may focus on technical depth. Someone else may simply be looking for a candidate similar to the previous postholder. The search then becomes difficult because the organisation has not yet agreed what a relevant candidate looks like.
4. Is it a recruitment-process problem?
A clear and realistic role can still be weakened by an unclear hiring process. SHRM’s 2026 research found that 49% of recruitment executives cited a lack of qualified candidates as a challenge, while 41% identified difficulty sourcing hard-to-fill roles. However, the research also identified internal obstacles: 22% cited difficulty collaborating with hiring managers and stakeholders, and 20% reported inefficient recruitment processes. The findings were based on an unweighted survey of 298 heads of recruitment.
Common process problems include:
- unclear decision ownership
- changing criteria
- too many interview stages
- long gaps between conversations
- inconsistent evaluation
- delayed feedback
- and new stakeholders joining late
These problems affect more than time to hire. They can make the organisation appear uncertain about the appointment. Strong candidates may accept another opportunity or conclude that the internal environment will be equally difficult to navigate after joining. Before widening the candidate market, review whether the organisation is ready to make the decision.
Six questions to answer before widening the search
1. What must this appointment deliver?
Describe the business outcome, not only the tasks. What should be different because this person has joined?
2. Why does the role exist now?
3. Which requirements are genuinely essential?
Separate what the person must bring on day one from what can be learned, supported or developed. An extensive requirement list can reduce the market without improving the appointment.
4. Why would a relevant candidate move?
Consider the opportunity from the candidate’s position. Is the scope clear? Is the authority real? Does the package reflect the market? Is the working arrangement realistic?
5. Are all stakeholders assessing the same role?
Everyone involved should understand the main outcome, essential criteria and reason for the appointment. Candidates should not be evaluated against several competing briefs.
6. Who owns the final decision?
Agree who advises, interviews, evaluates and makes the final call. A candidate should not reach the end of the process before the organisation decides how the appointment will be made.
When can specialist recruitment or global headhunting help?
Specialist recruitment or global headhunting may be appropriate when:
- the relevant candidate market is limited
- suitable people are unlikely to apply openly
- international talent needs to be considered
- confidentiality is important
- or direct engagement is more suitable than standard advertising
The value should extend beyond producing a list of candidates. A recruitment partner should help the organisation test its assumptions, understand the market, approach people credibly and provide honest feedback when the brief and the available talent do not align.
Easy Tiger Group’s Recruitment and Global Headhunting work begins with the organisation’s actual hiring need. That includes understanding the business context, the purpose of the appointment, the essential and transferable capabilities and the realities of the candidate market. Relevant visible and passive talent can then be considered through a focused search and detailed human pre-selection.
Frequently asked questions about hard-to-fill roles
Why are some roles harder to fill than others?
A role may be difficult to fill because the required capability is scarce, relevant candidates are not actively looking, the location or package is restrictive, the brief is unclear or the recruitment process is too slow. Many difficult searches involve more than one of these factors.
How do you fill a hard-to-fill role?
Begin by identifying whether the main issue sits with the market, offer, brief or process. The appropriate response may involve refining the requirements, changing the candidate proposition, improving the hiring process or using targeted headhunting to reach passive and international candidates.
What is the difference between a hard-to-fill vacancy and a skills-shortage vacancy?
A hard-to-fill vacancy is any role an employer is experiencing difficulty filling. A skills-shortage vacancy is a more specific category in which the difficulty is attributed to applicants lacking the required skills, qualifications or experience.
When should a business use a headhunter?
Headhunting may be appropriate when relevant people are unlikely to apply through normal channels, the market is specialist or international, confidentiality matters or the organisation needs to approach a carefully defined group of candidates directly.
Test the brief before widening the search
Some hard-to-fill roles reflect genuine talent scarcity. Others become more difficult because the organisation is asking the market an unclear, unrealistic or inconsistent question.
Before increasing sourcing activity, clarify:
- what the business needs;
- which requirements are essential;
- what the organisation can credibly offer;
- and how the final decision will be made.
A clearer brief gives the market a clearer opportunity to respond. Planning a specialist, international or business-critical appointment?
Easy Tiger Group can help you clarify the recruitment brief, understand the relevant candidate market and run a focused Recruitment and Global Headhunting process.