"Looking to Hire a Rockstar?"
10/09/25 Edition Stephen Says Column

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Dear Stephen,

I figured if there is anyone to ask this question to, it would be you.

I recently hired a recruiting company in Michigan to help me with a VP of Sales position. I own a medium sized manufacturer based elsewhere in the Midwest. I’ve used this recruiting service before, we only pay a fee when we hire someone.

Lately (almost this entire year, now that I’m thinking about it) - whether recruiting on my own, using in-house HR people, or even hiring an outside contingency recruiter or headhunter like The Viscusi Group - recruiting seems to be taking forever!

Why am I paying a fee to any recruiter and still having to wait six months sometimes, or more, to make a hire? What am I even paying for?

What’s worse is I often don’t even get to the first interview until more than a month after hiring the recruiter. Why does it take so long? There are so many people I see on LinkedIn looking for work. I just don’t get it. Let me know your thoughts. Am I being unrealistic?

Signed,
What Am I Paying For?

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Dear Payer,

Recruiting does not have a definitive lead-time. That’s because headhunters, or recruiters, regardless of the methods they use to find people, are not manufacturing a product like furniture or a widget. Recruiting is an art not a science.

Poaching strong people is an organic process starting with cold calling candidates who are already working a job; waiting for them to call back, scheduling interviews across different time zones, all the while persuading them that we have the better opportunity than the company they’re currently working for.

As you can see, there’s a lot of steps involved and it’s a process that requires influencing someone on a personal level.

By the way – some recruiters are more influential with candidates than others. Keep that in mind when you’re making your recruiting decisions.

It takes a lot of time, and a lot of personal influence to even get good candidates to return a phone call today! Let alone getting them to an interview. The best candidates are traveling on business across different time zones and have days filled with meetings. We, as recruiters, must get in-step with the candidate’s rhythm.

In spite of all the talk of tariffs and market uncertainty, business and hiring is generally very strong right now and the best people (the “rockstars” that you executives are all asking for) are in the thick of it, working hard, happy in their jobs, and generating revenue. You get the idea – they’re not waiting around for a phone call.

Have you seen that new Workday commercial? You know the one. The point is, go ahead and picture a rockstar for a minute. Are they easy to get ahold of? No. Do you think that they’re just willing to change jobs at the drop of a hat? No. As far as the people that you see on LinkedIn looking for work, most recruiters do not consider those people ‘fee-worthy,’ and you shouldn’t either. A really good salesperson or executive, of ‘rockstar’ quality, is not spending their days reading LinkedIn help wanted.

Another way of thinking about it is that it’s not the recruiting that’s taking so long; sometimes the issue is that the executives wait too long to replace a non-performer. That, or they don’t see a vacancy coming -- maybe your executive ‘spidey-senses’ were off.

Someone was getting ready to quit, or they were getting recruited to your competitor, and you didn’t notice. Now, you’re trying to plug the hole of the revenue they were earning, and you’re stressed because your quarterly reports are around the corner. You’re trying to fix a problem you should have addressed a while ago. . . Have you considered that?  Smart CEO’s or VPs of Sales, even HR leaders, always have a good headhunter on speed dial.

The sooner you get started with the search, the sooner you will have the position filled, the sooner the revenue will be coming in, the sooner you can sleep at night. Now, are you seeing the issue here? It’s not the time it takes to find someone, it’s the timing of when you start looking.

Here’s a pro tip - any recruiter or in-house recruiter presenting you with a perfect candidate in 30 days or less is not presenting you with a perfect candidate. I guarantee you that is not the best person you could hire. Trust me, finding ‘the one’ is not that easy.  

I’ll leave you with an anecdote. I was recently talking to a dealer-owner friend of mine who told me they bought a Ferrari. (Of course they did!) Did you know, once you buy a Ferrari, you’re given a “build slot” and then once it’s built it takes six to nine months to arrive to your driveway?

Think about it that way – if you want a Ferrari of an executive or salesperson working for you, you’re going to have to wait a little. It’s as simple as that. The way to speed it up is to start looking before you need to. As I always say, ‘hire slow, fire fast!’

Signed,
Stephen


Stephen Viscusi is the founder of www.viscusigroup.com, an executive search firm that specializes in the interior furnishings industry. Hires made through The Viscusi Group are guaranteed a one-year free replacement. Please share your story or comment on this article and send your workplace questions to stephen@viscusigroup.com. Or give us a call at (212) 979-5700 ext. 101.

 

© Stephen Viscusi 2025

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