Why Traditional Hiring Fails


I recently partnered with two talented software developers who, despite their clear skills and potential, were repeatedly rejected from jobs because they didn’t fit neatly into a job description. This is a scene playing out across countless industries. In a rapidly changing world that demands innovation, HR and recruiters continue to prioritize static, rigid job descriptions over the dynamic potential of people.

The irony is that many of those being denied offers today are the very “system builders” of tomorrow. This isn’t a new phenomenon. Consider the story of Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire who founded Alibaba. He was rejected by nearly every company he applied to, only to go on and build one of the most successful companies in the world. His story proves that a hunger for greatness can’t be measured on a resume.

The True Purpose of Leadership
The transactional nature of hiring has become a primary cause for great companies being left behind. Human Resources plays a crucial role in an organization’s ultimate trajectory. We must question what models HR is using today. Are they updated and fit for purpose, or are they outdated? We have to ask ourselves: are we inadvertently turning away the very talent that could build the systems of our future?

My own journey into leadership taught me a powerful lesson. Early in my career, I was able to turn bad managers into great ones and a disinterested team into one that was deeply fulfilled by their work. I discovered that everyone carries an innate desire to do something meaningful, and sometimes all they need is a leader to help them bring that greatness to the surface.

In leadership, we often treat the workplace like a transactional battlefield rather than a flexible environment for fulfillment. The old saying goes, “if you make your team happy, they will make you happy.” I’ve found a deeper truth: if we as leaders make our team feel fulfilled, they will help our industries and dreams become fulfilled.

Hiring for Hunger, Not for a Job
This raises a crucial question: how do we shift from hiring people who come to work just to survive to hiring those who feel that their job is a fulfilling part of their life’s purpose? The standard interview question, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” shouldn’t just be about how a candidate fits into our company’s plan. Instead, it should be about what they want to fulfill in themselves—their personal “why.”

Many HR professionals and recruiters are so focused on finding the “best candidate” based on job descriptions that they miss out on the truly hungry ones. These are the candidates who carry within them a drive to create something beyond the confines of a job description. A person who is hungry to build something bigger in the world is more important than a person who simply checks a list of qualifications. To grow an organization, we must focus on those who are driven to change their world.

To continue the same process, hiring based on a job description, is to risk becoming obsolete. We have already seen this happen to former market leaders like Intel and other industries that have lost their edge. The future doesn’t belong to those who repeat the past, but to those who do something more meaningful: hiring the hungry who are ready to create and build.