The Best Available vs. The Most Available: Hiring When Talent Is Scarce
Hiring the Most Available or the Best Available Talent, in today’s competitive technology landscape, talent shortages in emerging tech put pressure on everyone—from project teams to leadership. Deadlines don’t move, but your hiring timeline might. When your ideal hire isn’t within reach, you’re faced with a difficult but common choice:
Do you hire the best available talent, or the most available talent?
This is a challenge may companies face. There are options and it really comes down to the needs of the company/project, available talent and level of creativity required to sort through the options;
The assumption is that the urgency of the project requires a solution in the short term. So with that in mind, let’s break down the options and how to make the right decision based on your company’s needs and current situation.
Understanding the Best Available Talent
The best available candidate is someone who meets your hiring criteria: the right skills, experience, and long-term potential. In the spectrum of passive vs active candidates, these are available and active but not in a hurry to make a change. They live in a middle ground, still these candidates are often in high demand and harder to secure. Other companies are competing for this talent so the candidate may have multiple offers. The also may not be as available. They may be more selective in choosing their next role.
Hiring the best available typically requires:
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Time to refine the job criteria to reflect the market and needs of the candidates attracted to the role.
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A thoughtful screening and interview process that demonstrates to this talented candidate that the role is important and your company is serious about hiring a talented person in the role.
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Patience during a longer search. If the right person does not immediately surface, it may require refinement of the role, other avenues of candidate sources etc.
✅ Pros:
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High skill alignment and quick impact on the company or project when this person is brought into the company.
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Greater long-term potential for contributions beyond the initial need. Talent is talent and if they are good with a specific skill set and open to grow, there is a broader world of possibilities for that type of candidate.
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Often stronger cultural fit because of the familiarity of the job and what it takes to be successful. This is not 100% true but talent and success tend to follow from one role to the next.
⚠️ Challenges:
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May not be immediately available. Even if the candidate is selected and accepts the role, they may feel a sense of duty to complete whatever work they are doing and hand it off to the next person. Or as noted earlier, they may not be in a hurry to select their next role. If there are multiple companies making an offer to this talented person, it may take some time for them to sort through the process.
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Slower hiring process can result again because not only do you need put care in your recruiting and interviewing process to insure this truly is the best candidate but also that when you interview the candidate they see you are the best fit for them. That takes more time to prepare,
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Competitive salary and benefit expectations. Again all things being equal, the better candidate commands a better salary.
Understanding the Most Available Talent
The most available candidate may not check every box, but they can ease your short-term burden. They’re motivated, ready to work now, and often come with just enough experience to contribute right away. If you have critical immediate needs, that may be your best option.
✅ Pros:
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Immediate availability if critical to the project could tip the scales in favor of this option.
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Quicker to onboard when they are not needing to give notice, move, finish with personal/family affairs. This can enable a quick win when a pair of hands that can contribute immediately comes aboard to help.
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Can relieve short-term pressure on teams that are struggling to keep up. Adding a new person to share the load on a team struggling to keep up can lift morale even if only temporary,
⚠️ Challenges:
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May lack key long-term qualifications for sustained contributions once the immediate need has passed. While you are thankful to have the extra help, the skill contribution may be redundant or not different enough from others on the team. It is a consideration.
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Requires close oversight early on as the candidate may have skills gaps that need to be accounted for early on.
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Not always a culture or role fit and may need some careful monitoring for early warning signs that it is not a long term solution.
Still, don’t underestimate this option. Some of your best long-term employees may start out as your most available hires.
Which One Should You Choose?
Once you have a better understanding of the differences between hiring the most available or the best available talent, you need a framework to make the best option for your current situation.
1. Assess Your Needs Honestly
Do you need someone who can contribute immediately, or is the role strategic enough that you can wait for a perfect match?
Questions to ask when considering strategies for hiring success:
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What is the cost of delaying this hire? both in terms of deliverability and morale.
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Can the team carry the load for a few more weeks? or will the burden cause long lasting issues going forward.
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What skills are absolutely non-negotiable? There are always 3-5 skills that are required of a candidate walking through the door.
Sometimes, hiring someone who is “good enough” today is better than waiting indefinitely for the unicorn. You job is to understand if what you need is a unicorn or just not highly available right now.
2. Set Realistic Expectations
A common challenge in hiring today is overstuffed job descriptions. Many companies overestimate what’s truly necessary, which shrinks the talent pool unnecessarily. The ultimate objective is to expand your talent pool so pay attention and understand the essential job requirements components and craft a description that is clear and concise. Decisions on hiring the most available or the best available talent often comes down to a clearer understanding of what is truly required to perform the role vs. what would be nice to have.
📌 As cited by Harvard Business Law:
“Companies piled on job requirements… and then found that virtually no applicants met all the criteria.”
Make sure your expectations align with:
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The realities of the talent market as it is right now.
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Your budget may limit your options but busting the budget has a series of consequences that last well beyond the immediate challenge.
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The role’s actual requirements—not idealized ones. By this it means be clear about the 3-5 skills/abilities the person needs coming in the door. There are other things that can be trained but if they are lacking one of these critical skills it may be a no go.
Additional Considerations for Hiring the most Available or the Best Available Talent.
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Don’t Hyperfocus on the Resume: Instead of obsessing over titles and experience years, evaluate how a candidate might solve real challenges at your company.
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Vet the Most Available Thoroughly: Some candidates are great at interviewing, less so at delivering results. Dive deep into past accomplishments, not just talk.
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Contract-to-Hire as a Smart Middle Ground: Bring candidates on a trial basis. You might hire the most available today—and realize you’ve found the best fit long-term.
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Work with a Recruiting Partner: An experienced recruitment firm can expand your talent pipeline and provide strategic guidance—especially when time and resources are tight.
- Hiring Process: There are a number of considerations when hiring best versus most. For example the pros and cons of offering a sign-on bonus, remote/hybrid or other most other benefits related considerations will vary depending on if that individual is a long term or short term fix.
Final Thoughts
Choosing between the best and most available candidate is rarely easy—but it’s often necessary.
Hiring the most available or the best available talent….what matters most is:
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A clear, realistic job description with an understanding of the 3-5 skills/abilities needed coming in the door.
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Keeping focus and knowing your short-term and long-term priorities
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Willingness to adapt and evolve your hiring strategy to fit the time and place.
Remember: sometimes, the “most available” becomes the “best fit” over time—and vice versa.
In cases where there is no clear best answer, it is time to get creative. Learn the differences and impacts of a Contractor vs Employee hiring decision. Think about hiring consultants and contractors. Look at contract to hire options with a try before you buy kind of experience.
In the end it is a balancing act between a need right now and what to do once the urgency has passed. When a company can sort through that challenge can probably find the best solution for their current situation.
About Synergy Solutions
Synergy Solutions is an executive and contract search firm specializing in Best Available Talent for roles in the technology sector. Whether you need help with hiring strategy, candidate screening, or filling urgent gaps, we’re here to support your goals. With 20+ years working with a wide variety of companies, it is probably reasonable that we’ve seen your situation or something similar. That means we can recommend and help you sort through your best available options.
📩 Contact us and one of our team members will get back to you within 24 hours.