Sometimes, waiting for perfect means missing exceptional.

One search taught me a lesson I'll never forget.

A client was looking for someone to step into a role that combined two very different responsibilities.

Leadership.
Commercial experience.
Technical expertise.
An existing network.
International exposure.

The more we discussed the role, the more I realised something.
We weren't looking for one position anymore.
We were looking for two people...
inside one CV.

Over the following weeks, I introduced several exceptional professionals.
Each one brought something valuable.

One had outstanding leadership experience.
Another had exactly the right commercial background.
Another had built the relationships the client was hoping for.

Every interview moved us closer.
Yet every time, the search continued.
Not because the candidates weren't strong.
But because someone even closer to the ideal might still exist.

Eventually, one candidate accepted another opportunity.
Another told me something I'll never forget.
"The only reason I kept waiting was because I trusted you as a recruiter. Otherwise, I would have stepped away much sooner."

That sentence stayed with me.
Not because we lost the candidate.
But because it reminded me that recruitment isn't only about respecting the client's timeline.
It's also about respecting the candidate's.

In the end, the position remained open.

And the search continued.
Sometimes, waiting for perfect means missing exceptional.

Have you ever delayed a decision waiting for something better... only to realise you had already found it?