We have all seen it; roles that evolve faster than the job description. The wish list for the dream hire (strategic and analytical) does not match the needs of the company (tactical and transactional). Unfortunately, while this realization dawns on the employer, it is not communicated to the prospective hires using the wish list job description.

 

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After an extensive search (and thousands of dollars spent), you finally find a candidate who feels like the one—even though the role has already shifted into something far simpler and more transactional than what was originally advertised. You move forward anyway, trusting their potential. But once they start, it’s clear the redefined work doesn’t play to their strengths, and the essential but lower level tasks aren’t being performed the way you expected. They try to explain that the job isn’t what they thought they were stepping into, yet the work they’re doing is exactly what the company needs, and someone has to do it. After investing thousands in recruiting and training, and countless hours trying to bridge the mismatch, they quietly disengage and eventually walk away leaving you right back at the beginning, repeating the search you thought you’d finally completed.

 

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You finally land the offer, the one that feels almost unreal in a market where good roles are scarce. But soon after starting, it becomes clear the job you accepted isn’t the job you’re doing. The magic fades into frustration. Management assures you it’s just growing pains, yet months pass with no real change. Your strongest skills sit unused, your engagement slips, and you quietly reopen your job search. Eventually, the moment something even slightly better appears, you take it and move on.

 

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1. Ask themselves the following questions:

• What tasks will this person actually do in their first 90 days?

• Is this work strategic or transactional?

• Are we hiring for what we need today or what we hope to need later?

2. Communicate any changes to the scope immediately.

3. Manage expectations wisely. Hiring a finance manager to do AP cleanup and collections calls is not a great

use of time spent or money.

4. Hire someone who WANTS to do the job that is needed, not the job you will, hopefully, need to fill in a year

or two.

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Employees need to know the red flags to look out for and the questions to ask to expose them. Here are a few:

• Can you walk me through what my first 90 days would look like? What tasks will I be doing most often?

• What problem is this role solving for you right now?

• Has the scope of the role changed at all since it was posted?

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In addition to these types of questions, also listen closely for future promises. If they speak of the “role evolving” or “someone growing into more responsibilities” be sure to listen carefully. Will the role be evolving INTO your desired placement or into something beyond.

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Employees can screen interviews far better by asking questions that force employers to reveal the real job — not the posted job, not the imagined job, and not the aspirational job.

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