Aging Req Rescue Planner
A req that won’t close usually has one of a few specific causes, and each has a different fix. Answer five questions about where the search actually stands and get a primary diagnosis, a rescue checklist, and a hiring-manager note you can adapt. No AI — just the heuristics a senior sourcer runs in their head.
Primary diagnosis
Calibration drift
You’re getting candidates and even replies, but submittals aren’t converting — the search and the HM’s real bar are out of sync.
Rescue plan
- Send the HM 3–5 anonymized profiles: "which is closest, and why?"
- Turn the answer into a revised must-have / nice-to-have list.
- Re-run the Balanced lane against the corrected bar.
Hiring-manager note (copy & adapt)
I’m getting candidates but I want to make sure they’re the right shape. I’ll send 4 profiles — can you tell me which is closest and what specifically makes the others a miss? That calibrates the rest of the search.
Also worth checking
Possible ghost / deprioritized req
The req is old and very few lanes have been worked, which often means the role lost urgency internally before sourcing ever got traction.
Outreach / messaging problem
You’re reaching people but they’re not replying — with comp ruled out, the message itself is usually the bottleneck.
This is a structured diagnostic, not a verdict. It applies common senior-sourcer heuristics to the inputs you gave — confirm the real cause with the hiring team before acting. Comp, clearance, and scope decisions belong to the hiring manager.