Thermoforming Report

Yes No Maybe

Decisiveness in business, like any other skill, can be developed — though for some, it comes more naturally. Organizations, including their hiring processes, often mirror the leadership style at the top. This report builds on insights from a few key articles that set the stage:

“There is No ‘Perfect Candidate’. Many organizations create job postings with rigid expectations, outlining an exhaustive list of must-have skills and experiences. However, overly specific job requirements can severely limit your pool of talent, making it difficult to find suitable candidates who meet every single criterion. To optimize your recruitment process, it’s crucial to differentiate between essential skills and those that can be developed.”

from Mondo (IT/Tech staffing agency): “Why Holding Out for the ‘Perfect Candidate’ is Hurting Your Hiring Strategy” (2/19/2025)

And…

“Recruiting isn’t just an HR function—it’s a business-critical strategy.” … The hiring process should be a well-oiled machine—strategic, decisive, and efficient. Instead, for many organizations, it’s a black hole—a slow, painful process that drags on for months, swallowing productivity, draining morale, and costing you top talent. This is especially true for executive and leadership roles, where delays in hiring don’t just inconvenience your team; they cripple your business.”

from Cutwater Martin (outdoor industry executive search agency), “The Hiring Timeline is a Black Hole” (3/10/2025)

Though I do not agree with everything in these articles, it is easy to draw a line through it: hiring strategies and approaches are notoriously fraught with pitfalls, slowdowns, and indecisions. 

The fact is that hiring is difficult: finding the right mix of skills and experience in combination with alignment on culture, approach, and leadership style… and all in the right location is a huge challenge. 

One key aspect I see is a lack of understanding when it comes to the state of the current market. Using the old 80/20 rule, most organizations and hiring managers miss the key fact that 80% of the people presented on any given critical search for new talent are gainfully employed. They have been handpicked and sought after to have a conversation about the next step in their career. And that changes how employers should handle and manage the entire hiring process. But I’m getting ahead of myself! Let’s start at the beginning.

Talent Needs

In a niche market like thermoforming manufacturing, a smaller player of the main types of plastics processing, highly skilled and talented people remain hard to come by. And when there is a gap on your team, there tends to be either missed opportunity and/or additional stress on the rest of the team carrying the bigger load.

This is what I hear the most: an opening is created – either an entirely new role for the organization or a straight backfill – and we need to get the right person to fill the gap. Easy, right? 

Yes and no. It takes time and effort to find, vet, and present top talent. Just ask anyone who is now working on a role or has filled a role recently! 

This is a clear indicator that the thermoforming manufacturing industry is solid. I was talking with a friend recently who has a son that is graduating from a great university here in NC with a degree in software. He is very fortunate to have landed a role as a function of a previous internship. Coming from their son’s feedback about his friends, they shared that a software job – ONE job – received over 1000 applicants! Now that’s a market and industry that is in distress! That’s a perfect example of recruiting versus applicant tracking.

Your Process and Your Brand

Let me get to the point: be efficient and decisive with your hiring process. If you don’t, you negatively impact your brand in what is a pretty small world. 

In a market like ours, most of the work is recruiting – headhunting – and not applicant management. Yes, there are those that apply to posted jobs, but the percentage of those that align tends to be pretty small. The bulk of the effort is tracking down and reaching out to talent that meets the critical needs of the role. They are employed and settled when I reach out to them, usually in several ways, inquiring about how things are going for them in their current role and company and pitching a new opportunity and organization. 

Though I do not specify how someone came to me when presented to a client on an open search, the assumption needs to be that they are employed and by default have choices. And though they may be in a situation where they are looking to make a change, the industry is small and how you manage the interview process reflects on the company – both in good ways and in bad.

It isn’t complicated: If your process is slow or you are indecisive, it generates a negative perception of the company. If the process is efficient and moves at a good pace with good communication along the way, the perception is going to be very positive. 

Make a Decision

Interview and decide: Yes or No. If there is uncertainty, schedule a follow up interview (via phone or Teams) with a different stakeholder and then make a yes or no decision. Maybes or holds are painful for everyone involved. Believe it or not, a swift ‘no thanks’ is MUCH better than a maybe! Even if it is a maybe because you sort of liked someone but have others in the pipeline, I would still recommend a no. 

If you say no to a ‘maybe’ candidate, there is risk of losing a that candidate because they are moving on… but you can always come back to them! “We interviewed several others and didn’t realize what you truly brought to the table. Therefore, if you are willing, would you be interested in meeting another person on the team?” Doesn’t that feel better than zero feedback and leaving someone hanging for weeks?!?

The key takeaway: walk in their shoes. Reflect on your last couple of interviews. How did the process flow? Were you frustrated? Were you appreciative of the timeliness? 

As a recruiter who manages multiple jobs and therefore several candidates at a time, it is challenging to keep all the plates spinning. And, though I hate to admit it, some drop. I work hard to keep everyone informed throughout the process. No news is never good news. And it really does make a difference. 

This applies to ANYONE interviewing for any opportunity – whether they came from a trusted external recruiter or from an internal HR Talent Manager or even from an internal referral.

Yes, we are all busy, and we collectively have a lot going on.  But if there is a talent need and a decision is to make a hire, prioritize that work, and be decisive! It will pay dividends not only for your team but also for your company brand. It’s a yes, proceed; it’s a no, communicate; it’s a maybe, quickly schedule a follow up interview. Rinse and repeat… and without taking days or weeks to move from one step to another!

Oversimplified? Nope. With years of experience and with working with a variety of companies, HR professionals, and executives, it really is – or at least should be – this simple! 

As your Thermoforming Talent Partner, we represent clients AND candidates! We’re here to help in any and every way possible! We provide hiring strategies, priority candidate searches, job searches, client & candidate introductions, interview tips, résumé facelifts, resignation strategies, and much much more. LET’S STRENGTHEN YOUR SEARCH!