One of the most common things I hear from companies before they come to me is a variation of the same sentence: "We've been searching for months and we're just not seeing quality candidates."
It's a frustrating place to be. But in my experience, the issue is rarely a shortage of talent. More often, something in the process — the job description, the channels, the EVP, the application experience — is filtering out the right people before they ever reach you.
Start with the job description
The job ad is the most common culprit, and it's usually suffering from one of two problems: it's asking for too much, or it's written for the wrong audience.
When I review a brief with a client, I ask them to separate what's genuinely required from day one from what could be learned on the job. Hard skills are often more learnable than we assume. Requiring five years of experience in a very specific niche, combined with three language requirements and a degree in a particular field, might describe your ideal candidate perfectly — but it may also describe approximately twelve people in the UK, half of whom are already happy where they are.
The job title matters too. Are you using internal terminology that means nothing outside your organisation? A candidate searching for a "Senior Bilingual Customer Success Manager" won't find your ad if it's titled "Level 3 Client Relationship Specialist."
Are you searching in the right places?
Even a well-written job ad fails if it's posted in the wrong place. The right channels vary significantly depending on the role, the seniority level, and the language requirement:
- For German-speaking roles, LinkedIn remains strong — but specialist communities and DACH-focused networks often surface better passive candidates.
- For French speakers, the approach differs depending on whether you're targeting candidates already in the UK or open to relocation.
- Scandinavian professionals are a small pool — direct search is almost always more effective than job board posting for these languages.
- Referrals are consistently underused. Your current multilingual employees know others in their professional circles.
This is where generalist job boards consistently underperform for multilingual hiring. The candidate pool is too small and too specialised to rely on people finding you. You have to go and find them.
Is your EVP still competitive?
Candidates — particularly experienced bilingual professionals who have options — are assessing your offer against alternatives in ways that go beyond salary. They're thinking about flexibility, growth, culture, and increasingly, the values and reputation of the company they'd be joining.
If your EVP hasn't been reviewed recently, there's a real risk it no longer reflects what today's candidates are looking for — or what your competitors are offering. This is especially true in the multilingual market, where candidates may be weighing a UK role against a return to their home market, where working conditions have often improved significantly.
What's your application process like?
More than half of candidates abandon applications because of a poor process — too many steps, too long, too repetitive. In a market where the best candidates have options, friction in your application is candidates you never see.
Ask yourself: how long does it take to apply? How quickly do you respond? Are candidates kept informed at each stage, or do they disappear into silence for weeks? The experience of applying tells candidates a great deal about how you operate as an employer — and they draw conclusions accordingly.
How are you keeping your talent pool warm?
Not every good candidate is right for the current role. The question is what you do with someone who impresses you but isn't quite the right fit this time.
Companies that maintain relationships with strong candidates — through occasional check-ins, relevant content, or simply a note when something relevant comes up — dramatically reduce their time-to-hire on future searches. Your talent pool is an asset. Treat it like one.
"The problem is almost never a shortage of talent. It's usually something in your process that's filtering the right people out before they reach you."
— Joanna Black