You’ve probably seen it before. The job ad says “URGENT.” The team’s stretched thin. Everyone agrees: this hire needs to happen now.
Fast forward three months, and the advert is still live, the inbox is full of unread CVs, and the same role is still being debated in weekly stand-ups.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. It’s exactly what we help our clients avoid.
The Real Reasons “Urgent” Hires Get Stuck
It’s rarely about a shortage of candidates. Most delays come from internal friction, unclear processes, or trying to do too much at once.
Here’s where it usually goes wrong:
Feedback Bottlenecks
CVs often take too long to be reviewed or for interviews to progress. Good candidates lose interest, or get snapped up elsewhere.
Unclear or Shifting Briefs
When the spec keeps evolving, everyone ends up guessing. Candidates feel it. So do recruiters. So does the timeline.
Misaligned Expectations
Looking for senior-level skills on a junior-level salary? That mismatch slows everything down before it even starts.
Too Many Voices, No One Driving
When too many stakeholders are involved and no one owns the decision, progress stalls.
The Unicorn Trap
Waiting for the “perfect” candidate often means missing the great ones right in front of you.
The Cost of Inaction
When a role is labeled “urgent” but the process stalls, the gap between intent and execution creates measurable and hidden costs. Here’s how that plays out:
Productivity Loss
Every day the role remains unfilled:
- Existing team members are stretched thin, leading to burnout and reduced output.
- Strategic projects may be delayed or dropped entirely.
- Quality suffers as overworked staff juggle too many responsibilities.
Example: A missing DevSecOps engineer could delay critical security updates, increasing risk exposure.
Talent Drain
Top candidates don’t wait around:
- Delays in feedback or interviews lead to drop-offs.
- Candidates interpret silence as disinterest or disorganisation.
- The best talent gets snapped up by faster-moving competitors.
Result: You’re left with a smaller, less engaged talent pool.
Brand Reputation
A prolonged hiring process sends a message:
- Internally: Teams lose confidence in leadership’s ability to execute.
- Externally: Candidates talk. A poor experience can damage your employer brand on platforms like Glassdoor or LinkedIn.
Perception becomes reality, and future hiring gets harder.
Rising Recruitment Costs
The longer the process drags:
- The more time and money is spent on advertising, sourcing, and screening.
- Agencies may need to re-engage or restart searches.
- Internal time costs (interviews, meetings, admin) quietly accumulate.
Cost of delay = cost of inefficiency.
Strategic Opportunity Loss
Some roles are growth enablers, not just gap-fillers:
- A delayed hire in sales, product, or engineering can mean missed revenue, slower innovation, or lost market share.
- Inaction becomes a competitive disadvantage.
How We Avoid These Traps With Our “30 Days to Hire” Process
At InfoSec People, we’ve built a clear, structured approach designed to eliminate guesswork, reduce delays, and give you a real shot at securing the best talent, from consultation to offer, in under 30 days.
Here’s how we do it:
Week 1: Define It Properly & Consult
We kick off with clarity. Together, we define the role, align on must-haves vs. nice-to-haves, and map out the team, tech stack, culture, and target sectors. We also lock in decision-makers, timelines, and interview stages, no moving goalposts.
We activate the search, screen and brief candidates, and share 3-5 profiles or a progress update.
Week 2: Reviews & Interview Requests
CV Feedback within 48 hours. Every CV. We set this as a standard from day one.
This keeps momentum high and candidates engaged. We coordinate interviews, support technical assessments, and ensure InfoSec alignment if needed.
Weeks 3-4: Interviews with Structure
We manage first and second-round interviews, focusing on technical fit, culture, and communication. Feedback loops stay tight, 24 hours from candidates, 48 hours from clients, to keep things moving and top talent engaged.
Weeks 4-5: Offer & Onboarding Support
Once you’re ready to make an offer, we move fast. We support offer delivery, contract negotiation, and onboarding logistics to avoid last-minute surprises.
It doesn’t end once the contract is signed.
Weeks 6-12: Review & Reflect
We continue to support both client and candidate on an ongoing basis. After placement, we debrief with your team to review what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve the next hire. We also stay in touch to support onboarding and retention.
If a role is truly urgent, the hiring process should reflect that urgency, not stall in inboxes and indecision. Every day a key position stays open, your team feels the strain, your momentum slows, and top candidates move on.
At InfoSec People, we don’t just help you hire, we help you hire with purpose, pace, and precision. Our “30 Days to Hire” process is built to cut through the chaos and deliver results that stick.
If “urgent” has turned into “ongoing,” it’s time for a reset.
Our 30-day hiring framework is built to cut through the noise.
📘 Download our prospectus to learn more:
Urgent Hire Case study
Don’t just take our word for it, have a read of one our case studies with Coded Law.
When Coded Law, a fast-moving legal tech startup, urgently needed a Lead Software Engineer to build their MVP from scratch, they turned to us. Within just 28 days, we delivered a candidate who not only met the technical brief but also fit seamlessly into their startup culture.
The result? A fully built MVP, a growing team, and a product roadmap back on track.
InfoSec People is a boutique cyber security and IT recruitment consultancy, built by genuine experts. We were founded with one goal in mind: to inspire people to find the careers that inspire them. With the success of companies fundamentally driven by the quality of their people, acquiring and retaining talent has never been more important. We believe that recruitment, executed effectively, elevates and enables your business to prosper.
We also understand that cyber and information security recruitment can genuinely change people’s lives, that’s why we take the duty of care to those we represent very seriously. All our actions are underpinned by our core values:
- Always do the right thing
- Be the best we can be
- Add value
We work with businesses in the cyber/tech arena, from start-ups and scale-ups to FTSE100 and central Government, many of whom are always looking for great people.
Call us directly on 01242 507100 to discuss opportunities or email info@infosecpeople.co.uk.