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Struggling with Behavioural Questions in Interviews?
They are the most common and also the toughest for many candidates.
This free E-book shows you how to answer them with confidence.
They are the most common and also the toughest for many candidates.
This free E-book shows you how to answer them with confidence.
Career Reshaped Episode 30: What Hiring Managers Won’t Tell You
Ever felt like job requirements make zero sense? Like, why does a 20-year sales pro need a bachelor’s degree in computer science?
You’re not imagining it—and in this episode of Career Reshaped, Natasha sits down with recruiter Zvi Azimov to unpack the hiring rules that seem arbitrary, outdated, and frankly unfair.
From rigid degree requirements to the hidden influence of venture capital firms, Zvi shares why some of the best candidates get filtered out for reasons that have nothing to do with skill. They talk about how private equity-backed companies sometimes mandate psychometric testing, how hiring managers’ personal biases impact decision-making, and what this means for job seekers trying to break through.
Zvi also offers an inside look at the real roadblocks in hiring: the “non-negotiables” no one tells candidates about and how company culture (and even a hiring manager’s zip code preferences) can shape decisions more than your resume.
If you’ve ever felt overlooked for reasons that didn’t make sense—or you’re trying to understand what’s going on behind the scenes—this episode gives you the clarity you’ve been looking for.
🎧 Tune in now to hear what hiring managers won’t say out loud—but absolutely need to.
Discussion Overview
Zvi explains that it’s not always about qualifications or performance. Sometimes candidates are passed over because of arbitrary filters—like living too far from the office or not holding a specific degree. Even when the degree has no real impact on the role, it can still be a hard requirement because of internal hiring policies or external stakeholder mandates. As Zvi puts it, companies often miss out on top talent for reasons that make little practical sense.
Startups tend to look for candidates who are flexible, self-sufficient, and able to wear multiple hats. They may avoid people coming from large corporations, assuming those candidates are too used to structure, support systems, and narrow job scopes. This creates a barrier even if the candidate could successfully adapt. It’s about perceived fit—not just skill.
While the term isn’t always said outright, the implication is clear. Being “overqualified” often means hiring managers assume you’ll expect more than they can offer, won’t stay long, or won’t fit their internal environment. It’s less about your capability and more about assumptions around your intent or adaptability.
Hiring managers are often cautious because they fear making the wrong hire. Zvi points out that they sometimes lean on rigid rules or external filters to reduce that risk, even if it means passing up strong candidates. The fear of someone not fitting in or not performing exactly to expectations can override logic.
While not discussed directly as a “trial,” Zvi’s examples suggest that companies rarely take steps to see a candidate’s true potential if they’ve already been filtered out by systems. The opportunity to prove oneself in action often doesn’t come, even when it could lead to a better match.
Zvi strongly believes experience should matter more than education. He challenges the idea that a degree completed decades ago should carry more weight than two decades of successful industry experience. Yet, he sees candidates regularly blocked from even getting interviews due to strict degree requirements that serve more as checkboxes than true indicators of potential.
It depends. Recruiters may advocate for candidates, but hiring managers—and often the broader company structure or external stakeholders—hold the final say. Zvi explains that sometimes it’s not even the hiring team making the rules, but external influences shaping who can even be considered.
Some companies enforce mandatory assessments or degree filters across all roles. These systems give a simple pass/fail outcome and can block even the most qualified candidates from being seen. Zvi finds this frustrating because it limits the pool to those who fit into rigid criteria—not necessarily the best performers.
Podcast Transcript:
| Time | Transcript |
|---|---|
| 00:05 | you mentioned and plan just mentioned it again about the different hiring manager |
| 00:09 | styles and and we say that to our clients all the time like it can be |
| 00:13 | absolutely perfect perfect resume perfect LinkedIn but we don't know |
| 00:16 | what's in the mind of the hiring manager and what they're looking for I've had |
| 00:19 | hiring managers before where they would only look for someone that lived within |
| 00:23 | a 30 minute drive others like no they have to have this degree even if the |
| 00:28 | degree wasn't 100% relev relevant. It just it was something in their mind that |
| 00:32 | it had to be. So, I guess what do you consider are some gaps and blind spots |
| 00:37 | that you see most often with these hiring managers when they're looking at |
| 00:42 | talent coming through? Just based on |
| 00:42 | what I do and how I do it, I don't see |
| 00:47 | that too often. Um, but what I do see is because I work with software companies |
| 00:53 | and usually they get funding from certain venture capitalists and private |
| 00:57 | equity firms. There are certain private equity firms and venture capitalists |
| 01:01 | that have certain psychometric testing and have a mandate that the person must |
| 01:07 | have a bachelor's degree which can be a real pain in the backside because if |
| 01:12 | I've got somebody with 20 years experience, what difference does it make |
| 01:15 | whether or not they did a bachelor's degree in computer science 20 years ago? |
| 01:20 | That information or everything they learned is fundamentally obsolete. It's |
| 01:25 | irrelevant. Especially if they got 20 years of sales experience, then what |
| 01:29 | does what difference does it make as to how they got to be the best person in |
| 01:32 | their market? They don't have a bachelor's degree. These ones will just |
| 01:35 | like n bachelor's degree, no dice. And you've got to go for specific approval |
| 01:41 | to circumvent that. And the same goes for certain psychometric testing. You |
| 01:45 | know, there's certain venture capitalists like Vista Equity Partners |
| 01:48 | that historically when they take over a company, they mandate that all new |
| 01:52 | employees from the receptionist through to the CEO must sit a particular |
| 01:57 | psychometric test. And there's it's just a green tick red cross outcome of pass |
| 02:04 | or fail, right? And so you could have the best candidate with the best |
| 02:07 | capability, with the best experience working for a direct competitor who is |
| 02:11 | just a walk up start, but if they don'tget through that particular test, |
| 02:15 | they're not even going to get a firstinterview. And it's it's annoying, |
| 02:18 | right? Um because they miss out on really good people for really silly |
| 02:23 | ideas. So, you know, they've got their logic around that and that's fine. But |
| 02:27 | yeah, blind spots are in my environment are typically those two. Hiring managers |
| 02:32 | themselves in my experience don't tend to have that issue. You know, in my |
| 02:37 | environment, if they're working for a small startup, they might have one or |
| 02:40 | two people in Australia. They don't want people that are working for the really |
| 02:44 | big guys, the SAPs and the Oracles and IBMs, and you know, they don't want |
| 02:48 | people that are working for those really big companies because they're not going |
| 02:51 | to have all the support that those companies afford them. And they're going |
| 02:55 | to have to be very much self-sufficient in terms of wearing a lot of hats. And |
| 03:00 | in those businesses that's not a requirement and in fact it's it's you |
| 03:04 | know it's the opposite of how they do business. So they'll struggle in that |
| 03:07 | environment. Does that mean that they couldn't adapt? No. Does that mean that |
| 03:11 | um you know they couldn't be successful in that environment? No. But a lot of |
| 03:15 | the clients like I'm just not not interested in interviewing this person |
| 03:17 | for that reason. So there are some preconceived notions that clients do |
| 03:22 | have. Albeit, you know, I think that the relationships and the clients that I |
| 03:27 | deal with, I'm usually able to push past that, albeit sometimes a great |
| 03:31 | difficulty. I experienced this myself. |
| 03:31 | I've even experienced it personally |
| 03:35 | myself when I've tried to apply for a part-time role and they're like, "Well, |
| 03:39 | no, you we know that you won't want a part-time role. You'd want it |
| 03:43 | full-time." Why are you telling me what I would and wouldn't want? And it's the |
| 03:49 | same for people who want to take a step one or two down because they're they're |
| 03:54 | enough with the drama. They're enough with the burnout. They're not they don't |
| 03:57 | need the money. They just want a more peaceful life. And people are going to |
| 04:01 | look at the experience and say you're overqualified |
| 04:05 | and you are going to be bored and you're going to leave. And whilst I reckon 80% |
| 04:12 | of the time they're probably not wrong, like it happens. you typically, but this |
| 04:18 | is not for everyone. Some people genuinely like I want to be bored. I |
| 04:23 | don't want to do hard work and I want part-time and I don't like the large |
| 04:28 | companies. I actually want to be for that's exciting a startup and you know |
| 04:34 | how it's it's a really complicated situation because how do you convince |
| 04:38 | someone that no, I'm not the stereotypethat will leave after 3 months because |
| 04:43 | yes, I'm not in the right place. I need more. Before we get into the |
| 04:47 | nitty-gritty of this topic, we just wanted to check in and say that if you |
| 04:52 | believe that you need some assistance and that we could help you, reach out to |
| 04:56 | us today. Check out our website, join our newsletter. We'd love to be in |
| 04:59 | touch. We wanted to quickly mention that subscribing to the podcast is the best |
| 05:04 | way to support the show and ensure you never miss an episode. It's super easy. |
| 05:11 | Just click the subscribe button whenever you're listening. Thanks for tuning in. |
| 05:15 | Yeah, look, it's a risk it's a risk factor consideration for the c for the |
| 05:19 | client, right? For the hiring individual. Hiring can become a very |
| 05:24 | laborintensive and often times expensive exercise, especially if you're using a |
| 05:28 | recruiter um and one like myself who's not the cheapest in the market. you |
| 05:32 | know, there is a an opportunity cost of of time and and those sort of things, |
| 05:37 | but also um you know, there's a real world cost of recruiter fees, |
| 05:41 | onboarding, laptops, etc., etc., etc., and the financial cost associated with |
| 05:46 | getting somebody up to speed. And if that person doesn't last very long, and |
| 05:51 | you could foresee that, a lot of people just simply don't want to take that |
| 05:55 | risk. But at the same time, I've also had had clients before that called me |
| 06:00 | and one in particular example was they called me and said, "I need somebody for |
| 06:04 | a financial controller um position." And you know, it's it's a it's a 3-month |
| 06:10 | contract. I knew somebody that was very relevant. It was a CFO for another |
| 06:15 | company that was looking for a a gig. And and so I presented them and I said, |
| 06:19 | Look, put him on for 3 months, three days a week as a contractor. that and |
| 06:23 | I'd put oh probably 40 plus people into this business over the previous few |
| 06:29 | years and you know I I became like their external recruitment department they |
| 06:34 | just came to me and only used me and and I said look just take him for 3 months |
| 06:37 | if after 3 months he's still working there I'll charge you a fee if not this |
| 06:41 | one can be a freebie and about four weeks in they called me and said he's |
| 06:46 | what we never knew we always wanted we've just made him full-time we've |
| 06:50 | given him shares and he ended up helping them |
| 06:52 | um get acquired by another company. He set the whole business up. He became |
| 06:56 | invaluable to their business within a very short period of time. So you know |
| 07:00 | hope you got I did I did I got the fee |
| 07:00 | on a higher salary. So, you know, it was |
| 07:05 | fortuitous in the end for me as well in terms of, you know, there was a good |
| 07:08 | financial outcome for me, but even better outcome for the client who ended |
| 07:12 | up, like I said, this this individual helped them set the business up from a a |
| 07:17 | books standpoint to a point where they got acquired by a larger competitor. Um, |
| 07:22 | which was their which was their intent was to get themselves ready for either |
| 07:25 | an acquisition or an IPO listing on the stock exchange. So, you know, this |
| 07:29 | financial controller position was intended to help with that, but this guy |
| 07:33 | stepped straight into a CFO role a month later cuz they're like, "Wow, this guy |
| 07:37 | brings so much more to the table than we what we, you know, is what we never |
| 07:40 | never knew we always wanted and became um irreplaceable in the business very |
| 07:45 | very very quickly." So, you know, it can go both ways. You know, if companies are |
| 07:48 | willing to take take a punt and go, "Look, this person's clearly |
| 07:51 | overqualified and we may not be able to keep them for a long time, but let's see |
| 07:56 | what value they can bring to the table." you know, we'll give them what we'll |
| 07:59 | give them what we can now and then we'll see where it leads. Um, you never know. |
| 08:04 | Well, this is it. Wish more companies would do that with that. Obviously, this |
| 08:08 | guy, this CFO, he did something to stand out for you to actually advocate for |
| 08:14 | him. So, what can candidates do to do that to get recruiters to actually fight |
| 08:20 | for them to be pushed and to be seen? if say, you know, they don't have that |
| 08:24 | bachelor degree or they don't have this, what can they do to build that |
| 08:28 | relationship with the recruiter? Why? |
| 08:28 | No, I'm kidding. Um, |
| 08:32 | no, no, no, no. I'm only I'm only joking. I'm only joking. Um, no, look, |
| 08:36 | it it's it's often times um just about showing value. Um, is is the way I look |
| 08:41 | at it is just about showing value. If you can come to the table and and show |
| 08:45 | okay, yep, this is why I am undeniable for this position, then the recruiter |
| 08:51 | will always go in to bat for you that the recruiter should always make that |
| 08:56 | effort to try to bridge that gap. Um, if not, then it's the wrong recruiter is is |
| 09:01 | a reality. If the recruiter can't see your relevance and will be even if they |
| 09:06 | know their client well and like I know my client won't want to talk to you and |
| 09:09 | what have you, if you're undeniable in terms of your experience, that recruiter |
| 09:13 | should push the envelope uh in my opinion. Mhm. Well, that's it. This is |
| 09:18 | what I tell a lot of um our clients is if it's a good recruiter, then they will |
| 09:25 | have that emotional intelligence to be able to see you more than what you just |
| 09:30 | put into that resume. They'll be able to read between the lines. They'll be able |
| 09:34 | to understand your value. The the problem is is that a lot of hiring |
| 09:39 | managers. Um there's no course, there's no training for this. And a lot of |
| 09:44 | hiring managers don't have that emotional intelligence. that aren't able |
| 09:47 | to connect properly. They just look at the black and white all or nothing. Um |
| 09:52 | whilst people aren't like that, there's gray areas all around. So a really good |
| 09:57 | recruiter will be able to see that, pull what they need from that and then use |
| 10:02 | that that essence that that key of that individual to either get the most out of |
| 10:10 | them or to place them in the right roles basically. Yeah. I mean, and and I would |
| 10:15 | suggest that as a candidate, if you're going through a recruiter, try to |
| 10:18 | understand if they're working with ahiring manager or HR. Um, HR can be your |
| 10:22 | best friend or your worst enemy when it comes to recruitment. Um, I've got some |
| 10:26 | amazing relationship with some incredible HR managers. I've also burnt |
| 10:30 | companies, burnt relationships because that the HR manager was insistent that |
| 10:35 | everything go through them. And the reality is in recruitment, you don't get |
| 10:39 | outcomes going through HR. You get outcomes going through hiring managers |
| 10:42 | because, you know, a hiring manager can say to a HR person, I don't think |
| 10:46 | they're right. And the HR and the HR person simply passes that information on |
| 10:51 | whereas as a recruiter, if you're dealing with a hiring manager, you can |
| 10:53 | go to them and say, look, I know you feel they're not right, but you need to |
| 10:56 | consider points A, B, C, and D, and you can workshop it and you can actually |
| 10:59 | consult to them. So, you know, the engagement with the client can often |
| 11:03 | also dictate your ability to push that envelope in this circumstance we're |
| 11:08 | talking about here where somebody might be at that road blocker for the client. |
| 11:12 | Yeah. If you if if the recruiter doesn't have a direct or even the candidate is |
| 11:15 | working through HR rather than talking directly to a hiring manager, you're |
| 11:19 | going to you're going to struggle. Um, if you can get direct direct hiring |
| 11:23 | manager access either directly or through the recruiter to talk directly |
| 11:27 | with the hiring manager, that'll be where the buck stops. It's also |
| 11:30 | important that HR has good emotional intelligence as well. Yeah, look, |
| 11:34 | they've got a job to do and I get it. They're there to provide a buffer |
| 11:37 | between recruit, you know, the recruitment process and and the hiring |
| 11:40 | manager, but at the same time, sometimes that can, you know, be chopping off your |
| 11:44 | nose to bite your face too, right? So, um, you know, it's there it's a nuanced |
| 11:50 | game, the hiring man, the hiring process. I always believe that the |
| 11:54 | hiring manager should be heavily involved in the recruitment process. |
| 11:57 | I've had before hiring managers will just be like, "No, you did the first |
| 12:00 | interview and just if you feel that they got like, well, I liked them. I think |
| 12:05 | they can do it, but I don't know exactly what your vision is for your team. I |
| 12:10 | can't ask specific questions and it's just really a waste of time if you're |
| 12:13 | not in there in the first interview because you can, you know, cut the |
| 12:17 | candidate pool by half straight away." And so I completely agree with those the |
| 12:23 | HR that hold it all to themselves and don't bring the hiring manager into it. |
| 12:29 | It's just the process becomes so much longer. A process that could go for 2 to |
| 12:33 | 3 weeks ends up going for 6 weeks because there's too many steps in the |
| 12:36 | process. And get me started on interview |
| 12:36 | processes. We'll be here for another 3 hours. |
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