In today’s commercial real estate hiring market, companies can afford to be selective. But there’s a difference between being selective and searching for someone who may not actually exist.
We’re seeing increasingly specific wish lists: the right asset class, exact years of experience, experience at a certain type of firm, the right software, local market knowledge, leadership experience—and ideally, someone who has essentially already done the exact job being hired for.
On paper, it makes sense. Hiring is expensive. Teams are lean. No one wants to make the wrong decision.
But in the pursuit of the “perfect candidate,” companies may be overlooking some of the best people in the market.
The 100% Match Is Rare
Every hiring manager has non-negotiables, and they should. Certain positions require specific technical expertise, relationships, or experience that simply can’t be learned overnight.
The challenge comes when everything becomes a non-negotiable.
Maybe an asset management candidate has managed the right portfolio size and complexity but comes from a different asset class. Maybe a development professional has handled projects from entitlement through completion but hasn’t worked in that exact geography. Or perhaps a candidate has nine of the ten things you’re looking for—but their title doesn’t quite match.
Those differences don’t necessarily make someone less qualified. In some cases, they may make the person more valuable.
Hire for What’s Hard to Teach
One of the most important questions we encourage clients to ask is:
Which parts of this job can be taught—and which can’t?
A strong candidate can learn a new software platform. They can become familiar with a new market. Someone with solid fundamentals can often transition between asset classes.
What is much harder to teach is judgment, curiosity, work ethic, communication, leadership presence, adaptability, and the ability to build relationships.
That aligns with something we’ve discussed before: technical experience may get someone into the conversation, but how they operate often determines whether they’ll ultimately succeed.
The Best Hire May Be an 85% Match
Some of the strongest hires aren’t necessarily the candidates who check every box on day one. They’re the people who meet the most important requirements and have the capacity to grow into the rest.
There’s also something to be said for hiring someone who still has room to stretch.
A candidate who views the opportunity as a meaningful next step may bring more energy, curiosity, and long-term commitment than someone who has essentially been doing the same job somewhere else for years.
The question shifts from:
“Has this person done every part of this exact job before?”
to:
“Does this person have the foundation and ability to be exceptional at this job?”
That’s a very different hiring conversation.
Know Where You’re Willing to Flex
This doesn’t mean lowering the bar. It means getting clearer about where the bar actually needs to be.
Before beginning a search, separate your requirements into three categories: what the candidate must have, what you would strongly prefer, and what would simply be nice to have.
Then be disciplined about maintaining those distinctions throughout the interview process.
If every preference slowly becomes a requirement, you can end up spending months searching for a unicorn—while strong candidates accept opportunities elsewhere.
Great Hiring Requires Some Vision
The best hiring decisions aren’t just about evaluating who a candidate is today. They’re also about recognizing who that person could become within your organization.
Commercial real estate has always valued experience, and rightly so. But in a market where teams are lean and every hire matters, companies also need people who can adapt, solve problems, build relationships, and grow with the business.
So yes, hold a high bar.
Just make sure you’re holding it for the things that will actually determine success.
Because your perfect candidate might not check every box.
And your best hire probably won’t either.