In the food & consumer goods, engineering and agriculture industries, time is always short. And when hiring ramps up, it’s tempting to stick to a clean, efficient process: scan resumes, match job descriptions, move on. 

But here’s what we’ve seen over and over again, especially in the fast-paced, high-pressure Chicago market – the best hires often start with a conversation that reveals something the resume couldn’t. 

Why Proactivity Changes the Game 

Think about the last few great hires you made. Did all of them tick every box on paper? 

Chances are, at least one started out as a “maybe”, until someone picked up the phone, asked the right questions, and uncovered real potential. 

Our team champions these moments. We’ve seen operations leaders, FSQA managers and packaging engineers move from longshot to linchpin – not because they matched every bullet point, but because someone took 10 minutes to hear their story. 

That’s when hiring stops being transactional and becomes strategic. 

Your Advantage? Proactive Conversations 

When candidates take the initiative to reach out – or when your recruitment partner says, “I know they’re not a perfect match, but hear me out” – that’s your signal to pause. 

These interactions can reveal: 

• Context that resumes can’t capture 

• Motivation, adaptability, and cultural fit 

• Skills that transfer across systems, lines, or even sectors 

The Real Risk Isn’t Saying Yes – It’s Not Exploring 

Hiring leaders often worry about wasting time on the “wrong” candidates – but in a talent-constrained market like Chicago, the greater risk is being too quick to say no. 

We’ve seen it happen: a promising candidate is passed over without further consideration because their experience doesn’t fit the spec exactly, and two months later, the role is still open, KPIs are under pressure, and the team is stretched thin. 

Exploratory conversations don’t just help you assess talent; they widen the lens. They give you space to spot high-potential candidates who aren’t obvious on paper, but who bring the adaptability, people skills, and drive that no resume template can fully capture. 

The cost of a bad hire is high. But so is the cost of not hiring someone who could have grown into your best team member, if only they’d been given a chance to speak. 

Make Room for the Unexpected 

• Encourage early conversations – even if the profile isn’t perfect. 

• Give your recruiter or other members of our hiring team room to challenge the spec (politely!) 

• Track outcomes, not assumptions – some wild card applicants can become your most dependable hires if you take the time to understand them. 

And as Howard Schultz, ex CEO of Starbucks reminds us, “Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can’t tell you whether someone will fit into a company’s culture or values.” 

The bottom line is, early conversations could increase your hiring ROI and uncover untapped potential in your current pipeline – so don’t shy away from them.