Especially when 90% of my industry treats hiring like speed dating – quick introductions, surface-level matches, and zero accountability for what happens after.
Read the 4th edition of “Hiring Files” by Irina Potok, CEO and Founder of Hire Virtuals to learn why a good recruiter is more of a detective than resume matchmaker.
Monday: Client calls. “I need a bookkeeper”
Tuesday: Post generic job description on 12 job boards.
Wednesday: Collect 47 applications. Filter by keywords.
Thursday: Send top 8 resumes to client. “Here are your candidates!”
Friday: Invoice sent when someone gets hired.
Result: Client hires someone who looks good on paper, realizes in week 3 they don’t understand the business, and starts the search again in month 6.
And it is not like approach does not work. Traditional recruitment works for a lot of businesses!
Where it works best: ONLY when you know exactly what you need, have clear job descriptions, and the role is fairly standard in your industry.
Traditional: Take job description at face value. Us: Investigate what you actually need.
Recent example: Client said “I need a virtual assistant.”
After detective work, discovered: Law firm partner spending 12 hours/week organizing medical records at $400/hour rate. That’s $250,000 annual opportunity cost.
Real need: Medical-legal coordinator who understands PI cases, not generic VA.
The difference: Job descriptions lie. Business needs don’t.
Here’s what’s invisible: To find 1 perfect candidate, we screen 50+ applications and have deep conversations with at least 5 qualified people.
Candidate 1: Great experience, wrong timezone. Pass.
Candidate 2: Right timezone, too informal for legal environment. Pass.
Candidate 3: Perfect on paper, doesn’t understand confidentiality. Hard pass.
Candidate 4: All qualifications met, wants different hours. Pass.
Candidate 5: Medical-legal background, EST hours, understands attorney-client privilege, perfect communication style. Match.
What we’re really doing: Matching business personalities with individual work styles.
Traditional end point: “Congratulations, you hired someone!” Our starting point: “Now let’s make sure they succeed long-term.”
Week 1-2: 2-week trial period (no payment required)
Week 3-4: Process integration and workflow setup
Month 2-3: Backup training and optimization
Why this matters: We’re building your team infrastructure, not just filling a role.
Our investment per placement: 35-50 hours across all three phases
Traditional recruiter investment: 5-8 hours (mostly phase 2)
Success rates:
Large companies have HR departments to handle phases 1 and 3. They can use transactional recruiting.
Small businesses need recruiters who act like internal team members – understanding your business, culture, and long-term needs.
The difference:
Phase 1: “What would have to happen for this hire to pay for itself in 30 days?”
Phase 2: “How do you handle pressure?” (to candidates)
Phase 3: “How can we make this person even more valuable?”
Traditional recruiters ask: “Do you have experience with [software]?”
Traditional model: Get paid when someone gets hired. Result: Optimized for quick placements.
Our model: Get paid monthly, only if VA performs long-term. Result: Optimized for lasting success.
Simple truth: When our success depends on your VA still crushing it in month 6, we do whatever it takes to make that happen.
Small businesses don’t need recruiters who disappear after placement. You need partners invested in long-term success.
That’s what all three phases are actually about.
