November 28, 2025

Why Hiring’s Not Like Buying a TV

Cyber Monday TV deals? Fun. Hiring top talent? Not quite.

Let’s get this out of the way: buying a TV is a delight. Tap 'Add to Cart', you’ve got Dolby Vision in 2-5 business days.

Hiring your next Head of Data? A six-month slog, three panic hires, two recruiter breakups, and still no Netflix-replacing genius on your team.

I’ve been a recruiter for 20+ years. Founder of Xist4. And every time Cyber Monday rolls around, I'm reminded: most people approach hiring with the same energy as buying a Black Friday bargain. Except people aren’t gadgets. And your next key hire isn’t a 65-inch Hisense.

Here’s why hiring isn’t like buying a TV—and what to do about it.

Spec sheets don’t tell the full story

When you buy a TV, you get a tidy list of features: 4K resolution, OLED panel, HDMI 2.1 ports. Easy. You can compare side-by-side, read the reviews and hit checkout.

But candidates? They’ve got glowing CVs, punchy LinkedIn bios, well-rehearsed answers. What you don’t see:

• How they behave under pressure
• Whether they’re collaborative or quietly toxic
• If they'll thrive—or just survive—within your culture
• How well they handle ambiguity (critical in start-ups & scale-ups)

This is why so many “technically brilliant” hires crash and burn. You hire the spec sheet. But not the person behind it.

🔥 Takeaway:

Go beyond CVs and GitHub profiles. Build interview stages that test real-world skills, yes, but also collaboration, autonomy, curiosity. Hire humans—not features.

You can’t return the wrong hire in 30 days

If your new TV doesn’t work, you box it up and send it back. Refund processed. Job done.

If your new Data Engineer turns out to be a mis-hire?

• Morale dips
• Team dynamics suffer
• Output slows
• You lose 3–9 months of progress (and £10k–£50k, easily)

The cost of a bad hire compounds in a fast-moving business. That shiny new title isn’t just a seat in Slack—it’s momentum, trust, capability. When it’s wrong, it sets you back more than money.

🔥 Takeaway:

Invest in process. Don't rush it to ‘get butts on seats’. Define success up front, map out onboarding, and loop the right people into hiring decisions. Think long-term, not quick fix.

Cheap shortcuts cost more later

Ever bought a budget telly and realised, six months in, that the colours are off, the UI is trash, and the remote hasn’t worked since day three?

Same with hiring. Chasing the cheapest salary or the quickest hire often leads to regret.

“But we found someone for £30k less!”

Cool. But if they take twice as long, need handholding, or bounce in month four, you’ve just overpaid in opportunity cost. Meanwhile, your competitors hired competency—and pulled ahead.

💡 Questions to ask internally:

• Are we hiring for today’s needs—or tomorrow’s scale?
• Where’s the real value: salary saved, or output delivered?
• Are we attracting builders—or burnouts?

🔥 Takeaway:

You don’t need to pay Google salaries. But you do need to be realistic. Hire quality over speed. Invest up front, reap compound returns.

A 5-star review doesn’t mean fit-for-purpose

Everyone wants the best-rated product. But “best” is contextual.

The LG G5 OLED might be epic in a sleek bachelor pad with mood lighting—but try watching Sunday football with the family in a bright conservatory? That matte Samsung might’ve been the one.

Same deal in hiring. Someone great at Barclays won’t automatically thrive at your 25-person fintech. Your environment is different:

• Speed
• Ambiguity
• Lack of formal process
• Need for hands-on doing, not just strategic thinking

Past performance ≠ future fit.

🔥 Takeaway:

Define what success looks like for you. Not what looks good in theory. Create role scorecards, prioritise must-haves vs nice-to-haves. Hire for your operating reality—not someone else’s highlight reel.

You’re not just buying output—you’re shaping team energy

A TV doesn’t affect morale (unless it's stuck on ITV2). But people? Their energy, attitude and behaviours ripple across your entire business.

Your next Head of Engineering will either raise the tide or become dead weight. Your new BI Lead might ignite collaboration—or drain it overnight.

The sneakiest cost of recruiting wrong isn’t productivity—it’s culture erosion.

🔥 Takeaway:

Don’t optimise for individuals only—optimise for systems. Ask yourself:

• How will this person complement existing strengths?
• What happens if they become the leadership model?
• Will they make others better—or busier?

Hire like your culture depends on it. Because it does.

Conclusion: Stop treating hiring like eCommerce

Your business isn't a checkout basket. Your most important hires aren't line items with HDMI ports. And the cost of hiring badly? Far more than a dodgy screen.

So next time you're tempted to 'click and confirm' a candidate because “they seemed good and we need someone”… breathe.

Remember:

• Culture > credentials
• Fit > flash
• Process > panic

Or better still—get in touch. At Xist4, we speak fluent scale-up, and we know how to match real humans to real problems. No dodgy remotes. Just talent that fits.

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