Can't Find Good People to Hire: What's Actually Wrong
Six hires in 18 months, none worked? Your hiring process is broken - not the talent pool.
Six Hires In, Still No Keeper
You’ve been through 6 hires in 18 months. None of them worked out. Some quit. Some you fired. Some just gradually stopped performing until you had to let them go.
You’re starting to believe good people don’t exist anymore. Everyone wants remote work with high pay and no accountability. The talent pool is broken. Maybe building a team is impossible for someone at your size.
You’re exhausted from hiring. And you’re running out of faith that the next person will be different.
This happens to over 65% of agency owners at the $132K/year mark who are trying to make their first successful hire - and the ones who fix it don’t do it by “finding better people.” They fix their hiring process before posting another job.
What You Think Is Wrong vs What’s Actually Wrong
What you think: Good people don’t exist. Everyone wants unrealistic conditions and nobody is willing to actually work.
What’s actually wrong: Your hiring process is broken. You’re hiring too fast, writing vague job descriptions, skipping test projects, not checking references, and unclear on what success actually looks like.
Here’s what’s happening: You need help desperately. You post a job description that’s basically “SEO specialist needed.” You get 50 applications. You skim resumes for 2 minutes each. You interview 5 people, asking generic questions. Someone seems smart and enthusiastic. You hire them.
Week 1: They seem good.
Week 3: Something feels off
Week 6: They’re not getting it
Week 10: You’re redoing their work
Week 14: You let them go
Then you repeat the cycle. Because you never fixed the process that selected the wrong person in the first place.
The problem isn’t the talent pool - it’s that you have no system for identifying the right person. You’re hiring based on gut feeling, not evidence. A great technical person might be terrible at client communication. A self-starter in one context might need heavy management in another.
You’re not selecting for what you actually need. You’re selecting for who interviews well.
The Reframe That Changes Everything
The problem isn’t finding good people - it’s that you don’t have a system for identifying them. A great tech person might be terrible at client service. Define exactly what “good” means for THIS role.
Think about the difference:
Generic hiring: “I need someone who’s good at SEO.”
Gets you technical people who can’t communicate with clients
Or relationship people who can’t execute technical work
Or self-directed people who your business can’t support yet
Or hand-holding people when you need independence
Specific hiring: “I need someone who can:
Audit client sites for technical SEO issues
Explain findings to non-technical clients clearly
Implement fixes without daily oversight.”
Now you know what to test for
Now you can design interview questions that reveal capability
Now you can create a paid test project that proves they can do it
Now you can define what success looks like in 30/60/90 days
This means “good people” exist - but you’ve been looking for the wrong thing. Define the specific capabilities you need, then build a process that reveals who has them.
Do This Today (The Immediate Fix)
Before posting your next job, you need to define what you actually need.
Step 1: Document Exact Tasks (20 minutes)
Don’t write a job title. Write down every task this person will actually do in a typical week.
Not: “SEO Specialist”
Actually:
Conduct technical SEO audits for 3-5 client sites monthly
Write audit reports explaining issues in non-technical language
Prioritize fixes based on impact
Implement on-page optimizations
Communicate progress to clients in bi-weekly emails
Track rankings and report monthly
Be specific. “Manage clients” isn’t a task. “Send bi-weekly progress emails to clients” is a task.
Step 2: Identify the 3 Core Skills (10 minutes)
Look at your task list. What are the 3 skills those tasks actually require?
For the SEO example:
Technical SEO knowledge (can identify and fix technical issues)
Non-technical communication (can explain complex topics simply)
Self-management (can work independently without daily oversight)
These become your testing criteria. You need to see evidence of all three.
Step 3: Design ONE Paid Test Project (15 minutes)
Create a small paid project ($50-$100) that requires all 3 core skills.
For the SEO role:
“Here’s a real client site: [URL]. Conduct a technical SEO audit (1-2 hours max). Deliver: (1) List of top 5 issues found, (2) One-page explanation written for a non-technical client, (3) Recommended priority order with reasoning. Payment: $75 upon completion.”
This reveals:
Can they actually do technical audits? (Skill 1)
Can they communicate findings clearly? (Skill 2)
Did they complete it without hand-holding? (Skill 3)
Now you have evidence, not just an interview charm.
Quality Check:
Before posting your next job, verify:
I’ve documented actual tasks (not just a job title)
I’ve identified 3 core skills those tasks require
I’ve created a paid test that demonstrates all 3 skills
I’ve defined what “pass” looks like for the test
If ANY of these is missing, you’re still hiring based on gut feeling.
The 7-Day Protocol (Complete Solution)
The immediate fix prepares you for better hiring. This protocol builds your complete hiring system.
Day 1: Complete Task Documentation
List every responsibility this role will own. Get granular:
Daily tasks
Weekly tasks
Monthly tasks
Quarterly tasks
Then for each task, note:
How much time it takes
What the deliverable is
What “good” looks like
Total the hours. If it’s more than 30 hours weekly, you’re hiring for two roles. Split it.
Day 2: Define 30/60/90 Day Success
What does success look like at each milestone?
30 days:
Can complete [specific task] with minimal guidance
Understands our quality standards
Asks good questions before starting work
60 days:
Owns [specific area] with <2 hours of oversight weekly
Proactively identifies problems
Delivers work needing <10% revision
90 days:
Fully independent on core responsibilities
Contributes ideas for improvement
Could train someone else on their tasks
This becomes your evaluation scorecard. No more vague “they’re not working out.”
Day 3: Write a Job Description That Scares Bad Fits
Most job descriptions attract everyone. You want to attract only the right people.
Include:
Exact tasks (not vague responsibilities)
Required capabilities (not just “experience”)
What makes this hard (be honest)
What type of person won’t succeed here
Example:
“This role is NOT for you if:
You need daily direction and hand-holding
You prefer working on one thing at a time (you’ll juggle 3-5 clients)
You don’t like explaining technical concepts to non-technical people
You’re looking for ‘growth opportunities’ immediately (this is execution-focused)”
Good candidates will self-select in. Bad fits will self-select out. Saves you both time.
Day 4: Build Your Paid Test Project
Expand on the immediate fix. Design a project that:
Takes 2-4 hours max
Mirrors the actual work they’ll do
Requires all core skills
Has clear pass/fail criteria
Pays $50-$150
Calculate the cost: If testing 5 candidates costs $500 but prevents one bad hire (which costs $5,000+ in time and turnover), that’s a 10x ROI on the test.
Make the test hard enough that only 1-2 out of 5 pass. That’s your signal.
Day 5: Create 5 Behavioral Interview Questions
You need questions that reveal past behavior, not hypothetical responses.
Bad: “How would you handle a difficult client?” Good: “Tell me about a time a client was unhappy with your work. What happened? What did you do? What was the outcome?”
Design questions that probe for:
Self-management: “Tell me about a project where you had minimal oversight...”
Problem-solving: “Describe a time you faced an unexpected technical issue...”
Communication: “Give me an example of explaining something technical to a non-technical person...”
Culture fit: “What type of work environment helps you do your best work?”
Red flags: “Why are you leaving your current role?”
Listen for specifics. Vague answers are red flags.
Day 6: Design 90-Day Probation Scorecard
Create a simple scorecard you’ll review weekly for first 90 days:
Week 1-4 Focus: Learning and integration
Completed onboarding checklist? (Y/N)
Asked clarifying questions proactively? (Y/N)
First tasks met the quality bar? (Y/N)
Week 5-8 Focus: Independence
Completing tasks without daily check-ins? (Y/N)
Is output quality improving? (Y/N)
Taking ownership of the assigned area? (Y/N)
Week 9-12 Focus: Contribution
Fully independent on core tasks? (Y/N)
Contributing improvement ideas? (Y/N)
Ready to expand responsibilities? (Y/N)
If they’re not hitting marks by Week 8, you know. Don’t wait 6 months to admit it’s not working.
Day 7: Map Your Complete Hiring Pipeline
Document the process end-to-end:
Source: Where you’ll post (Upwork, LinkedIn, niche Slack groups)
Screen: Resume review criteria (must-haves vs. nice-to-haves)
Test: Paid project sent to promising candidates
Interview: Top 2-3 performers from the test get a full interview
References: Actually call them, ask specific questions
Hire: 90-day probation with weekly scorecard reviews
Now it’s repeatable. Next time you hire, you follow the system instead of winging it.
Go Deeper: The Complete Framework
This solves the immediate problem - building a hiring process that identifies the right people instead of relying on gut feeling.
But if you want the complete system for hiring someone who can own outcomes and grow with your business:
Hire Your First Mini-CEO shows you how to hire someone who thinks like an owner, build them into a true second-in-command, and create a team that operates at a high level without you managing every decision.
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