When a position stays open for six months, the conclusion you hear most is “those people cannot be found”. It is rarely true. In most mandates we take over, the profile exists: something else is blocking.
1. The wage is not where you think
It is the most frequent cause, and the hardest to hear. A wage that was fine three years ago is not any more, and it varies sharply from one region to another for the same occupation.
Before concluding there is a shortage, compare what you offer to what companies in your region actually pay for that specific role. Nobody will volunteer that information, least of all the candidates who decline.
2. The job title does not match the tasks
Two companies advertising “operator” are not talking about the same trade. An ad written from the title rather than from the real task description attracts people who do not fit, and puts off the ones who would.
3. You are searching too close to home
A region’s pool is limited, but Canadian mobility is not. Many employers search within a thirty-minute radius, when the real question is not distance: it is whether a candidate is genuinely willing to move, and on what conditions.
4. Nobody verifies what is written
A candidate writes “TIG” on their résumé. On which materials, at what thicknesses, in which positions, and how recently? Without those answers, the interview is spent discovering gaps that a fifteen-minute screen would have revealed.
5. The shift is accepted out of politeness
“Yes, nights are fine”, said in an interview, means nothing until you have talked about transport, childcare and what the person currently does. It is one of the leading reasons people leave during the trial period.
6. The mandate is repeated unchanged
A search that fails three times with the same criteria will fail a fourth. Every rejection, yours and the candidates’, contains information. A serious mandate gets recalibrated: the criteria, the wage, the mobility required, or the timeline.
And if the profile really does not exist here
It happens, and that is when the international route becomes a serious option rather than an escape. Even then, you first have to check that a route is open for your position, your region and your wage. An excellent candidate for whom no route exists is not a candidate.