The Fintech Hiring Brief That Looks Good on Paper but Misses the Right Candidates

 

A fintech company shares a hiring brief for a product leader. It asks for ten years of experience, a background in payments, time at a recognised brand and a record of launching products at scale.

The brief looks thorough. Recruiters know which CVs to search for, and the hiring team agrees on the requirements. Yet weeks later, the shortlist feels weak. Candidates who meet every condition are scarce, while several interesting profiles have been screened out.

The problem may be the brief itself. It describes where the ideal candidate has worked, but says little about what the person needs to accomplish.

Familiar Names Can Hide Important Differences

Two candidates may have the same title at similar fintech companies and have done very different jobs. One may have owned a product from idea to launch. The other may have improved a small part of a well-established platform.

Neither experience is automatically better. It depends on the work waiting for the new hire. If the company needs someone to build a product with limited resources, experience inside a large, well-supported team may not be the closest match.

A stronger brief explains the challenge: perhaps improving customer onboarding, building a new lending journey or leading a product team through a period of change. That gives recruiters something more useful to assess than a list of employer names.

“Must Have” Requirements Can Become Barriers

Industry experience can matter, particularly when a role requires detailed knowledge of a financial product. But hiring teams should examine each requirement before making it mandatory.

Could someone from insurance technology or another regulated product business bring relevant experience? Does the role truly require ten years of experience, or does the company need evidence that a candidate has led a team through two or three comparable challenges?

This does not mean lowering standards. It means setting standards that relate directly to success in the job.

Separate the Work from the Wish List

Before publishing a fintech hiring brief, ask the hiring manager to describe three outcomes expected in the first six to twelve months. Then work backwards:

• Which skills are essential to deliver those outcomes?
• Which experiences would help but could be learned?
• What decisions will the person own?
• What support will they have from other teams?

The result is a clearer brief for recruiters and a more honest opportunity for candidates. It can also reveal when the company has combined two different jobs into one vacancy.

Give Interviewers the Same Definition of Success

A better brief only helps if the interview process follows it. Each interviewer should know which capability they are assessing and ask candidates for examples of work they personally delivered.

At SilverPeople, we begin by understanding the business need behind a fintech role. That helps us identify candidates whose achievements match the challenge, including people whose career paths may look different from the original wish list.

A hiring brief should help you find the right person. If it only describes a familiar CV, it may cause you to miss them.