Balancing company and the hiring manager needs with candidate career aspirations is critical and should never be overlooked. Hiring managers are often too quick to pass on a candidate if they are not perfectly center of the bullseye. On the flip side, candidates might overlook opportunities that can get them to where they want to be, if it isn't exactly what they had in mind. As recruiters, it is our job to show both sides, the opportunity that is right in front of them! How do you do that? From the hiring manager side, I try to tell the story of why a candidate could be a great fit, outside of a resume or LinkedIn page. Get down to the human level, and share why there is more potential than what they think/see on paper. On the candidate side, I always advise that careers aren't always linear, and that is okay. Going from point A to point B, might take many different paths, and might end up leading to somewhere completely different, and that is not only okay, but a big opportunity! Candidates should always keep an open mind!