You have found a candidate that has all the earmarks of great success. He has:

• Demonstrated the ability to perform under great pressure
• Racked up a number of big, impressive wins
• Has a marquee name
• Competed a global stage with the best of his peers

You engage and hire said candidate. Then everything falls apart – why? Of all things, you failed to get to know your candidate at the personal level. This might have happened to you – but it also recently happened to Nike and Rafael Nadal.

Recruiters can learn a few things from such a “snafu”:

• Don’t play up your candidate’s skill and accomplishments. To do so, can cause you to miss fatal flaws
• Do focus on how they accomplished things, what drives them. These are formulas that have worked, tinker with them at your own risk. Better yet, how can you replicate that environment?
• Articulate and document your organization’s culture. Map the gap between their prior environments and yours.
• If there are risks, call them out to your clients. Don’t assume that they are known.

Big talent does involve big risk, to be sure. However, it should also be accompanied by big investment in knowing your marquee candidate. Don’t double-fault.