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If you’re a CFO or finance leader, you’ve likely been here before: It’s 6:45 p.m., your inbox is still flooded, month-end close is looming, and you’re about to jump on your third interview of the day for a controller role that’s been open for months. You’re overworked, your team is stretched thin, and worst of all—none of the candidates so far have been the right fit.
The problem? You’re over-interviewing and under-hiring.
In a labor market where financial talent is harder to find, engage, and land than ever before, finance leaders are burning precious hours cycling through interviews without reaching a successful hire. The talent pipeline looks busy—but it’s not moving. And the cost of that stagnation is stacking up fast: from missed deadlines and late reporting to burnout and turnover.
Let’s break down what’s causing the over-interviewing epidemic—and how partnering with a specialized staffing firm like Artemis can help you hire smarter, faster, and with more confidence.
The Over-Interviewing Trap: Why It Happens
There’s nothing wrong with being selective—especially when it comes to finance hires. One wrong hire in a role like FP&A, audit, or accounting can have major downstream effects on compliance, forecasting accuracy, and team morale. But for many CFOs, the selection process becomes a bottleneck because of three common challenges:
1. High Standards, But Low Alignment
It’s one thing to want someone strategic, proactive, and technically strong. It’s another thing to expect a CPA with Big 4 experience, a SaaS background, NetSuite certification, and strong Excel modeling—who also wants under-market compensation. Too often, hiring managers don’t clarify their true priorities until they’ve already burned through 5–10 interviews.
2. Bad Pipelines Look Busy
Most internal recruiting teams or generic staffing firms push resumes to fill quotas, not solve problems. You end up with volume over value: candidates who check the keywords but lack the finance acumen, culture fit, or leadership potential you actually need.
3. Paralysis by Analysis
When a search drags on for weeks or months, decision fatigue sets in. Stakeholders overanalyze each candidate’s resume, background, or minor red flags. Interviews become comparison contests instead of decision tools—and the strongest candidates move on before offers are made.
The Hidden Cost of Over-Interviewing
Spending hours each week on interviews that go nowhere isn’t just inefficient—it’s expensive.
- Lost Productivity - If you or your controller are spending 5+ hours a week on interviews, that’s 5+ hours not spent on analysis, planning, or closing the books.
- Delayed Initiatives - New systems, audits, and transformation projects get postponed because there’s no one to lead or execute them.
- Candidate Drop-Off - Top talent is off the market in as little as 10–14 days. If you take 3–4 weeks to decide, you’ll lose your best options.
- Team Burnout - When roles remain unfilled, the pressure lands on your existing staff—causing frustration, overwork, and eventually attrition.
Let’s face it: CFOs can’t afford to hire slowly and hope for the best.
What Great Finance Hiring Should Look Like
Hiring in finance is a high-stakes game. Accuracy matters. Culture fit matters. Speed also matters.
Here’s what effective finance recruiting looks like:
- A Clear Role Definition - Understanding the “must-haves” vs. “nice-to-haves” so everyone’s aligned from day one.
- Strategic Sourcing - Targeting passive, high-quality candidates in relevant industries and systems, not just job board applicants.
- Tight Screening - A staffing partner who pre-vets candidates for technical skills, situational judgment, and communication before you ever meet them.
- Streamlined Process - A two- to three-step interview cycle that’s decisive, fair, and fast.
- Post-Placement Support - Ongoing check-ins to ensure the candidate is delivering value and ramping up as expected.
And that’s where a headhunting firm like Artemis comes in.
How Artemis Solves the Interview Bottleneck
At Artemis, we specialize in breaking the over-interviewing cycle for CFOs and finance leaders. Here’s how we do it:
✅ We Know Finance
Our recruiters aren’t generalists—they’re experts in placing roles like Controllers, Senior Accountants, FP&A Analysts, Revenue Managers, and more. We understand the nuances between technical accounting and strategic finance, between public company reporting and startup fundraising.
✅ We Pre-Screen Relentlessly
You won’t waste time interviewing B-players. We assess every candidate for financial acumen, relevant systems experience, industry fit, communication, and leadership potential before they reach your calendar.
✅ We Customize the Pipeline
We don’t just flood your inbox with resumes. Instead, we deliver 2–4 highly curated, pre-screened candidates who are aligned to your role, goals, and budget.
✅ We Move Fast
Our average time to shortlist is under 5 business days. That means no long waits, no ghosting, and no missed opportunities.
✅ We Offer Flexibility
Whether you need direct hire, contract, or contract-to-hire, we adapt to your budget, timelines, and headcount constraints—especially during hiring freezes or bandwidth crunches.
Real Example: Controller Search at a $200M Healthcare Group
One CFO client came to us after spending 3 months and 25 interviews trying to hire a Controller. They were exhausted, the audit was behind, and the team was demoralized. Within 4 business days, Artemis submitted 3 pre-screened candidates, all of whom had healthcare industry experience, NetSuite proficiency, and a history of successful audit preparation.
We scheduled all interviews within 48 hours, facilitated feedback sessions, and helped the client make a confident hire in under 10 days.
The best part? The new Controller reduced audit prep time by 35% in their first 90 days.
The Bottom Line: It’s Time to Hire Smarter
CFOs are under more pressure than ever to deliver accurate forecasts, lead digital transformations, reduce costs, and build agile finance teams. But without the right talent in place, it’s impossible to move forward.
Over-interviewing doesn’t signal thoroughness—it signals a broken process.
If your calendar is full of interviews but your team is still short-staffed, it’s time to partner with experts who can do the heavy lifting, deliver stronger candidates, and help you make faster, better hiring decisions.
Let Artemis help you break the cycle—because you’ve got more important things to do than schedule another second-round interview that goes nowhere.
Ready to Stop Over-Interviewing and Start Hiring?
Let’s talk. Whether you need one critical finance hire or a full team of interim professionals, Artemis is here to help you build bandwidth, reduce burnout, and hire with confidence
