Lateral hiring is a term that comes up often in recruiting and workforce planning. But it’s not always clearly understood. For some teams, it’s a deliberate strategy. For others, it’s something they’re already doing without giving it a name.

As organizations scale, change direction, or fill capability gaps, recruiters are increasingly asked to hire experienced talent who can step into roles at a similar level to where they are today. While that doesn’t sound particularly strange or noteworthy, it does have real implications in recruiting conversations. 

Understanding lateral hiring helps recruiters and HR leaders make more intentional decisions about talent strategy. This article explains the definition of lateral hiring, how it differs from other types of hiring, and what it means in practice for recruiting teams.

3 key takeaways

• Lateral hiring focuses on bringing in experienced professionals at a similar level, not promoting or leveling up.
• It’s commonly used when teams need immediate expertise or lack internal pipelines.
• Lateral hiring has strategic implications for recruiting, retention, and workforce planning.

What is lateral hiring?

Lateral hiring means recruiting candidates into roles that are at roughly the same level of responsibility, seniority, and scope as their current or most recent position. Unlike promotions or entry-level hiring, lateral hiring doesn’t promise a step up immediately. It’s about bringing in proven experience that can make an immediate impact.

In practice, this often means hiring someone with similar years of experience, comparable job scope, and established skills, even if the role is at a different company or on a different team. For example, hiring a senior software engineer from another company into a senior engineer role.

For recruiters and HR leaders, lateral hiring is less about career progression and more about role readiness. It’s a way to fill gaps quickly, introduce new perspectives, or strengthen teams with people who can perform at the required level from day one.

Lateral recruiting meaning: key components

At its core, lateral recruiting is about alignment rather than advancement. The candidate’s experience, responsibilities, and impact closely match the requirements of the open role, even if the company, team, or context is different.

Lateral hires are typically expected to contribute quickly, with minimal ramp-up compared to more junior hires. Because of this, recruiters often prioritize demonstrated skills, prior decision-making experience, and familiarity with similar environments. 

The focus is less on potential and more on proven capability.

Key components include:

• Similar level and scope. The role is comparable in seniority, responsibility, and impact to the candidate’s current or most recent position.
• Proven, role-ready experience. Lateral hires are expected to contribute quickly, with less ramp-up than entry-level or stretch hires.
• Focus on current capability, not potential. Evaluation emphasizes demonstrated skills and past decision making, rather than future growth potential.
• Transferable expertise. Skills and experience translate directly to the new role, even if the company, team, or industry differs.
• Growth happens after entry. While the move itself is lateral, long-term development and progression depend on how the role evolves over time.

Importantly, lateral recruiting doesn’t imply stagnation. While the initial move is sideways, long-term growth still depends on how the organization supports development, scope expansion, and future progression.

Lateral hiring vs. other hiring types

Lateral hiring is often confused with other forms of hiring, but the distinctions matter for workforce planning and candidate expectations: 

• Lateral hiring vs. internal promotions: Promotions involve increased scope, responsibility, or level. Lateral hiring maintains roughly the same level while changing context.
• Lateral hiring vs. entry-level hiring: Entry-level hiring targets early-career talent with limited experience. Lateral hiring focuses on established professionals.
• Lateral hiring vs. succession hiring: Succession hiring prepares candidates for future leadership roles, whereas lateral hiring addresses immediate role needs.
• Lateral hiring vs. general external hiring: Not all external hires are lateral. External hiring can include lateral, upward, or transitional moves depending on the role and candidate.

Understanding these differences helps recruiters choose the right approach for each role. And it’s particularly important as you make your pitch.

When is lateral hiring used?

Organizations typically use lateral hiring when they need expertise quickly. This might happen during periods of rapid growth, organizational change, or when adopting new technologies or operating models.

Lateral hiring is also common when internal talent pipelines aren’t ready, or when teams need specific domain knowledge they don’t currently have. In these cases, promoting from within may create gaps elsewhere or introduce too much risk.

For recruiters, lateral hiring is most effective when expectations are clear: the role, level, and success criteria should be well-defined so candidates understand they’re being hired for what they can do now. And they’re not angling for rapid promotion.

Benefits of lateral hiring

Lateral hiring can be an effective way to strengthen teams quickly, especially when organizations need immediate capability rather than long-term development.

It offers several advantages, because organizations get experienced talent that can contribute quickly:

• Faster time to impact. Lateral hires typically require less ramp-up as they’ve already performed similar work in comparable environments.
• Immediate access to proven skills. Recruiters can fill gaps without waiting for internal development or promotions to take effect.
• Fresh perspectives and best practices. Candidates bring insights from other teams, companies, or industries that can strengthen how work gets done.
• Flexibility during periods of change. Lateral hiring is especially useful during growth, reorgs, or when teams adopt new technologies.
• Reduced delivery risk. Hiring someone who has done the job before lowers uncertainty compared to stretch or first-time roles.

Finally, it can give recruiters and HR leaders a way to balance internal continuity with external insight.

Challenges and risks of lateral hiring

Despite its benefits, lateral hiring comes with trade-offs that recruiters need to manage carefully: 

• Expectation misalignment. Candidates may expect advancement despite the role being lateral, leading to disappointment if growth paths aren’t clear.
• Retention concerns. Without visible future opportunities, lateral hires may view the role as a short-term move.
• Impact on internal mobility. Overuse of lateral hiring can signal limited advancement opportunities to existing employees.
• Cultural and contextual fit. Even experienced hires need to adapt to new norms, systems, and ways of working.
• Compensation pressure. Lateral hires often come with higher salary expectations or arrive near the top of wage bands. This can affect pay equity between employees, and can present issues during annual reviews.

From an HR perspective, over-reliance on lateral hiring can also affect perceptions of internal mobility if existing employees feel advancement opportunities are limited.

How recruiters should approach lateral hiring

As a starting point, recruiters must set fair expectations from the beginning. Align with hiring managers on what “lateral” truly means for the role, including scope, level, and success criteria.

Recruiters should also ensure interviews focus on current capability, role readiness, and team fit. You gain little (and risk setting the wrong expectations) by delving too much into future potential.

Clear communication with candidates is equally important. When recruiters are upfront about why the role is lateral and how growth happens over time, candidates can make informed decisions and enter the role with realistic expectations.

Lateral hiring works best when it’s part of a broader workforce strategy, not a default hiring mode. For HR leaders, this means balancing lateral hiring with internal development, promotions, and succession planning. 

Lateral hiring can fill immediate gaps, while internal mobility supports retention and long-term capability building. The goal isn’t to choose one approach, but to use lateral hiring intentionally alongside other talent strategies.

Lateral hiring is a valuable tool, when used well

Lateral hiring is neither inherently good nor bad. It’s simply one in a range of tools and approaches. When used intentionally, it helps organizations bring in experienced talent quickly and address immediate needs.

For recruiters and HR leaders, understanding the meaning of lateral hiring makes it easier to set expectations, design fair processes, and align hiring decisions with broader workforce goals. 

Clarity turns lateral hiring from a vague concept into a strategic advantage.

Lateral recruiting FAQs

Is lateral hiring the same as lateral movement?

Not exactly. Lateral hiring typically involves bringing in external candidates at a similar level. Lateral movement often refers to internal role changes, and doesn’t technically involve hiring at all. 

Does lateral hiring limit career growth?

Not necessarily. While the initial move is sideways, growth depends on how roles evolve and how organizations support development after hire.

Is lateral hiring more expensive than entry-level hiring?

Often yes, due to higher compensation expectations. But it can reduce costs related to ramp-up time, training, and productivity.

When should companies avoid lateral hiring?

When internal talent is ready for promotion, or when long-term development is a higher priority than immediate expertise.