Case Study · Executive Search

Persistence Over a Quick Fix



A director-level commercial leadership search, told in one page: what happens when the job ad doesn’t work and you go direct instead.

1

The problem

A job-board ad hadn’t surfaced the right person — and the calibre of applicants wasn’t matching the seniority of the role.

2

What we did differently

We went direct. Mapped the market for the right background, most of whom weren’t job-hunting and would never have seen the ad, and approached them proactively.

3

The result

Several strong candidates interviewed. Not every good candidate is the right one — and this client ended up with someone genuinely right, not just first.

~4months, start to signed contract
Longer than a job ad might take to produce a first round of applicants — and that’s the point. A job ad gives you speed and whoever happens to apply. A direct search gives you the person who actually fits.

Job Ad
Speed, from whoever applies
Fast to launch. Reach is limited to active job-seekers who happen to see the post.

Direct Search
Fit, from the whole market
Takes longer. Reaches the people who actually match — including those not looking at all.

When this approach makes sense

The role has already been advertised without success.

The calibre of applicants isn’t matching the seniority of the role.

The cost of getting the hire wrong is high enough to justify taking longer.

If that sounds like where you’re at, we’re happy to talk through whether the same approach would work for your search.

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