In our experience, so much is down to cultural fit and not just technical expertise. This mandate was challenging from many angles and our client had already discounted everyone in their own domestic market.  We spent a day in our client’s offices being briefed by the leadership team. This gave us a tremendous understanding of the DNA of the firm, what had made them so successful and how we could attract the right candidate to join them. Our research, managed out of our London office, was global in coverage. We were never deterred by the regular response from our sources “that is an impossible mix”. We looked at step up candidates and some individuals who did not have all the experience as detailed by the job specification.

This was genuinely a very short “short list”, due to the nature of the assignment. However, we did find the candidate (a diverse hire!) who fulfilled all aspects of our brief and our client relocated them from Paris to Frankfurt to take up the role. It is always testament to having made the right choice when a client’s feedback is consistently positive over the early months, a year later and many years on. Likewise, having relocated the candidate from one country to another, it is rewarding to know that they have established themselves as a valued member of the team.