Clients often ask how a shortlist can be delivered in three days when the market says three weeks. The honest answer is that most of the work happened before the mandate arrived.
A live market map beats a fresh search
For every sector we cover, our researchers maintain a map of who sits where, how long they have been there, and what would move them. When a brief lands, we are filtering an existing map rather than starting a search from zero.
Scoping is the bottleneck, not sourcing
The single largest cause of a slow shortlist is an unclear brief. Thirty minutes spent agreeing on success measures, non-negotiables and compensation band removes days of rework later.
Screen for the things that actually derail offers
Notice period, counter-offer risk, relocation appetite and compensation expectation are established during the first candidate conversation - not after the client interview.