4 MONTHS
Wasted with prior firms
8
Candidates presented before us
31 DAYS
From brief to accepted offer
2 YEARS
Still in post
THE SITUATION
A PE-backed portfolio company in London had been searching for a Chief of Staff EA for four months. Two retained search firms had presented eight candidates between them. None had progressed to offer. The principal was frustrated. The board was asking questions.
TalentSmiths was introduced on a Tuesday. The first call lasted 40 minutes. Within the first ten, it was clear the brief was wrong. The role had been positioned as a traditional EA function. The principal needed a strategic operator who could own the office, manage investor relations logistics, and act as a proxy in rooms the principal could not be in simultaneously.
The market was not difficult. The brief was. Every candidate who had been presented was technically qualified for the role as written. None of them were right for the role as needed.
WHAT WE DID
TalentSmiths rewrote the brief on the same call. The role was repositioned. The compensation was adjusted to reflect the actual seniority required. The search was opened into Elevate that afternoon.
A shortlist of three candidates was presented on day 8. All three were interviewed. Two progressed to second stage. An offer was made on day 14. It was accepted on day 15.
The placed EA has been in post for two years. She is now a core part of the leadership infrastructure. The principal has since referred two other portfolio companies to TalentSmiths.
“I spent four months being told the market was difficult. TalentSmiths told me in the first conversation my brief was wrong. That honesty got us to an offer in 31 days.”
FOUNDER, PE-BACKED BUSINESS, LONDON