A Senior Executive Candidate Journey
By John Davies, Director, Laurence Recruitment
With more than 20 years’ experience in recruitment
There. I said it.
Candidates spend hours preparing for the interview with the CEO, Managing Director or hiring manager.
They research the company. They prepare their examples. They think about the questions they might be asked.
But many completely underestimate the person sitting in front of them first, the recruitment consultant.
And that can be a costly mistake.
As a recruiter, I’m not just trying to establish whether you have the experience to do the job.
I’m asking myself a much bigger question:
Would I put my reputation behind this person?
Because when I introduce a candidate to my client, I’m not simply forwarding a CV.
I’m saying, “I’ve spoken to this person. I understand their background. I understand their motivation. I believe they are worth your time.”
That is a level of confidence that has to be earned.
And sometimes candidates lose that confidence during the first conversation.
They talk too much about their responsibilities and not enough about their results.
They tell me how long they’ve been in the industry rather than what they’ve actually achieved.
They blame their current employer for the “wrong fit”.
They say they’re looking for “a new challenge” without being able to explain what they actually want.
Or they give polished, rehearsed answers that tell me absolutely nothing about the person behind the CV.
At senior level, that matters.
A recruiter is looking beyond the CV.
We’re assessing judgement. Communication. Self-awareness. Motivation. Commerciality. Leadership style. And whether the story you’re telling actually stacks up.
The irony is that some candidates who are extremely impressive on paper don’t interview particularly well.
And some candidates with slightly less obvious experience can absolutely nail the conversation and leave you thinking:
“I need my client to meet this person.”
That’s the difference.
My advice to candidates is simple:
Don’t treat the recruiter as the gatekeeper you need to get past.
Treat them as the first person you need to convince.
Because if you can’t sell your value to the person representing you, why would they confidently sell your value to their client?
The best candidates understand this.
They don’t just tell me what they’ve done.
They make me believe in what they can do next.
And that’s ultimately what gets them through the door.
About John Davies
John Davies is a Director at Laurence Recruitment with more than 20 years’ experience in recruitment, working with candidates and businesses across a range of industries.
