Our People

I came into search and selection after a career in banking; I tend to rely on my experience, sector knowledge and extensive network of contacts for developing business.

Search is highly project-oriented – there’s no such thing as a typical day, but that’s how I like it. Fee generation is clearly a key motivator – it determines your bonus, after all, and in many senses, represents your worth to the team. But the rewards amount to much more than purely financial. I personally gain tremendous satisfaction from assisting candidates to change job or direction; steering a client towards making the right appointment; producing first-class material to support a pitch or hiring decision; and coaching researchers as they develop into full-fledged consultants.

But the biggest high is coming away from a successful client meeting – knowing you’ve visibly grasped their needs sufficiently to secure the business. And that provides additional motivation to get on with the assignment and successfully complete it.

The bedrock of problem-solving strategy in search is unquestionably lateral thinking. Clients often turn to search only after they’ve explored traditional or obvious approaches and failed. It’s therefore my job to draw on my experience – and often that of colleagues in my team – to devise alternative approaches for finding the right person. That may mean having to work hard to convince a sceptical client to try a more courageous route – and those occasions are incredibly rewarding.

Search is a never-ending learning game, no matter how experienced you are. My philosophy is to look at disappointments as opportunities to work better next time – and to build on all my successes to keep developing more business. There’s no limit to the potential.