When the Brief Changes, the Search Should Too.

One assignment taught me a lesson I still think about today.

A client came to me looking for someone to lead a newly created function.

The brief was ambitious.
The budget reflected it.

After several conversations, we found someone exceptional.
The team loved the candidate.

Unfortunately, an agreement couldn't be reached.
So the search started again.

But this time, something had changed.

The role had been divided into two more junior positions.
The budget was different.
The level of experience was different.
The expectations...
weren't.

Although the brief had evolved, everyone was still comparing new candidates to the person they had almost hired months earlier.

And that's when I realised something.

Sometimes the biggest challenge in recruitment isn't finding better candidates.
It's letting go of the benchmark you've already created.

After several more searches and conversations, I made a difficult decision.
I stepped back from the assignment.
Not because I didn't want to help.
But because I knew the market couldn't realistically deliver what everyone was still imagining.

A recruiter's role isn't simply to keep sending CVs.
It's also to challenge expectations when the market tells a different story.

Sometimes the most valuable advice we can give isn't:
"Here's another candidate."
It's:
"Perhaps it's time to rethink the brief."

Have you ever found yourself comparing every new option to the one that almost worked?