The important questions

摘要

Would you feel confident that you are the right person for a job if you've been told just the job title and organisation and nothing else? You wouldn't know who the key stakeholders are. Or who you would be accountable to. How would you know if you are right for it? How would you know you if you would be able to succeed? Most people would understandably want to know more. In permanent executive recruitment we quite rightly have job descriptions, person specifications, bells and whistles microsites telling potential candidates as much as possible about the opportunity. The background to the role, the culture of the organisation, who the people are, the package and so on. All the things we generally want to know before deciding whether to make a potentially life changing career move. I recently took a call from someone in a council who asked me to find them an interim head of economic development. 'No problem,' I said. 'What will you need the interim to achieve in the duration of the assignment?' 'I don't know', came the reply. 'Please just find me an interim head of economic development'. That was it. No detail at all. The individual couldn't tell me who the candidate would report to, the reason for the assignment, nor what the interim would need to deliver. Before you even get to the assignment itself, how are you going to know who is the right person for the role at the interview stage? If there is no assignment brief, how is that interim going to be measured? How will the organisation and the interim manager know that all is on track? How will you measure return on investment?