The executive had everything the company said it wanted.
The right title. Recognizable companies. Impressive accomplishments. Industry relationships. Confidence in the interview.
Six months later, the organization was questioning the hire.
This happens more often than most leaders want to admit. But the résumé is rarely the entire problem.
In many cases, the hiring process began by asking, “Who should we hire?” before anyone had clearly answered, “What problem must this person solve?”
That sequence matters.
A résumé can tell you where someone worked, what responsibilities they held, and which results they claim. It cannot automatically tell you:
- What conditions made those results possible?
- What did the candidate personally created versus inherited?
- Whether the achievement can be repeated in your environment.
- How the person responds when resources, relationships, or expectations change.
- Whether the organization is prepared to support the leader it believes it needs.
After 26 years in sales leadership, recruiting, executive search, and headhunting, I have learned that hiring failures frequently begin before the candidate enters the conversation.
They begin with a lack of clarity.
The job description lists responsibilities. The hiring manager lists preferred experience. The interview team compares résumés. But rarely has anyone identified the real leadership and business problem behind the role.
Research supports the need to look beyond career history. The Center for Creative Leadership identifies several recurring causes of executive derailment, including difficulty adapting to change, building teams, producing business results, thinking strategically, and managing interpersonal relationships.
None of those capabilities can be confirmed by reading a résumé.
They require investigation.
That is why I believe every executive search should begin with five questions:
- What must be measurably different 12 months after this person arrives?
- What has prevented the company from producing that result already?
- What relationships must this person earn before they can succeed?
- Which parts of the organization need to change, and which parts must be protected?
- What evidence would demonstrate that a candidate has solved this kind of problem under comparable conditions?
Only then should the company decide what experience, leadership capabilities, behaviors, and evidence it needs from candidates.
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The interview process also matters. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management reports that interviews tied to job-related competencies and conducted with greater structure demonstrate stronger validity and reliability. Work samples can add another layer of evidence by showing how candidates perform tasks representative of the actual job.
The point is not to remove judgment from hiring.
It is to give judgment better evidence.
An impressive résumé deserves attention. It does not deserve unquestioned confidence.
𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲:
“We need this person to solve __________, under these conditions __________, without compromising __________.”
𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮.
And that is the real cost of not knowing.
Michael North “The Sales Talent Whisperer”, CEO and Founder, Synchrony Talent Partners
Not sure whether you have a hiring problem or a clarity problem? Start at emptyseatdiagnostic.com.
Research referenced
- Center for Creative Leadership, “5 Ways to Avoid Derailing Your Career”
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “Structured Interviews”
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “Work Samples and Simulations”
This article first appeared in our LinkedIn newsletter, The Cost of Not Knowing. Subscribe on LinkedIn for new editions.