An edtech start-up was using its latest round of funding to expand its services and bring some of its critical roles in-house. One such role was in career services where they needed a person to oversee all aspects of program enrolment, delivery and career support for their customers, who are typically mid-career working professionals. When we were approached this search had already been open for a while. On delving into the role’s requirements, it became clear to us that the ideal candidate would have enough knowledge about various industries to be able to engage meaningfully with participants, understand their career aspirations, be equipped to suggest the right program for them and also tap into industry connections to help create networking and placement opportunities for participants.

Instead of looking for career advisors from similar e-learning or education companies, we focussed on the skill set. We realised that the right candidate could well be in a search firm given that search professionals were the most likely to speak to relevant people across industries, have an understanding of career paths and also possess a network of HR connections. In fact, someone from the search business who was in ‘search’ of something new would be a good bet. We then focussed on looking for mid-level professionals across India’s leading search companies and pitching the idea of an unconventional turn in their career. We ultimately placed a strong and suitable candidate, not by approaching someone in a similar role in a different company – but finding the right skillset in a different industry.