Inside the Search · For Candidates
Journey: Market
Working the Market
Not all networking creates movement
Once people decide to move again, activity often arrives quickly.
Coffee meetings. Recruiters. LinkedIn messages. Introductions. Executive networks. Memberships.
Some of it is useful. Some of it only creates the feeling that something is happening.
Activity is not the same as movement.
01 · Headhunters and recruiters
Relevance before reach
Executive search consultants and recruiters build and maintain networks because relationships are core to their work. At the same time, they work on specific assignments and mandates. They are not job boards or employment agencies.
A good candidate may be highly interesting and still not be relevant to the assignments currently underway. A relationship is valuable even when there is no role attached to it.
Sending your CV to thirty search firms is not the same as launching thirty ships. Most remain at the quay until there is a relevant search, a system that can retrieve the profile, and someone with a reason to bring it into the process.
Many European search firms require candidate information to enter through controlled systems rather than informal email or messaging, both for privacy compliance and to make the information usable later.
- Identify firms relevant to your function, sector, geography and seniority.
- Update your profile in their systems.
- Reconnect selectively.
- Do not chase consultants repeatedly without a reason.
- Keep outreach concise and relevant.
Review this with Mimir the Tutor →
Distribution is not movement. Relevance creates movement.
02 · Your existing network
Start where the relationship is real
Every relationship has a context.
Former colleague · client · supplier · board connection · industry peer · conference contact · search process · shared introduction
A relationship has a context. Start there.
A connection does not automatically make a coffee request appropriate. Do not confuse access with relevance.
Why this person?
Why are they relevant to this particular question?
Why now?
Why does the contact make sense at this moment?
What is the ask?
What do you actually want from the conversation?
Why might this matter to them?
Why is the conversation worth their time?
Work on this with Mimir the Tutor →
Do not optimise for meetings. Optimise for meaningful conversations.
03 · Introductions
Second-degree networks
An introduction uses another person's social capital. Make the request specific.
Not
“Do you know anyone I should talk to?”
Prefer
“I am trying to understand X. Is there one person you think would have a particularly useful perspective?”
Review this with Mimir the Tutor →
Every introduction spends a little of someone else's trust. Give them a reason to spend it.
04 · Networks and memberships
Access is not the same as relationship
Executive and board networks, peer groups, professional associations, business communities, social or fraternal organisations — each exists for a different purpose.
Peer learning · governance · business development · social belonging · professional identity · community · long-term relationship building
The useful question is not: Which network should I join?
What do I actually hope this network will help me become closer to?
Look at its declared purpose, its actual membership, the time and cost, how people participate, the likely time horizon — and what you could contribute.
Do not join a network only for what you hope to take from it. Join where you can also imagine contributing.
Review this with Mimir the Tutor →
The membership fee buys access. The relationship still has to be earned.
Closing reflection
Are you building relationships — or using activity to reassure yourself that something is happening?
If you stopped counting meetings, which conversations would still matter?
Your network matters most when it is a network of relationships, not a distribution list.
When you are ready to act
Follow Mimir
Turn reflection into something you can work with. Optional, always.
Follow Mimir →Next · See Yourself Clearly →← Back · The Space Between