“We’ll Know Them When We See Them”: Why Searches Without a Success Profile Drift
It is one of the most common sentences in executive search. A hiring committee, asked what it wants in a new VP of Facilities or Director of Construction, says it is not sure yet but will recognize the right person when they appear. The sentiment sounds reasonable. In practice, it is one of the most reliable predictors of a search that runs long, costs more, and ends with a compromise hire.
This post explains why searches without a defined success profile drift, what that drift looks like, and how to build a short, practical profile that keeps a search on course.
Why the Gut-Feel Approach Fails
Every Interviewer Is Looking for Something Different
Without a shared definition, each member of the committee evaluates candidates against a private standard. The CFO is looking for budget discipline, the provost for academic sensitivity, the CEO for presence, and the facilities team for technical depth. A candidate who impresses one person may concern another, and no one can explain why the group cannot agree.
Charisma Beats Fit
When criteria are vague, the most polished interviewer tends to win. Communication skill matters, but it is not the same as the ability to deliver a capital program or lead a facilities team through a difficult budget cycle. A defined profile keeps the focus on what the role actually requires.
The Role Changes Mid-Search
Without a written profile, the scope of the job shifts with each conversation. A search that began for an operations leader becomes a search for a capital projects leader after one strong candidate mentions it. The result is a moving target that candidates and search partners cannot hit.
Decisions Become Hard to Defend
When the final choice comes down to impressions, it is difficult to explain to a board or a skeptical stakeholder. A clear profile provides a record of what the organization was looking for and how the selected candidate met it.
What Drift Looks Like in Practice
- Candidate feedback is vague: “great person, not sure about fit.”
- Finalists are rejected for reasons that were not mentioned earlier in the process.
- The committee asks for a different type of candidate after reviewing the first slate.
- The search extends several weeks with no new information about what is needed.
When these signs appear, the most efficient fix is usually to pause briefly and define the profile rather than to widen the net.
Building a One-Page Success Profile
1. Define the Outcomes
Start with what the person must accomplish in the first 12 to 24 months. Examples include delivering a specific capital program, stabilizing operations after turnover, building a succession bench, or improving the relationship with a key stakeholder group. Three to five outcomes are enough.
2. Identify the Critical Competencies
From the outcomes, list the capabilities required to achieve them. These may include capital delivery at a defined scale, institutional navigation, MEP or systems depth, team leadership, and board-level communication. Rank them so the committee knows which matter most.
3. Separate Must-Haves From Nice-to-Haves
Limit must-haves to the few that would end the candidacy if absent. Treat everything else as a preference. Long lists of requirements shrink the candidate pool without improving the outcome.
4. Clarify the Environment
Candidates need to understand the reporting line, decision rights, budget authority, team size, and known challenges. Being candid about the difficult parts of the role helps attract people who are prepared for them.
5. Agree on the Process and the Decision-Maker
Decide who is on the interview panel, what each person will assess, and who makes the final call. This avoids late surprises and keeps the search moving.
Using the Profile Throughout the Search
Share the profile with every interviewer before the first conversation. Ask each person to score candidates against the same criteria and to give specific examples. Review the results together before the next round. This turns a series of impressions into a comparison, and it makes disagreements productive because they point to specific criteria.
Where a Specialist Search Partner Helps
A firm that focuses on facilities and construction leadership can help committees build a realistic profile quickly, because it knows what candidates at each level have actually done and what the market will bear. That experience prevents profiles that ask for combinations of skills that rarely exist in one person.
Real8 Group has no large minimum retainer, handles Director-level searches as well as C-suite, and typically presents qualified candidates within two to three weeks. To talk through the profile for a current or upcoming search, visit real8group.com/how-we-work, see real8group.com/finding-talent, meet our team, or reach out at real8group.com/contact.
Real8 Group is a specialized executive search firm serving the real estate, construction, engineering, and facilities operations sectors across the U.S.