How to brief a recruiter for an asset finance role

Why the brief matters

Many of the people you'd want for an asset finance role aren't actively looking. A recruiter often has one conversation to interest them, and a good brief is what makes that conversation work. It also means the wrong candidates are ruled out early, and you spend less time going back and forth.

The role

• Why it's open. A new role, growth, or a replacement. If someone has left, say why if you can: it shapes what the next person needs.
• What success looks like after three, six and twelve months.
• Who they'll work with: who they report to, the team around them, and the people in sales, credit or operations they'll rely on.
• The patch: region, channels (broker, direct, vendor), assets, sectors and typical deal sizes.

The person

• Must-haves and nice-to-haves. Keep the must-haves short. A long list of essentials shrinks the field quickly, often for reasons that don't matter once someone is in the job.
• What would rule someone out, and what would make you want to meet them straight away.
• Where you'd be flexible. Would you consider someone a step down who could grow into the role, or someone strong from a neighbouring part of the market?
• What kind of person does well in your team, and what kind tends to struggle.

The package

• Basic salary range, and how firm it is.
• Bonus or commission: how it's worked out and when it's paid.
• Car or car allowance, pension, healthcare and other benefits.
• Working pattern: office, hybrid or field-based, and how much travel.

Your recruiter should tell you honestly how the package compares with what candidates are being offered elsewhere. It's far better to hear that at the start than after a rejected offer.

The process

• The stages, who's involved in each, and any task or presentation.
• Interview dates in the diary before the search starts, if you can.
• Who makes the final decision.
• How quickly you'll give feedback. Good candidates often have more than one option, and slow feedback can lose you the best of them.

Why someone should join you

Give your recruiter the reasons a good person would leave a good job for this one. In asset finance that's often credit appetite and decision speed, the quality of the team, the technology, room to progress, stability, or flexibility. Be specific: "a supportive culture" means little to a candidate; "credit decisions on most deals the same day" means a lot, if it's true.

Confidential roles

If the role can't be advertised, for example because you're replacing someone still in post, say so at the start and agree what can be shared and when. Our guide to running a confidential search covers it in more detail.

Ready to brief us?

Tell us about your role and we'll come back with an honest view of the market and how we'd approach the search. See also how permanent recruitment and exclusive and retained search work.