Direct approach: a qualified shortlist in three weeks
Active sourcing, market mapping and qualifying interviews to present a shortlist of motivated candidates in three weeks. A single contact, from the brief to the signature.
The direct approach is to identify and contact ourselves the candidates who match your position, whether or not they are seeking employment. Cadran Talents practice in France and in more than 25 countries: market mapping, active sourcing, qualification interviews and shortlist argued in three weeks, with a single contact.
Whether it's a position in Lyon or five recruitments in four countries, you'll brief a single consultant, never a series of local providers. Describe the position and context, and you will receive an encrypted proposal within 48 hours.
What is the direct approach?
The direct approach is a method of recruitment in which the firm will look for candidates rather than waiting for their applications. A consultant identifies relevant profiles on the market, contacts them personally, evaluates their interest and skills, and then presents the best.
The difference lies in the initiative. An announcement only affects those in active research, a minority of talent. The direct approach opens up access to existing profiles, which would never have applied but which are open to a great opportunity. It is also the method that experienced recruiters prefer as soon as the position is a bit demanding or the market tense.
The direct approach has long existed in the recruitment of managers. She has resisted all the technological waves, from CVthèques to social networks, because what she brings does not automate: an honest conversation between two people, at the right time. Today, it remains the reference method for recruitment of managers and experts in most sectors.
Does the direct approach still make sense in the era of LinkedIn?
More than ever, because candidates are saturated with automatic messages. An algorithm can suggest profiles. He cannot convince a person satisfied with his position to have a coffee to talk about your project, or feel in ten minutes if the person will flourish in your team.
The direct approach produces first-hand information: verified candidates, met, whose motivations have been explored. It is this raw material that makes a strong recruitment decision.
Our position is simple: the tools are used to seek, never to listen.
How a mission is going
A direct approach mission takes place in three stages: a brief that makes the research accurate, a sourcing and interviewing phase built around your post, and a shortlist presented when candidates are ready to engage.
The sourcing phase usually lasts three weeks; our experience shows that it is the right balance between completeness and responsiveness.
It all starts with the brief: the position, the team, the culture, the reasons for the recruitment. The first hour spent together decides the quality of the next three weeks.
The consultant then map the market and approach the identified profiles, one by one. First exchange to validate interest, in-depth interview to assess skills and motivations, then prepare the candidate to meet with you. Meanwhile, you receive a point every week and can adjust the course.
At the end of the mission, you don't just have resumes. You met with motivated, prepared people, and you know why they were introduced to you.
What does a good consultant recognize?
A good direct approach consultant knows how to arouse the interest of a candidate in office, make the difference between polite curiosity and true motivation, and identify what a CV does not say. These are human judgments, which require knowledge of the trade, the sector and the local market.
The approach looks like a conversation and functions like a trade. A good consultant presents your project without survening it, listens more than he speaks, and knows how to hear the reservations that a candidate dares not formulate.
He also knows when to get out of the brief, because a candidate has just opened a door that nobody had planned. These decisions are made in real time. That's why our consultants are specialized by sector and know your market.
Find out how we formed a team of 30 people in five countries:
When the direct approach is the right method
The direct approach is necessary when your need is specific, demanding or urgent:
A position of executive or expert. As soon as the profile requires specific experience, the candidates available by ad are rare. Going to pick them up is faster and safer.
A tight deal. In jobs in short supply, the right candidates receive ten solicitations a week. Only a personal approach, carried out by a real project, stands out.
A tight delay. A shortlist in three weeks, already qualified candidates: you save the time you would have spent sorting applications.
Recruitment to a country you don't know well. In a new market, a consultant who knows companies, remuneration levels and local usages avoids many mistakes.
Sensitive position. Replacement in progress, reorganization, discreet creation: the direct approach allows recruitment without public communication.
A need to align your team. Nothing like a mapping of the market and concrete candidates to bring a steering committee together on the desired profile. The direct approach does not only produce candidates; it produces decisions.
When the direct approach is not the answer
The method has its limitations, and we know them: it is less relevant for highly standardized positions, large volumes or recruitments where the pool of active candidates is already sufficient. A good consultant compensates a lot. It does not change what the method is for.
So an honest firm tells you when to use something else. Here's our list:
A general management position. Management committee, confidential mandate, ownership issues: reference checks In-depth and tailor-made executive search are necessary, just as our HR Council Upstream.
Volume recruitment. Twenty similar positions in three months do not work one by one. The RPO puts a dedicated team and tools at your service.
An immediate need. When the position is to be held within 10 days, or onboarding neither the international recruitment don't answer: this is the interim management you need.
A site opening. Fifty recruitments from the same employment pool fall within the scope of the volume recruitment, no direct approach.
A question of attractiveness. If your offers have not been answered in six months, the problem may be your employer brand or salary scale. We'll tell you rather than force the method.
The full version of this honest answer, including criticism:
Direct approach or other solutions: how to choose
No method is better than the others. Each responds to a different need:
| Solution | Ideal for | Format | What You Get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct approach | Managers and experts, tight markets, tight deadlines | 3 to 5 candidates, shortlist in 3 weeks | Candidates in position, motivated and qualified |
| Headhunting | Rare profiles, confidential positions | Nominative approach, 4 to 8 weeks | People whom no ad will reach |
| Executive search | Executives, Executive Committees | Confidential mandate, 6 to 12 weeks | Customized process at the highest level |
| RPO | Volumes, rapid growth, structuring | Dedicated team, 6 months and more | A complete recruitment process at home |
| Interim management | Emergency, Vacancy, Project | Manager available within 10 days, 3 to 12 months | An immediate take-over |
Do you hesitate? That's normal. Describe the position and we will recommend the right solution, or read our guide: Direct sourcing, job adverts or RPO: choosing the right hiring method.
Direct approach or announcement?
Both are legitimate recruitment methods; they do not have the same forces. The honest comparison:
| Criteria | Direct approach | Announcement |
|---|---|---|
| Access to candidates | The entire market, including existing profiles | Only active searchers |
| Quality of applications | Targeted, met and qualified profiles | A variable volume, often not relevant |
| Geographical coverage | Local, national or multi-country choice | Depends on the visibility of the advertisement |
| Hard-to-reach profiles | Personally approached managers and experts | Rarely achieved by an advertisement |
| Confidentiality | Total up to candidate submission | The post is public from the time of publication |
| Time for you | You only meet prepared candidates | Sort your applications and first interviews |
Many of our missions combine both: a direct approach to key profiles, a well-written announcement to complete the pool. The choice is a design decision, and we will argue for the solution your position requires, including when the simplest option does as well.
What mechanism for your recruitment?
The right system depends on your situation: the number of posts, the scarcity of the profile, the number of countries involved and the urgency. Adapt the solution to your context:
A key position to fill → a classic direct approach: mapping, sourcing, shortlist of three to five candidates in three weeks.
Several similar positions in several countries → the same brief adapted to each market, with local consultants, to compare candidates on identical criteria.
A position where error is expensive → a direct approach supplemented by a executive search or a Assessment for a structured evaluation of finalists.
A rare or very sought after profile → a nominative head hunt, with a reference checks the level of the position warrants it.
A still blurred need → a mapping of the market and some exploratory interviews to refine the profile, before launching the complete search. A first effective look that tells you what to really look for.
How to recruit directly in several countries?
Let us be frank: that is where recruitment becomes difficult. Pay practices, notice, cultural codes and time zones, multiplied by each country you add. Multi-country projects fail in the interstices: between cabinets, between languages, between methods.
The solution is to pilot the whole as a single project.
A team, a method. A brief, an evaluation grid, the same level of requirement in each country. When the same team designs and drives everything, a difference between Paris and Madrid is an information, not the chance of two firms that work differently.
A qualification at the same standard. Each candidate is interviewed and assessed on the criteria you have validated, regardless of the country. The course is checked, references can be checked, and a candidate who does not match is rejected, without discussion.
A suitable speech, not just translated. An argumentary that works in Lyon can fall flat in Munich or Milan. Our local consultants adapt the speech with us: same objectives, same structure, words that belong to the market.
Interviews in the candidate's language, always. True conversations take place in the language in which one thinks. Each interview is conducted by someone who knows the market and its codes, including the second layer, the one where "it's interesting" means something else.
You follow everything, in real time. A consolidated weekly point for all countries, interview reports in French, and candidates ready to meet you in video conferencing at reasonable times. You don't have to coordinate three time zones: we do.
An evaluation based on the interviews themselves. The meaning is hidden in the way things are said. Our consultants evaluate candidates from their own interviews, never from a third-party summary. The report comes to you in French; the assessment is done in the original language.
Contracts and remuneration, locally managed. Wage grids, benefits, notice, trial periods: each country has its own uses. We explain them to you before you make an offer, because a poorly calibrated proposal quietly ruins a negotiation.
Undecidedly announced deadlines. Generalist profiles are quickly recruited; advanced experts, regulatory profiles and leaders take more time, country by country. You will see the real calendar in the proposal, before you commit rather than after a delay.
You want the complete manual: traps, cultural nuances, what to expect before arrival? Our step by step guide for recruiting internationally brings together everything we have learned about more than 1,200 recruitments.
Your mission of direct approach, step by step
A direct approach mission with Cadran Talents takes place in seven stages, from the 48-hour numerical proposal to the integration of your new recruit:
You're briefing us. The position, the team, the context, what you already know. An encrypted proposal (method, perimeter, calendar) returns to you within 48 hours.
We design together. Target profile, target companies, evaluation criteria and argument, validated prior to contact.
Cartography and sourcing. A target list that you approve, a systematic search in each country, and a personal approach to each identified profile.
Qualification. In-depth interviews in the candidate's language: same criteria everywhere, report in French each time.
Shortlist, in three weeks. Three to five candidates presented with an argumented synthesis. You choose who to meet; we organize the interviews.
Your interviews and the decision. We prepare the candidates, collect their impressions after each step and help you compare the finalists. References, tests or assessments complete the table if justified by the position.
Offer, negotiation and integration. We help you build an offer that will be accepted, accompany resignation and notice, then follow integration for the first few months. And when a new need arises six months later, we already know your business.
What You Get
A direct approach mission with Cadran Talents includes five deliverables: a 48-hour proposal, a weekly point, detailed interview reports, a shortlist argued in three weeks, and support until integration.
A proposal costing within 48 hours After your briefing: method, perimeter, calendar, fee.
A weekly point: profiles identified, approached, under interview, market returns.
Interview reports, delivered to the water, not kept for the end of the mission.
An argumented shortlist with a clear opinion: strengths, vigilance points, and what we would do for you.
Accompaniment until integration to secure the offer, the notice and the first months.
You want to know what that would look like for your job? Describe to us the need and the countries concerned, and you will have a numerical proposal within 48 hours.
The direct approach in the world: what changes in different regions
Europe and North America have the most structured markets and candidates who are used to being approached. The risk is inverse: oversolicited profiles that no longer respond. The quality of the speech counts more than logistics.
The Middle East rewards preparation. Packages often include accommodation and schooling, notice periods are long and the Ramadan calendar redraws processes. Our guide to international recruitment covers the subject in detail.
East and South-East Asia require consultants able to read the second layer behind courtesy. In Japan, Korea or Singapore, a first answer is a polite answer, and an inexperienced team takes it for an agreement. Our guide Go further.
Latin America offers open and expressive candidates, who appreciate direct contact. It also requires fine reading of local networks and pay differentials between cities, and consultants who decode social codes as well as language.
The consequence? Never copy and paste a recruitment plan from one region to another. Same goals everywhere, local execution every time. This is what serves a network of consultants who live in their markets.
Direct approach, sector by sector
The direct approach is used in all sectors that Cadran Talents accompanies, from high consumption to technology, finance and automobiles. What changes from sector to sector are the profiles sought and the arguments that make them move:
In Consumer goods , we recruit marketing, commercial and supply chain profiles that know the big distribution. These missions are naturally linked with the international recruitment for groups in several countries.
In Luxury & beauty , candidates judge a house in seconds and with demand; we look for profiles detail, creation and product development that share its codes.
In Food & beverage , the direct approach often combines with a executive search for factory and site directions: one brings cartography, the other the tailor-made required for key stations.
In Tech & digital , we will look for what the CVthèques do not show : developers, data profiles and produced in post, solicited everywhere, sensitive to the project more than in title.
In Banking, finance & insurance , we recruit risk, compliance, finance and customer relationship profiles, where trust and reputation count as much as skills. The offices of Consulting & audit call on us to strengthen their teams of consultants and managers.
In Automotive & mobility , we are approaching engineers, project managers and industrial profiles at the heart of the transition to electric power and new mobility.
How the direct approach articulates with our other solutions
The direct approach is rarely the entire answer. This is often the best first step.
A finalist from the direct approach passes through a Assessment for a structured evaluation. The most robust profiles are reference checks. Recurrent recruitment is moving towards a RPO and every arrival is secured by our onboarding. And what we learn from the market feeds your employer brand and salary grid.
Designed in this way, each solution answers the question raised by the previous one. This is what transforms a series of recruitments into a real talent strategy.
Errors that fail a direct approach
The six most common reasons for failure of a direct approach are a blurred brief, a generic message, a speech not adapted to the country, a courtesy for an agreement, a single candidate presented, and a slow internal process. We take up enough failed missions to know them by heart:
A fuzzy brief, which produces candidates next to the subject.
A generic message sent in bulk, as if candidates were not already receiving ten solicitations per week.
A speech that is not adapted to the country and that flattens all the answers in politeness.
A courtesy made for an agreement, in cultures where refusal is not made.
Only one candidate presented and considered to be a "shortlist", although it does not allow any comparison.
An internal process of six weeks, during which the best candidates sign elsewhere.
None of these mistakes is expensive to avoid. They're all expensive to commit.
Why entrust your direct approach to Cadran Talents?
Because we conduct the interviews ourselves. Specialist consultants by sector, over 25 countries covered, 1,200 recruits for 180 clients, and on each mission: a consultant appointed (who he is, what sector he knows, what he recruited last month), candidates met and verified, a weekly point, and an argumented shortlist. A contract, regardless of the number of countries.
The same rigor goes through all our missions. It's the method behind recruitment of a DAF in 27 days for a scale-up. And Cadran Talents applies a strict ethical charter: confidentiality, candidate consent, data protection and respect for each person approached. And if something can't be done right in your time, we'll tell you and propose a better way.
Are you comparing several offices? Ask one question: who will conduct the interviews, which sector knows this person, and what did she recruit last month? A firm that does the job itself responds in an email.
A firm that subcontracts your research to partners you will never meet cannot, and each intermediary between you and the candidate costs in quality and adds a margin. We created Cadran Talents to make this question easy.
Frequently Asked Questions on the Direct Approach
How many candidates do you present in direct approach?
Three to five qualified candidates, interviewed and really interested in your position. This is the right balance between choice and efficiency. For very rare management positions or profiles, we prefer a Targeted Headhunting , with a custom speech for each profile.
How long does it take to receive a shortlist?
An average of three weeks between the validation of the brief and the presentation of the shortlist. The delay varies according to the rarity of the profile, the geographical area and the period of year. We give you a realistic timetable in our proposal, and we keep you informed every week.
Can I follow the progress of the research?
Yes. You receive a weekly point: number of profiles identified and approached, market returns, candidates being qualified, attention points. You can adjust the course at any time, and you meet the candidates as soon as they are ready.
What language do the interviews take place in?
Still in the candidate's language. Our consultants conduct interviews in French, English and the main European languages, and our local partners cover other markets. The minutes are given to you in French.
How long does a direct approach mission last?
Four to eight weeks between the brief and acceptance of the offer. The first three weeks are devoted to mapping, approach and qualification interviews; the next are your interviews, negotiations and preparation for arrival.
How much does a direct approach mission cost?
Our fees are expressed as a percentage of the annual remuneration of the successful candidate. The amount depends on the level of the post, the number of countries covered and the difficulty of research. You will receive a detailed and transparent proposal within 48 hours, without hidden costs.
How do you avoid inappropriate candidates?
Each candidate presented was interviewed in-depth, his/her motivations were checked and his/her references are available upon request. We remove profiles that do not match the brief, even if they are brilliant. And if a candidate doesn't fit after your interview, we learn from it and adjust the search without any extra charge.
In summary
The direct approach works when a single team pilots it to one standard: consultants who know your area, candidates met and verified, a speech adapted rather than translated, one point every week, and a shortlist argued in three weeks. This is how Cadran Talents practice in France and in more than 25 countries: 1,200 recruitments carried out, proposal within 48 hours.
Recruitment in sight? Describe the post and the countries concerned. We will honestly tell you if the direct approach is the right answer, and what it will take to succeed.
