When recruiting for an important position, it can be tempting to look for the candidate whose CV most closely resembles the job description.

The right job title. The right number of years of experience. Experience within the same industry. Perhaps even a background with a direct competitor.

On paper, that person can appear to be the safest choice.

But successful recruitment is rarely as simple as finding the closest match. Particularly across Legal and Corporate Operations, some of the strongest candidates may come from less obvious backgrounds while bringing exactly the capabilities, judgement and potential a business needs.

Sometimes, finding exceptional talent means looking beyond what is immediately visible on a CV.

A CV Only Tells Part of the Story

A CV is an important starting point, but it cannot fully demonstrate how someone operates professionally.

It can tell you where a candidate has worked, the positions they have held and some of their responsibilities. What it cannot always show is how effectively they influence stakeholders, approach difficult decisions, adapt to change or build relationships across a business.

Two candidates may have remarkably similar career histories but perform very differently once they join an organisation.

The CIPD's guidance on selection methods explains the importance of using appropriate, structured methods to assess whether candidates have the skills and attributes required for a role rather than relying on one source of information alone.

This is why recruitment should involve understanding the person behind the experience rather than simply comparing keywords against a job description.

Look at Transferable Skills, Not Just Job Titles

Job titles can vary considerably between organisations.

A Legal Counsel in one business may have responsibilities comparable to a Senior Legal Counsel elsewhere. A Procurement Manager working within a smaller organisation may have considerably broader commercial exposure than someone with a more senior title in a larger company.

Focusing too heavily on titles can therefore exclude potentially excellent candidates.

Instead, consider what the person has actually been responsible for.

Have they managed complex stakeholders? Led projects? Built processes? Worked through significant organisational change? Influenced senior leadership?

The substance of someone's experience is often more important than the title attached to it.

This is particularly relevant when recruiting senior professionals. How to Attract Senior Legal Talent in a Competitive Market explores how organisations can take a broader and more proactive approach when searching for experienced legal talent.

Industry Experience Is Valuable, but It Should Not Always Be Essential

There are positions where specific sector experience is genuinely necessary, particularly when specialist technical knowledge or regulation is involved.

However, making industry experience mandatory when it is simply preferred can unnecessarily restrict the talent pool.

Someone joining from another sector may bring fresh ideas, different ways of working and experience solving similar problems in a different environment.

For example, a professional who has worked within a highly regulated sector may possess skills that transfer extremely well into another regulated industry, even if they have never worked within that exact market before.

The question should therefore be whether industry knowledge is genuinely essential from day one or whether it can reasonably be learnt.

The CIPD's recruitment guidance provides further guidance on defining roles and attracting candidates with the skills and capabilities an organisation needs.

Potential Matters Alongside Experience

Recruitment naturally focuses on what candidates have already achieved. Businesses should also consider what someone is capable of achieving next.

A candidate who meets every requirement may appear to represent the lowest-risk appointment. But if the position offers little room for them to develop, they may become disengaged sooner than expected.

Another candidate may have slightly less direct experience but demonstrate exceptional learning ability, ambition and the capacity to grow with the organisation.

This is particularly relevant when recruiting for positions that are likely to evolve.

Hiring exclusively for today's requirements can mean overlooking someone who could become significantly more valuable as the business develops.

The CIPD's resources on talent management explore the importance of attracting, identifying, developing and retaining people who can contribute to an organisation's future needs.

Consider the Context Behind Their Achievements

Achievements should always be considered within the environment in which they were delivered.

Managing a large project within a global organisation with substantial resources is different from delivering the same outcome within a smaller business where the individual has had to build processes, influence stakeholders and operate with limited support.

Neither experience is automatically better.

What matters is understanding the context and determining which experience is most relevant to your organisation.

Ask candidates how they achieved their results, what challenges they faced and how much ownership they personally held.

The answers can reveal far more than the achievement listed on the CV.

Different Backgrounds Can Bring Valuable Perspective

Hiring people with similar career histories can feel reassuring, but it can also limit the range of thinking within a team.

Candidates from different industries, organisation sizes or professional backgrounds can introduce new perspectives and challenge established ways of working.

Within Corporate Operations functions such as HR, Finance, Procurement, Transformation and Projects, exposure to different operating environments can be particularly valuable.

The UK Government guidance on inclusive recruitment provides further information on widening recruitment practices and reducing unnecessary barriers that may prevent suitable candidates from progressing.

The objective is not to hire someone different simply for the sake of difference. It is to remain open to candidates whose experience may not follow the expected path but whose capabilities could strengthen the organisation.

You may also be interested in The Roles That Quietly Keep Great Businesses Moving, which looks more closely at the contribution Legal and Corporate Operations professionals make across an organisation.

Soft Skills Become Increasingly Important at Senior Level

As positions become more senior, success often depends increasingly on how effectively someone works with other people.

Technical knowledge remains essential, but senior professionals are also expected to influence, negotiate, communicate and exercise judgement.

A technically outstanding candidate who struggles to build relationships with stakeholders may be less effective than someone with slightly less direct experience but exceptional commercial awareness and communication skills.

This is particularly important within Legal and Corporate Operations, where professionals frequently need to work across departments and translate specialist information into practical business decisions.

For solicitors specifically, the SRA Statement of Solicitor Competence includes areas such as effective communication, establishing and maintaining professional relationships and applying sound judgement alongside technical legal knowledge.

When assessing senior talent, consider not only whether candidates can perform the technical elements of the role but whether they can operate effectively within the wider organisation.

Cultural Fit Should Not Mean Hiring the Same Type of Person

Culture is important, but the concept of ‘cultural fit’ should be approached carefully.

Hiring someone because they think, communicate or behave exactly like the existing team can unintentionally create an organisation where everyone brings similar perspectives.

A more useful question is whether the candidate's values and working style are compatible with the organisation while still allowing them to bring something different.

Someone can align strongly with your business values without having the same personality, background or career history as everyone already working there.

The strongest teams often combine shared values with different experiences and ways of thinking.

The CIPD's guidance on equality, diversity and inclusion provides further insight into creating inclusive workplaces and recognising the organisational value of different perspectives and experiences.

Challenge the Requirements Before Starting the Search

One of the most valuable things a business can do before recruiting is examine the job specification critically.

Separate the genuine requirements from the preferences.

Does the candidate really need ten years of experience, or do they need evidence of successfully handling a particular level of responsibility?

Do they genuinely need to have worked for a direct competitor?

Is a particular qualification essential?

Does their previous job title matter if they have already performed the required responsibilities?

Being clear about what is truly non-negotiable gives recruiters greater freedom to explore the market and identify candidates who might otherwise have been overlooked.

It can also support a fairer recruitment process. ACAS guidance on hiring someone provides practical information for employers on recruitment, applications, interviews and making job offers.

Search Beyond the Obvious Talent Pool

The strongest candidate may not be actively applying for jobs.

They may not have the expected title. They may work in another sector. They may even have initially assumed that the opportunity was not relevant to them.

This is where proactive search and market mapping can become particularly valuable.

Rather than limiting the recruitment process to people who happen to see an advertisement and decide to apply, targeted research and headhunting can identify professionals based on their actual capabilities and experience.

It creates a broader and more representative view of the available talent market.

This is also where the choice of recruitment model can make a difference. Retained or Contingency Recruitment: Which Is Right for You? explores when a comprehensive, research-led search may be appropriate and when a contingency approach may better suit the requirement.

Hire for What Your Business Actually Needs

The purpose of recruitment is not to find the CV that looks most familiar. It is to find the person who can make the strongest contribution to the organisation.

Sometimes that will be the obvious candidate.

Sometimes it will be the individual whose career follows a slightly different path but who brings the judgement, adaptability, commercial awareness and potential the business genuinely needs.

Taking the time to understand candidates beyond their job titles can lead to stronger shortlists, better appointments and greater long-term value.

At Leto Search, I take a thorough approach to Legal and Corporate Operations recruitment, combining detailed briefing, market mapping and targeted search to look beyond the obvious candidate pool.

If you are recruiting and want to explore the wider market rather than simply the most visible candidates, get in touch with Leto Search to discuss your next hire.