You briefed the agency, you got twelve CVs in two days, and not one of them was right. It's frustrating, and it usually gets blamed on laziness. Sometimes that's fair. More often the cause is structural, and it starts with the brief you gave.

The CIPD guidance on selection methods explains interviews and skill-based assessments. Use a consistent, job-relevant assessment rather than judging candidates on presentation or familiarity alone.

A hiring manager may be judging the outcome they need while the recruiter is matching the words in a job description. The way to close that gap is to agree the evidence, priorities and decision process before the next shortlist.

Reason 1: The brief describes a job title, not a result

"Looking for a Solutions Engineer, five years' experience, SaaS background." That brief gets you thirty CVs that fit on paper. The recruiter has no way to tell which are the three that fit your reality, so they send them all and hope.

A brief that works says what the person has to achieve in 90 days, which problems they will meet, what good looks like and what would make you reject someone who fits on paper. Write it as outcomes first, skills second.

Reason 2: The recruiter is working on volume

Many agencies are paid only if you hire, so the incentive is to submit fast and often. A recruiter with thirty open roles can't give each deep attention. They send what a quick scan says is close, because speed wins placements in the average market.

That model works for easy roles with big candidate pools. It fails for specialist roles where the right profile is rare and has to be approached directly.

Reason 3: Nobody has defined the "no"

The most useful part of a brief is what to exclude. Companies with a failed hire behind them often forget to say what went wrong. Be explicit: "We cannot take anyone who has only worked at enterprise companies", or "They must have written production code in the last two years". Those lines save weeks.

Reason 4: The recruiter doesn't understand the role

A generalist recruiter reading "Forward Deployed Engineer" sees "engineer" and searches engineers. A specialist knows the role sits between engineering and customers, and searches Solutions Engineers, consultants and technical customer-facing people too. If your recruiter can't explain the difference between a Solutions Architect and an Implementation Consultant, the shortlist will show it. Ask your recruiter to explain the differences between the roles and the evidence they would use to assess each.

Reason 5: Feedback is too vague

"Not quite right" teaches a recruiter nothing. "Strong technically but has never spoken to a customer" teaches them everything. Every rejection is a chance to sharpen the search, and most hiring managers waste it.

Give written feedback within a day, in two sentences: what worked, what didn't. After three rounds, a good recruiter's shortlist should be getting visibly better.

Reason 6: The decision-maker isn't in the room

If the person briefing the recruiter isn't the person deciding, the brief changes after the first shortlist. The CEO sees the CVs and says "I wanted someone more senior". The recruiter has just spent a week on the wrong profile.

Agree the scorecard with everyone who has a veto before the search starts.

How to brief a recruiter so the CVs are right

  • Give the context. Stage, customers, team, and why this role is open now.
  • Write the outcomes. Three things this person must achieve in the first 90 days.
  • Define the must-haves and the exclusions. Keep must-haves to five or fewer.
  • State the range. Salary, variable and equity, with the flexibility, up front.
  • Share the process. Stages, timing and who interviews.
  • Name the benchmark. "A person like X in our team" or "a company like Y" speeds up calibration.
  • Agree a feedback rhythm. A call after the first five CVs, then weekly.

What a good shortlist looks like

A good shortlist is short. Three to six candidates, ranked, each with a clear reason they were chosen and an honest note on the risk. You should be able to see why each one is there, and why others who looked fine were not.

A useful shortlist explains the evidence behind each recommendation and the uncertainties to explore in interview. Agree those criteria before reviewing candidates, then calibrate them using specific feedback.

Red flags in an agency

  • They send CVs within hours of the brief without asking any questions
  • They can't explain how they found each candidate
  • They have no view on the market, the salary range or the competition
  • They cannot discuss the candidate’s timeline or competing commitments with appropriate consent
  • They don't push back on an unrealistic brief

Green flags

  • They ask more questions than you expect
  • They tell you when the brief and the budget don't match
  • They explain their screening process
  • They show a ranking with reasoning
  • They tell you honestly when they're not the right fit

Choosing a specialist

If the roles you hire are in the Solutions, Implementation, Engineering and GTM space, a specialist who recruits in that niche every week will understand the titles, the pay and the pools. See our Solutions & Implementation recruitment service or book a call and test us with your current brief.

Related hiring guides

Explore our Solutions & Implementation recruitment service or contact Wundertalent to discuss your hiring needs.