Most permanent finance hiring problems aren’t caused by a lack of candidates.
They’re caused by choosing the wrong route to market.

Some roles can be filled quickly and efficiently through internal talent or contingent recruitment. Others carry far greater risk, where the cost of delay, mis-hire, or leadership mismatch compounds quietly over time.

Yet many organisations default to the same hiring approach for every vacancy, regardless of role criticality, market scarcity, or the senior time required to manage the process.

This piece explores the four main routes used to hire permanent finance talent: internal hiring, contingent recruitment, retained search, and executive search, and the trade-offs each one brings. Not to recommend one over another, but to help finance leaders choose deliberately, based on risk rather than habit.

Better hiring doesn’t start with more CVs. It starts with better decisions.

Most permanent finance hiring problems aren’t caused by a lack of candidates.
They’re caused by choosing the wrong route to market.

Some roles can be filled quickly and efficiently through internal talent or contingent recruitment. Others carry far greater risk, where the cost of delay, mis-hire, or leadership mismatch compounds quietly over time.

Yet many organisations default to the same hiring approach for every vacancy, regardless of role criticality, market scarcity, or the senior time required to manage the process.

This piece explores the four main routes used to hire permanent finance talent: internal hiring, contingent recruitment, retained search, and executive search, and the trade-offs each one brings. Not to recommend one over another, but to help finance leaders choose deliberately, based on risk rather than habit.

Better hiring doesn’t start with more CVs. It starts with better decisions.