We sat down with three senior HR leaders in Hong Kong — banking, technology, and retail — and asked one question: what separates an 'interesting' senior candidate from one who gets an offer?
All three independently said the same thing: clarity. Clarity about what you've built, clarity about what you want next, and clarity about what kind of environment you do your best work in.
The candidates who struggled were not the least experienced — they were the least specific. A generic narrative made it hard for the panel to picture what they'd actually be like in the role.