Most disappointing shortlists trace back to the briefing, not the search. A short guide to defining what a role actually requires.
A job description describes a position. A brief describes a decision. The difference matters, because a search is only as precise as the requirement behind it.
Before a role goes to market, it is worth separating three things: what the person must have done before, what they must be able to do next, and what is simply preferred. Conflating them produces a specification nobody satisfies.
The second question is context. The same title behaves differently in a business that is stabilising than in one that is scaling. Candidates assess that context as carefully as employers assess them.
Finally, agree how success will be judged at shortlist stage. When both sides know what a strong candidate looks like, the conversation moves from opinion to evidence.