Headhunters leave 'Purple Squirrel' chase, ask firms to get real

Top executive search firms are now pushing back against unrealistic hiring mandates from clients, warning that their dream 100% match or a "purple squirrel," a candidate who ticks every box, simply does not exist in today's opaque and volatile job market.

- Devina Sengupta

Instead, they are urging companies to accept strong 70% matches or risk long delays and costly dropouts.

The demand is for a young leader equipped with in-depth knowledge of the latest digital skillsets and cross-functional experience, one who can weather all storms and drive the firm in poor visibility. But such a perfect candidate does not exist.

Pranshu Upadhyay, regional director at global executive search firm Michael Page, says it upfront: a recruitment partner "can match talent and not create it."

"In 6 out of 10 cases, we consult clients on what's available and what's not. In complex roles, a 70% match is a good fit. Otherwise, the hunt for purple squirrels remains on diluting the position further in the relevant candidate pool - being opened for four to six plus months," Upadhyay told Mint.

The headhunters, those who prowl for CXOs and a level below, have noticed that companies are combining job descriptions to create a mandate that does not exist in the market.

For instance, said the regional director of Michael Page, a company may ask for a candidate with a large language model (LLM) experience of over five years.

But since LLMs—used in artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots—arrived in India only two or three years ago, it is difficult to find someone with this tenure, "unless they are targeting Silicon Valley for the talent."