Not every strong hire is immediately obvious from the CV.

In a recent search for a Senior Treasury Analyst in a private equity-backed business, one candidate created some hesitation early on. The concern was not about capability, but perception. Based on years of experience, the profile seemed slightly junior for the role. That was a fair first impression.

However, after spending time with the candidate, I saw something different. It was not just about what they had done, but how they thought, how clearly they communicated, and the level of ownership they were already looking to take. There was a maturity that did not come through in the timeline of their experience, which made us look beyond the initial judgment.

We encouraged the client to have an initial conversation and explore that potential in more detail. That meeting changed the perspective.

What the client experienced directly matched what we had seen from the start. Someone who could operate comfortably in a PE environment, bring clarity into discussions, and grow into the role quickly while adding value early on. Within 3 to 4 weeks, an offer was made.

It is a good reminder that the best fit is not always the most obvious when reviewing profiles. Experience matters, but so do trajectory, mindset, and how someone will operate within a specific environment. These are not always visible at first glance, but they often make the difference once you engage with someone directly.

That is where we add value. Not just by presenting candidates, but by understanding them properly and recognising when someone can step into a role, even if their background does not fully reflect it yet.

For clients, this means staying open to a perspective beyond what is written down. For candidates, it means having someone ensure that their potential is not overlooked too early.

Because sometimes the right hire only becomes clear once you meet them.

Candidates are expected to come well prepared for an interview. They should understand the company, know the role, and present themselves clearly. That expectation is fair, but it is only part of the story.

The quality of an interview depends just as much on the preparation of the hiring team. When that preparation is lacking, both sides lose out. Candidates leave with an incomplete or overly positive picture of the role, while companies make decisions based on fragmented and subjective impressions. Strong hiring outcomes require preparation on both sides, not just from the candidate.

When Structure Is Missing, Bias Takes Over

Unstructured interviews often feel natural and conversational, but that is exactly where the risk lies. Without a clear framework, interviews quickly become inconsistent. Different candidates are asked different questions, making it difficult to compare them objectively. Decisions then rely more on instinct than on defined criteria, allowing bias to influence the outcome.

A common result is hiring people who feel familiar. People who think similarly, communicate in the same way, or share comparable experiences. While this can feel comfortable, it does not necessarily mean they are the best fit for the role. Structure is what helps reduce this risk and brings objectivity back into the process.

Here are the steps that you can take as a hiring manager, to ensure that this process is as efficient as possible.

1. Define What Really Matters

A strong interview process starts with clarity. Before meeting candidates, it is important to define what success in the role actually looks like.

• Identify a short list of must-haves that are essential for the role
• Separate these clearly from nice-to-have qualities
• Keep both lists focused and relevant

This exercise forces prioritisation. It ensures that decisions are based on what truly matters, rather than on a long list of loosely relevant criteria.

2. Standardise How You Assess Candidates

Once expectations are clear, the next step is consistency in how candidates are evaluated.

• Prepare a core set of questions linked to the must-haves
• Ask comparable questions across candidates to allow fair comparison
• Focus on answers that demonstrate behaviour, experience, and decision-making

Standardisation does not remove flexibility from a conversation. It creates a baseline that allows for a more objective assessment, while still leaving room for natural dialogue.

3. Do the Homework Before the Interview

Preparation also means understanding who you are speaking to before the conversation starts. Too often, interviews are spent covering information that is already available on a CV or LinkedIn profile.

A more effective approach is to prepare with intent:

• Review the candidate’s background in advance
• Identify gaps, inconsistencies, or interesting career moves
• Define where you need more clarity

This allows the interview to focus on deeper insights rather than surface-level information. It also signals professionalism and genuine interest.

4. Be Honest About the Role

Attracting strong candidates can sometimes lead to overly optimistic messaging. Roles are presented in the best possible light, where challenges are framed as opportunities and future plans are discussed as if they are already secured. When expectations are not aligned with reality, dissatisfaction follows.

A common example is hiring someone for a strategic role, only for them to discover that there is no budget, no mandate, or no immediate possibility to execute those plans. Instead, they end up focused on operational work that was not clearly communicated. This is often seen in treasury roles, particularly when companies hire their first specialist and are still defining the function.

Clarity is more effective than attraction. Being honest about limitations as well as opportunities ensures that candidates make informed decisions and reduces the risk of mismatch.

5. Make the Second Interview Add Value

Second interviews often repeat what has already been covered, limiting their effectiveness and wasting time for both sides.

To make them meaningful:

• Share feedback and insights from the first interview with the next interviewers
• Highlight areas that need deeper exploration
• Focus on validating key competencies and addressing remaining doubts

This approach turns the second interview into a continuation, not a duplication. It also improves decision quality.

6. Manage the Process Efficiently

Preparation is about execution, not just content. The way the process is organized shapes the candidate’s perception of the company.

• Block interview slots in advance
• Be clear about timelines and availability
• Provide feedback within a reasonable timeframe

A structured and predictable process reflects professionalism. A disorganized one creates doubt, regardless of how strong the opportunity may be.

In conclusion, it’s simple. Preparation on both side drives better outcomes

Preparation influences more than just the hiring decision. It defines how candidates experience your organization. Even those who do not receive an offer will form an opinion about the process and share that experience with others.

• A structured process feels fair and transparent
• Clear communication builds trust
• Positive experiences strengthen employer branding

Expecting candidates to be prepared is reasonable. Matching that level of preparation on the company side is essential. Clear expectations, structured interviews, honest communication, and thoughtful follow-up all contribute to better hiring decisions and stronger long-term outcomes.

Treasury is one of those areas in finance that looks straightforward, but becomes highly specialised the moment you get closer. Cash, funding, risk, banking relationships, FX, liquidity… it all sounds familiar, until you realise how different each treasury setup is. And that is where things often go wrong in recruitment.

In many large corporates, hiring a treasurer is still approached like a standard finance hire. A solid finance profile, a few years of experience, good stakeholder management skills, and ideally some exposure to systems. It maybe makes sense on paper, but it doesn’t often works that easily in reality.

Because treasury is a niche discipline with its own language, dynamics and talent pool, not a generalist function.

The first challenge starts with the intake

Most recruitment processes begin with a conversation between HR and the hiring manager. The intention is good, but the outcome is usually too broad.

What HR hears is something like: someone with 5 to 10 years of experience, strong analytical skills, and preferably exposure to treasury systems or cash management.

What treasury actually needs can be very different depending on the organisation. A centralised treasury in a global corporate is something else entirely than a decentralised structure across multiple business units. Add funding complexity, FX exposure or M&A activity, and you are suddenly talking about a completely different profile.

Without a deeper context, the role easily turns into a wish list rather than a realistic candidate profile.

The market is smaller than most people expect

One of the biggest misconceptions is that treasury talent is widely available. It is not.

Good treasury professionals are usually not actively looking. They are already embedded in roles where they manage complex structures, work closely with CFOs, and have built up deep institutional knowledge over time. Meaning that the best candidates are hidden in plain sight. They are not scrolling job boards or responding to generic outreach, and they are certainly not applying to broad finance vacancies.

So, when sourcing stays within active channels, a large part of the market is never reached.

Screening treasury talent is not easy without context

Many candidates have similar profiles. Experience with cash management, some exposure to FX, maybe a treasury management system in their CV. But the depth can vary significantly. One candidate might have owned liquidity strategy across multiple countries. Another might have supported parts of a process without ever owning the outcome.

For HR teams without treasury background, it is not always easy to distinguish between exposure and ownership. And that is where mismatches tend to happen.

Time kills momentum!

Treasury candidates are usually in demand. When they decide to move, they often have multiple conversations running at the same time.

This is where corporate hiring processes sometimes struggle. Multiple interview rounds, internal alignment cycles, and slow feedback loops can easily stretch the process over weeks. In the meantime, strong candidates accept other offers, because your process took too long.

In this market, speed is not a nice to have. Read Antonio’s short article: Can Companies Afford Slow Hiring Processes Anymore?

Your message is too generic

Many treasury roles are still described in very broad terms. International environment, dynamic team, interesting challenges. While these statements are not wrong, they do not really speak to treasury professionals.

What they want to understand is more specific:

• How complex is the funding structure;
• How much autonomy they will have;
• What systems are in place;
• How close they sit to strategic decision making;
• Whether they will actually influence liquidity and risk decisions or mainly execute them.

When that level of clarity is missing, strong candidates tend to move on quickly.

Where a specialist recruiter actually adds value

In a niche like treasury, recruitment is about translating a complex business need into a realistic and attractive market message.

A specialist understands how treasury functions are structured, what good looks like in practice, and where the real talent sits. They know which profiles are strong, not just well presented. And they can engage candidates who are not actively looking but open to the right opportunity.

Just as importantly, they can challenge assumptions early in the process:

• Is the profile realistic;
• Is the scope too broad;
• Is the salary aligned with the market.

That kind of feedback often prevents months of searching in the wrong direction.

If you have to hire without an external specialist

Sometimes organisations choose to run the process internally. That can work well, but it requires a slightly different approach.

It starts with going deeper in the intake than usual. How the treasury function actually operates day to day, not just what the role should do. What decisions are made, what systems are used, and where the real complexity sits.

From there, it helps to define the role in context rather than in skills alone. Instead of listing requirements, describe the environment. The scale, the structure, the exposure to risk or funding decisions. That alone already attracts a more relevant candidate group.

Another important factor is focus on sourcing. Looking at peer organisations with similar treasury setups is often far more effective than broad market searches. Treasury talent tends to cluster in comparable environments.

And finally, speed matters more than you realise. Two or three well-structured interviews, fast feedback, and clear decision making will outperform a longer and more cautious process almost every time.

Conclusion

Treasury recruitment is about precision! Small differences in experience can have a big impact on performance, especially in roles that directly influence liquidity, funding and financial risk.

That is why the best hires in treasury should be understood, identified and engaged in the right way.

And in a market this specialised, that difference matters more than most organisations initially expect.

In recruitment, the “perfect” match does not always reveal itself immediately. Sometimes, timing and perspective make all the difference.

In a recent search, we revisited a candidate who had been introduced to the client before. At the time, he was considered slightly overqualified for the role, and both sides moved on. Fast forward to a new intake, where the client reflected on their needs and concluded that more seniority and independence would actually add value to the team.

With that in mind, we reintroduced the same candidate. Rather than focusing on the earlier decision, both sides approached the conversation with a fresh perspective and genuine curiosity about the potential fit.

That shift in approach proved decisive.

During the discussions, it became clear that what was once seen as “too much” experience was now exactly what the role required. The candidate’s background, combined with the client’s evolved expectations, created a strong and natural alignment.

The result: a successful placement, starting May 1st. For the candidate, after nearly a year and a half of searching with limited feedback, this role ticked all the boxes: the right challenge, the right environment, and the right location.

This case is a good reminder that a “no” is not always final. Sometimes, the right match is already known, it just needs the right moment to come back into focus.

Einige Positionen benötigen mehr Zeit als erwartet. Nicht weil die Stelle unattraktiv wäre oder der Markt inaktiv ist, sondern weil Timing, Erwartungen und Umstände nicht sofort zusammenpassen. Diese Suche war ein klares Beispiel dafür.

Die Position war bereits seit längerer Zeit vakant. Nach einer ausgedehnten Suche waren bereits mehrere Routen erkundet worden. Wir näherten uns dem Punkt, an dem sowohl wir als auch der Kunde begannen, daran zu zweifeln, ob der richtige Kandidat überhaupt noch zu finden sei. Trotzdem hat uns der Kunde dazu ermutigt, uns die Sache noch einmal genauer anzusehen.

Wir haben das Briefing im Detail überarbeitet, unsere ursprünglichen Annahmen neu bewertet und unsere Suchstrategie angepasst. Dadurch konnten wir Profile und Kanäle erschließen, die bisher noch nicht voll ausgeschöpft worden waren.

Dieser erneuerte Ansatz erforderte Geduld und Konsequenz. Letztendlich führten uns diese Kriterien zu einer Kandidatin, die aufgrund ihrer umfangreichen Erfahrung, ihres einschlägigen Hintergrunds und ihrer allgemeinen Eignung sofort hervorstach. Bereits in den ersten Gesprächen war klar, dass sie das Potenzial hatte, eine hervorragende Besetzung zu sein. Dies bestätigte sich im Laufe des Interviewprozesses, in dem sie einen starken Eindruck hinterließ und reibungslos durch jede Phase vorankam, was schließlich zu einer erfolgreichen Vermittlung führte.

Es gab weitere Umstände, die diese Suche komplexer machten. Die Stelle war so lange unbesetzt geblieben, weil eine frühere Kandidatin bis zur Angebotsphase gelangt war, sich jedoch dazu entschieden hatte, zu ihrem vorherigen Arbeitgeber zurückzukehren. Dies führte dazu, dass sowohl der Kunde als auch wir den Prozess mit besonderer Vorsicht und Feingefühl angegangen sind.

Rückblickend zeigt diese Vermittlung, dass Beharrlichkeit, Flexibilität und klare Kommunikation bei anspruchsvollen Suchen den entscheidenden Unterschied ausmachen. Auch wenn ein Prozess schon fast abgeschlossen zu sein scheint, lohnt es sich für Kunden und Kandidaten, weiterhin Zeit und Mühe zu investieren, um das richtige Ergebnis zu erzielen.

Wenn Sie an einer anspruchsvollen Aufgabe arbeiten oder Schwierigkeiten haben, die Erwartungen beider Seiten in Einklang zu bringen, können Sie sich gerne an uns wenden. Wir schauen uns Ihren Fall gerne genauer an und prüfen, wie wir Sie unterstützen können.

In recruitment, the “perfect” match on paper does not always exist. Sometimes the real opportunity lies just outside the original brief.

In a recent search, we saw a great match in a candidate we knew well, as we thought her experience and personality would fit well in our client’s team. At the same time, they did not fully match the requirements we were given. One of the main points was related to working arrangements: the role was initially expected to be more office-based, while the candidate was looking for greater flexibility when it came to remote work.

Rather than discarding the profile, we decided to present the candidate to our client anyway. Transparency is key in these situations, so we clearly highlighted where the match was slightly different from the original requirements and why we still believed they could be a strong addition to the team.

To the client’s credit, they approached the situation with an open mind. Instead of focusing solely on the checklist, they agreed to meet the candidate and explore the potential fit in more detail.

That conversation made all the difference.

During the interviews, it quickly became clear that the overall match was very strong, despite initial concerns. The candidate’s expertise, attitude, and way of thinking aligned very well with the team’s needs. At the same time, the client showed flexibility regarding the working arrangements, recognizing the long-term value the candidate could bring.

The result was a successful placement and a very happy candidate and client.

This case is a good reminder that recruitment is not only about ticking every box. Sometimes the best matches happen when both sides are willing to look beyond the initial requirements and focus on the bigger picture.

How to Recruit Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, Without Losing Your Mind (or Your Wi-Fi Connection)

Workforces today are more generationally mixed than ever. You may be interviewing a Gen X’er who printed the job posting to read it carefully… and five minutes later, a Gen Z’er who Googled your company while you were still introducing yourself.

Recruiting these generations requires nuance, empathy, and, let’s be honest, slightly different communication skills.

This guide breaks down Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z in a sharp, humorous, practical way, so you can tailor your recruitment strategy to each group.

Side-by-side comparison

FACTOR	GEN X	MILLENNIALS	GEN Z
Values	Security, autonomy, expertise	Purpose, development, balance	Impact, authenticity, inclusivity
Tone	Direct, practical, concise	Warm, meaningful, transparent	Honest, short, human, visual
Channels	LinkedIn, email, phone	LinkedIn, email, webinars	LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube,, TikTok
Recruiter Strategy	Show facts, stability, KPIs	Show mission, growth path	Show impact, culture, real stories
Work Style	Independent, efficient, no drama	Collaborative, ambitious, flexible	Fast, creative, values-driven
Development Needs	Certifications, mastery	Coaching, leadership growth	Learning sprints, mentorship
Retention Drivers	Stability, autonomy, respect	Advancement, balance, belonging	Purpose, flexibility, inclusion

 

Or: how to hire the generation that grew up swiping before they could walk.

Gen Z (born roughly 1997–2012) is the first generation that doesn’t remember a world without smartphones, social media, and streaming everything instantly. They have grown up in a world of constant updates, endless options, and, frankly, a lot of noise.

If you are trying to recruit them with boilerplate job posts, hashtags, or “fun office perks,” good luck. They see right through it.

Who is Generation Z?

Gen Z is smart, fast, socially conscious, and slightly impatient.
They are the generation that can TikTok a 60-second hack for folding laundry while finishing a Zoom lecture and scrolling Instagram, all without breaking a sweat.

Key traits:

• Instant information consumption → they know what is real and what is marketing.
• Values-driven → they care about ethics, sustainability, and inclusion.
• Pragmatic but experimental → they are willing to try new things, but need real purpose.

Familiar Gen Z Scenes

• The intern who is already creating a content strategy because they learned TikTok marketing in their bedroom.
• The young professional who asks: “What’s your DEI policy? Are you carbon neutral?” before even looking at the salary.
• The social media-savvy employee who could become a LinkedIn influencer overnight  and your company might get famous without realizing it.

How to Approach Generation Z

1. Channels: fast and digital

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn. Short, engaging, visual content that shows your company in action. But don’t just post memes, they can smell inauthenticity.

2. Tone: authentic, inclusive, purpose-driven

Skip the hype and buzzwords. Show impact: “This is how you can make a difference in 3 months.” Highlight your values, but only if they’re real.

3. Proof: tangible and social

Reviews from current employees, stories, examples. Projects with real impact, measurable outcomes. Social proof matters: Gen Z checks Glassdoor, TikTok, and Instagram before believing anything.

How to Attract and Retain Them

• Purpose & impact

They want to know why their work matters, not just what it is. Projects that change processes, help people, or save the planet → big points.

• Flexibility & autonomy

Remote work, flexible hours, hybrid schedules. Trust them to manage their own time, micromanagement kills motivation.

• Development & learning

Mentoring, workshops, online courses, quick learning loops. They want to grow fast, learn new skills, and move horizontally as well as vertically.

• Culture & belonging

Inclusion isn’t optional; it’s a baseline. Transparent communication, collaboration, and feedback loops matter.

Practical Recruiter Insights

Hybrid work → essential.
Salary → fair, transparent, and tied to results.
ESG/CSR → not optional; they research it before applying.
Management style → supportive, approachable, coaching, not commanding.
Benefits that matter → mental health support, learning budgets, flexible time off, clear career pathways.

Conclusion: Gen Z Recruitment Formula

They want impact. They want flexibility. They want authenticity.

Get those three right, and you will attract a generation that can learn fast, innovate, and bring fresh energy, just make sure your values are real, or they will swipe left.

A client approached us right before the Christmas holidays with an urgent request: extra hands on deck in their treasury team. Timing is everything in recruitment, and December is not always the easiest month to kick off a new search.

However, by aligning on the profile quickly and mapping out the entire recruitment process upfront, we were able to schedule interview slots for early January before everyone logged off for the holidays. That thorough process management made all the difference. No delays, no unnecessary back-and-forth, just a clear timeline and strong momentum from day one.

The result? A very smooth process with a fantastic shortlist of treasury professionals. In fact, the quality of the candidates combined with the team’s growth needs led to an unexpected but great outcome: instead of hiring one candidate, our client decided to hire two.

In just 1,5 months, two treasury professionals successfully placed.

This case once again shows how important structure, speed and clear communication are in niche recruitment. Especially in treasury, where the right expertise is scarce and demand can shift quickly, a well-managed process can turn urgency into opportunity.

Are you planning to expand your treasury team in 2026? Let’s discuss how we can help you move quickly, without compromising on quality.

Or: how to attract the generation that survived flip phones and now dominates Zoom calls.

Millennials (born roughly 1981–1996) are the generation that bridges analog childhoods and digital adulthoods. They watched dial-up turn into high-speed internet and survived Y2K panic twice if you count their student loans.

They crave purpose, development, and a sense of achievement, but they’re also pragmatic: rent, mortgages, and side hustles await.

Who Are Millennials?

Millennials are adaptable, socially conscious, and tech-savvy, but not hyperconnected like Gen Z.

Key traits:

• Value work-life balance → they do not want to be defined by their job.
• Seek purpose → they want to feel like their work matters.
• Career-minded → personal growth, development, and promotions are motivators.

Familiar Millennial Scenes

• The professional who sets Google Calendar alerts for “self-care time” while juggling team meetings. The employee who asks: “Can we measure the ROI on this CSR initiative?” before approving a budget. The remote worker with a standing desk and a side hustle selling hand-poured candles on Etsy.

How to Approach Millennials

1. Channels: professional + social

LinkedIn, email, Slack, webinars. Mix serious content with glimpses of your company culture.

2. Tone: meaningful, transparent, slightly casual

Avoid hype. Speak plainly about career paths, development, and company mission. Show real-life impact: “Here’s how your work matters this quarter.”

3. Proof: tangible results & culture

Success stories, employee experiences, metrics. Clear paths for development and mentorship.

How to Attract and Retain Millennials

Purpose & growth

Opportunities for skill-building, leadership, and professional recognition. Projects with measurable outcomes and visible impact.

Flexibility

Hybrid work, flexible schedules, and remote options. Balance matters, they won’t sacrifice life for work.

Development & mentorship

Learning programs, stretch assignments, and coaching. Millennials thrive when they can grow and help others grow too.

Culture & belonging

Inclusive, collaborative, and communicative environments. Recognition and feedback are key.

Practical Recruiter Insights

• Hybrid work → highly valued.
• Salary → fair, transparent, and aligned with responsibility.
• ESG/CSR → appreciated; aligns with personal values.
• Management style → coaching, transparent, and collaborative.
• Benefits that matter → career development budgets, flexible PTO, wellness programs, and family support.

Millennial Recruitment Formula

They want growth. They want balance. They want purpose.

Hit those three, and you’ll attract a generation that is loyal, motivated, and capable of bridging the gap between the experienced Gen X and the fast-moving Gen Z.