Proof we can solve hard tech hires when getting it wrong gets expensive
Most proof pages show logos, job titles, and nice words.
That is not proof.
Proof is when the role was hard, the market was tight, the team could not afford drift, and the hire still had to work in real life.
These are three very different searches. Same standard. The hire had to help the business move, not make the job heavier.
If the role is already affecting delivery, waiting usually makes the brief worse, not better.
Rare engineering hire in a tight NZ market
Contract integration role filled in 4 days
ERP BA hire grew into AI Lead with $200k backing
These are not just roles we filled
These are hires where the wrong person would have slowed delivery, pulled senior people into cleanup, or pushed the business further behind.
That is the work we care about.
Not volume. Not CV stacks. Not looking busy.
We do not start with CVs. We start with what will make this hire fail.
Rare engineering hire in a tight market
This company needed a Senior Signal Processing Engineer.
Not a common skill set in New Zealand. Not an easy market. And not a role where they could afford to get halfway through the process and realise the fit was wrong.
This was during COVID. The person needed to relocate from Wellington to Auckland. And the role was not just technical. It also needed someone who could step up into lead-level responsibility.
This was pure headhunting. A narrow search for a rare person, in a tight market, for a role the business actually had to get right.
“Jess helped us solve for a rare skill set in a very tight market. This wasn’t a standard search. It needed real headhunting.”
Carl, CTO
Contract integration hire made in 4 days
This role was urgent.
The release was behind, and the product team needed a senior systems builder who could step into a complex integration environment and help get things moving again.
This was not the kind of role where the business had time to run a broad search and hope the right person turned up.
It moved quickly because the signal was right. The moment we took the brief, we knew someone we had placed before who had already delivered in a very similar large, complex legacy integration environment. The fit was clear early, the connection was immediate, and the role was filled in 4 days.
“Jess moved quickly, understood the brief fast, and connected us to the right contractor when we needed the role to make an immediate difference.”
Peter, GM Technology
Permanent ERP BA hire who grew into AI leadership
On paper, this was an ERP BA hire.
But the right person was not the most typical BA on paper.
What mattered more was judgment, range, and the ability to see the business problem properly.
She built the case that the problem was bigger than a spreadsheet. That automating the process was not just an efficiency play. It was also a legal and financial risk play.
She took that case to the C-suite. They said yes. That led to $200k in funding, executive sponsorship, and the start of an AI function that did not exist before she joined. She is now the AI Lead. Sometimes the best hire is not the most obvious profile on paper. It is the person with the bigger upside.
“Jess was right about her. She’s been outstanding.”
Dan, CIO
What this should tell you
The expensive part of hiring is usually not the fee.
It is the delay. The wrong interviews. The shortlist that never felt right. The senior people dragged into cleanup. The role that sounded clear, but was not. Most bad hires start before the offer. They start when the brief is fuzzy, the process is slow, and the team reads the wrong signals.
Most bad hires start earlier than people think. They start when the role is fuzzy, when the business wants speed before clarity, and when the interview process reads the wrong signals.
These are not roles you fill. They are decisions you live with.
If the role matters, get clear before you spend another month on the wrong shape.
In 15 minutes, we can usually tell whether the risk is in the brief, the process, or the profile.
No prep needed. No pressure. Just a sharper read before the mistake gets expensive.
For CTOs, founders, and hiring leaders who need the hire to work in real life, not just on paper.
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Level 8, 139 Quay Street, Auckland, 1010 New Zealand
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