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Case study - Diagnosing a stalled search

Why 60+ interviews failed to produce the right Solar Construction Manager

A six-month search for a utility-scale solar project in KSA showed that the problem was not candidate volume. It was the way candidates were being filtered before interview.

  • Energy and power
  • Utility-scale solar
  • Construction Manager

Case study at a glance

6 months searching
60+ interviews
Utility-scale solar project
No suitable candidate identified

The original hiring problem

Before the search reset

The client had spent six months searching for a Construction Manager for a utility-scale solar project in KSA.

  • More than 60 candidates had been interviewed without identifying a suitable hire.
  • CVs frequently appeared suitable on paper.
  • The people interviewed often did not match what the CVs suggested.
  • Senior client stakeholders were losing weeks reviewing candidates who should not have reached them.

We went through more than 60 interviews. Not one of them was right. The CVs looked fine on paper, but almost none of the people matched what was written about them. We were losing weeks we did not have.

HR Director, solar EPC contractor

Search diagnosis

Why the search had stalled

The article did not diagnose a lack of available talent. It pointed to a search process that was allowing unsuitable candidates to reach senior client interviews.

Keyword-led supply

Candidates were being supplied largely through keyword matching.

Too little verification

There had been too little verification of how candidates actually operated on site.

Volume hid a weak filter

The high interview count was evidence of a weak filter rather than a successful search.

Senior time was consumed

Unsuitable candidates were reaching the client's most senior interviewers.

The process was producing interview volume without meaningful pre-qualification.

The TalSource approach

The TalSource search reset

The evidence pointed towards a reset built around the real operating demands of the role. These steps describe the proposed process.

  1. Re-scope the role

    Rebuild the brief around what the position actually required on the project site.

  2. Prioritize relevant operating experience

    Focus on EPC-side construction leadership and direct management of local subcontractor crews.

  3. Assess independence and judgement

    Test whether candidates can operate independently without constant escalation.

  4. Assess before CV review

    Use a domain-expert video assessment before allowing the CV to determine who reaches the client.

Intended process change

What the new process is designed to change

The reset was designed to improve the evidence available before the client invests interview time.

  • Catch operational mismatches before client interview
  • Replace interview volume with earlier evidence
  • Show communication and judgement beyond the CV
  • Give hiring managers a shorter, better-qualified group

The wider lesson

What this search demonstrated

Interview volume can hide a broken filter

A high interview count can signal a broken filter rather than a thin market.

A CV cannot show operating judgement

A CV cannot show how someone operates and communicates under pressure.

Assessment belongs earlier

Structured assessment should happen before the client invests interview time.

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