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Find and refine target candidates

Give Kaiya the brief, client requirements and off-limits firms. Ask for a candidate list with evidence. Kaiya can identify equivalent roles and target companies, then search leading professional networking sites, Invenias and other online sources.

Tell Kaiya who you need​

You can begin with a short request:

Find step-up candidates for a PE-backed CFO role. They must have previous
experience in a PE-backed SaaS company.

Kaiya can work out:

  • Plausible meanings of step-up for this mandate.
  • Relevant current roles and title equivalents.
  • A draft scorecard for comparing candidates.
  • PE-backed SaaS companies and adjacent talent pools.
  • Whether PE ownership overlapped with a candidate's employment.
  • Evidence for each important requirement.

Kaiya may state assumptions before presenting the results. If two credible interpretations would create different candidate pools, Kaiya will ask a focused question.

Add the client's requirements​

Tell Kaiya the client's definition of step-up, dealbreakers and off-limits firms:

For this client, step-up means a first Group CFO role for a Divisional CFO,
Regional CFO, Finance Director or VP Finance. Buy-and-build experience is
essential. The client will consider people from businesses with £50 million
to £200 million revenue. Exclude companies on the attached off-limits list.
Candidates must live in or be able to commute to London.

Tell Kaiya:

  • The client's definition of a credible step-up.
  • Hard requirements and acceptable compromises.
  • Off-limits firms or candidates.
  • Earlier client decisions or search work that Kaiya cannot see.
  • Location, compensation or timing constraints that online sources will not show.

You do not need to supply title synonyms, Boolean searches or a list of PE-backed companies. Kaiya handles that research.

Choose the sources​

Tell Kaiya which sources matter if you have a preference. Otherwise, Kaiya can choose from the sources available for the task.

Search professional networking sites and our Invenias data. Use online sources
to verify company ownership and relevant transactions.

Kaiya can combine searches of professional networking sites and return more than 100 people in one result set. The total depends on the matches Kaiya finds. If too few people fit, ask Kaiya to look for other companies or roles that meet the brief.

To search your firm's records, connect Kaiya to Invenias. Without that connection, use professional networking sites, other online sources and attached files. See Search and analyse Invenias.

Search professional networking sites, Invenias or both​

Tell Kaiya which candidate sources to use when it matters. Search professional networking sites for people beyond your firm's existing records. Use Invenias to find people your firm already knows. Search both when you want one combined result.

Search professional networking sites for Divisional CFOs, Regional CFOs,
Finance Directors and VP Finance candidates from PE-backed SaaS companies.
Verify that each person's employment overlapped with the period of PE ownership.
Search our Invenias data for people who could step up to the Acme Software CFO
role. Compare their recorded experience with the brief and flag old or missing
information.

Build a candidate longlist​

Ask Kaiya to combine sources, apply the brief and explain why each person belongs on the longlist.

Build a longlist for the Acme Software CFO search. Search professional
networking sites and Invenias. Apply the agreed brief and off-limits list.
For each person, show evidence of PE-backed SaaS and buy-and-build experience.
Check that their employment overlapped with PE ownership. Mark missing
evidence and explain each match in a comparison table.

Searches of professional networking sites can return more than 100 people in one combined result. The number of suitable candidates depends on the brief and the evidence Kaiya finds.

Review the results​

Kaiya shows a preview in the conversation. Open Results to:

  • Search within the result set.
  • Filter and sort candidates.
  • Show or hide columns.
  • Compare evidence across candidates.
  • Export the table.

Results loads the first 1,000 rows and shows the total count. To export all records, clear the search, filters and selected rows before you select Export.

On mobile, Open results in chat shows a preview. Open the app menu. Select Results for the full controls. See Work with results.

Refine from the evidence​

Tell Kaiya which candidates fit, which do not and why. Kaiya will refine the list in the same conversation.

The divisional CFOs are closest to what we need. Exclude advisory-heavy
profiles. Prioritise people who led finance during a buy-and-build programme.
Verify that they worked at the company while it was PE-backed.
Find more candidates with the same operating experience. Keep the agreed
requirements and off-limits list.

Kaiya will choose the next search from your feedback.

Start from target companies​

Attach a target company list or ask Kaiya to build one. Kaiya will search those businesses and other credible company groups.

Use the attached target company list to find current and recent finance
leaders who could step up to Group CFO. Search professional networking sites
and Invenias. Include other companies if they meet the agreed brief.
Explain why you added each company.

See Create a target company list.

Research one person​

Give Kaiya the person's name, employer and role to avoid a match with a namesake.

Research Jane Smith, Divisional CFO at Acme Software. Build a sourced
career profile and assess her against the attached CFO scorecard. Mark facts,
inference and missing evidence.

You can also give Kaiya a LinkedIn URL or an Invenias record.

Correct a weak result​

Continue in the same conversation. Give Kaiya precise feedback:

  • Name the candidates who best fit and the evidence that matters.
  • Identify false positives and the assumption that caused them.
  • State any client-approved change to a requirement or preference.
  • Ask Kaiya to verify a weak or missing claim.
  • Ask for a coverage check across sectors, locations, role levels or target companies.

For difficult analysis, turn on Deep Thinking with the brain icon. See Use Deep Thinking.

Check before you use the list​

Review the evidence for each important criterion. Company ownership changes over time, so check that a candidate's employment overlapped with the relevant ownership period. Treat an inferred fit as a research lead until Kaiya or your team finds supporting evidence.