Searching by title is useful for finding people. It is much less useful for deciding whether they are actually right for the role.
The same title can represent different levels of ownership between companies. Qualification therefore needs evidence: what did the person own, which projects did they work on, what decisions were they responsible for and how close is that experience to the new employer’s problem?
The title helps build the first search. The evidence determines who belongs on the shortlist. That distinction removes many false positives before outreach begins.
Define what the person must achieve
A useful candidate scorecard begins with the work, not a list of personality adjectives. What should improve after the person joins? Which decisions will they own? Who will depend on their output? Translate those questions into a small number of criteria with observable evidence. Experience with a familiar brand or a prestigious employer can be relevant context, but it should not replace an explanation of what the person actually contributed.
Ask for the decision behind the result
When a candidate describes a successful project, explore the starting point, their responsibility, the options considered and the outcome. What did they personally decide? What support did the team provide? What would they do differently? For a performance marketer, a strong return figure means little without budget, channel and measurement context. For a developer, a shipped feature means more when the person can explain the engineering trade-offs.
Make uncertainty visible in the shortlist
A responsible introduction should distinguish confirmed experience from points still to explore. If leadership responsibility is unclear, say so and propose the question that would resolve it. If a candidate has adjacent rather than direct sector experience, explain why it may transfer and what risk remains. Hiring managers can make better decisions with an honest evidence summary than with an unqualified recommendation that presents every profile as a perfect fit.
Keep interviews comparable and proportionate
Use the same core questions for people being assessed for the same role, while allowing relevant follow-ups. Share the criteria with interviewers and decide who checks each area. A short, relevant work discussion is often more useful than several rounds that repeat the CV. The shortlist is the beginning of the decision process, not a substitute for it; its job is to focus attention on the strongest evidence and the most important unanswered questions.