The professional services industry is rapidly evolving in the face of technological disruption, shifting client expectations, economic uncertainty, and increasing regulatory demands. In this climate, simply being competent is not enough. Relevance is the new currency.

The professional services industry  is rapidly evolving in the face of technological disruption, shifting client expectations, economic uncertainty, and increasing regulatory demands. In this climate, simply being competent is not enough. Relevance is the new currency.

Why Staying Relevant Is Crucial

Remaining relevant in your sector is not just a matter of job security—it’s a strategic investment in your long-term professional value. Here’s why it matters:

Client Expectations Are Evolving: Clients now demand more strategic input, faster responses, and deeper sector knowledge from their advisors. If you cannot speak their language or anticipate their needs, you risk being replaced by someone who can—or by a piece of software.

Firms Are Restructuring: Many professional services firms are undergoing digital transformation and rethinking their business models. Those who upskill and innovate are seen as assets; those who don’t risk being sidelined.

The Industry Is More Competitive Than Ever: New entrants, globalisation, and technology are intensifying competition. Standing still means falling behind.

Technology Is Redefining Roles: AI, automation, and digital platforms are taking over routine work. Ask yourself how you are using AI in your current role to get ahead?  Relevance increasingly means offering insight, judgement, and empathy—things machines can’t easily replicate.

Benefits of Staying Relevant

Remaining current doesn’t just help you survive change—it helps you thrive in it. Here are the key advantages:

✔ Career Progression

You’re more likely to be promoted or headhunted if you demonstrate thought leadership, adaptability, and awareness of current trends.

Firms reward those who bring fresh ideas, identify new revenue streams, and contribute to strategic goals.

✔ Stronger Client Relationships

Staying on top of trends allows you to deliver value beyond the brief, turning clients into long-term partners.

Clients trust professionals who clearly understand their industry, challenges, and ambitions.

✔ Job Security and Mobility

Relevance gives you options. Whether you want to climb the ladder, pivot into a new role, or go independent, up-to-date skills and networks make it possible.

✔ Increased Confidence and Influence

When you’re informed and in demand, you speak with more authority, contribute more meaningfully, and have a seat at the table in critical discussions.

How to Stay Relevant: 8 Practical Strategies

1. Commit to Lifelong Learning and Upskilling

• Professional services revolve around knowledge—your expertise is your product.
• Stay sharp with a growth mindset and ask yourself; what was the last business book you read and how did you implement your learnings.
• What business podcasts and audio books do you listen to?

2. Embrace and Leverage Technology

Don’t fear tech—understand it and use it to your advantage:

• Get comfortable with AI tools, automation software, and cloud platforms used in your field.
• Stay informed on sector-specific technologies (e.g., legaltech, regtech, proptech).
• Champion digital adoption within your firm or department.

3. Strengthen Your Professional Network

• A strong network multiplies your relevance:
• Attend events, join professional associations, and participate in working groups.
• Build meaningful relationships with peers, mentors, and clients on platforms like LinkedIn.
• Share knowledge and offer introductions—it keeps you front-of-mind.

4. Develop Commercial and Strategic Awareness

• To offer true value, understand the business context behind your work:
• Follow sector news, regulatory changes, and economic trends that affect your clients.
• Learn how businesses operate—focus on profitability, operational risk, ESG issues, and digital growth.
• Position your advice within the bigger picture: “What does this mean for the client’s bottom line or long-term goals?”

5. Build a Strong Personal Brand

• In a competitive sector, visibility is as important as ability:
• Share insights or lessons from your work (while respecting confidentiality).
• Publish articles, speak at events, or lead internal training sessions.
• Be known for something—whether it’s expertise in a specific regulation, sector, or methodology.

6. Be Client-Centric and Responsive to Change

• Clients increasingly seek agile partners who can pivot quickly and deliver tailored solutions:
• Enhance your listening and questioning skills to better understand what clients really want.
• Be flexible and collaborative when navigating ambiguity or shifting priorities.
• Go beyond billable hours—offer value-added ideas or make relevant introductions.

7. Seek Mentorship—and Offer It

Mentorship is not only about guidance—it’s about perspective:

• Find a mentor who challenges you to think differently and plan long-term.
• Offer to mentor juniors or graduates—it keeps you sharp and grounded.
• Participate in reverse mentoring to gain insights from younger professionals and digital natives.

8. Stay Agile and Open to Reinvention

• The ability to adapt is a powerful differentiator:
• Explore lateral moves or secondments to expand your perspective and skills.
• Learn how to manage change and ambiguity—especially during restructuring or transformation projects.

Be ready to pivot—your career path may not be linear, and that’s okay. By continually developing your expertise, embracing technology, cultivating relationships, and staying attuned to clients’ needs, you not only protect your career—you elevate it.

Relevance leads to influence, resilience, and opportunity. It helps you deliver meaningful impact for your firm and clients—and ensures your professional life is both secure and fulfilling.

Executive search often operates behind the scenes. It can lack transparency and unless you are working at an executive level or are responsible for hiring for succession plans, you probably haven’t had too much exposure to it. 

It can often get lumped in with agency recruitment but it’s important to highlight the differences.  

To better understand the unique aspects of executive search, let’s break down its core functions: 

• Building an understanding of the problem that the candidate will solve. Getting to the bottom of the “challenge”. We use assessment tools and our experience to build a deep understanding of your business and ensure there is panel alignment at the start of the process. We can often give an external perspective and help define a role beyond a typical job description 

• Research – Identifying relevant candidates in the market – we follow a SHREK-style methodology and leverage various tools along with our trusted referral networks. 

• Candidate Engagement – that initial outreach, the compelling reason for why somebody should speak to us which allows us to pitch the challenge and opportunity for impact. 

• Assessment – Ensuring fit for both parties. This is arguably up there with understanding the problem when it comes to the most critical stage but it’s an area that often has the least emphasis.  

For this blog, I’ll focus on Assessment. The reason for this is most search firms have access to the same tools, usually have similar research methodologies and all should high engagement levels when it comes to engaging with the marketplace for critical roles. 

How do you ensure fit or predict the success of a potential hire? 

Oftentimes, it’s based on a coffee with a candidate or a formal job interview but for critical, high value roles, there are various assessment tools that can help de-risk your decision making. 

At Corvus People, we work with our clients to design an assessment process relevant for the role. They allow you to make your decisions based on data and avoid the wasted time meeting candidates that aren’t right for the role. 

Mental Agility Testing: designed to measure cognitive abilities, including verbal comprehension, mathematical skills, and reasoning. The test evaluates how quickly and accurately you can perform mental tasks, often used by employers during the hiring process to gauge general intelligence and problem-solving capabilities 

Behavioural profiling: Corvus uses behavioural assessments to ensure cultural fit, which requires critical analysis of candidates beyond their CVs and interviews. 

Critical thinking assessments: As part of their selection process, Corvus includes critical thinking assessments for candidates. This directly evaluates a candidate’s ability to navigate complex information environments, a crucial skill in today’s business landscape. 

Emotional intelligence evaluation: By assessing emotional intelligence, Corvus recognises the importance of leaders who can effectively manage relationships and make sound judgments in emotionally charged situations. 

Behavioural Interviews: We design and deliver competency-based interviews with a comprehensive scoring matrix to allow us to fairly assess and rank candidates. 

Once candidates have been through an assessment process, the top candidates will be presented to you via our portal where we will share all the data to ensure that you are properly prepared for interviews. 

The success of Corvus People’s approach is evident in our results. 97% of our candidates introduced through Executive Search have remained in their new roles for 12 months or more. This high retention rate suggests that our approach leads to strong matches between candidates and organisations. 

Our Human Capital Management Consulting services complement our search services by ensuring the chosen candidate is set up for success.  This holistic approach recognises that success is not just based on hiring the right person but also, developing them for long-term organisational success. 

Corvus People is well-positioned to help organisations navigate the challenges of misinformation and complex decision-making in executive hiring. Our approach aligns with the growing need for leaders who can think critically, adapt to changing environments, and make informed decisions based on thorough analysis rather than intuition or potentially misleading information. 

Corvus People, exemplifies the importance of assessments and critical thinking in executive search and talent acquisition. Their approach to Executive Search, demonstrates a deep understanding of the challenges posed by misinformation and the need for thorough, data-driven decision-making in hiring processes. 

The ability to search and find suitable candidates is only the first half of the process which is underpinned by a data-led process designed for critical and executive hires. This methodology incorporates several elements that highlight the importance of critical thinking: 

In-depth analysis: Corvus Executive Search consultants invest time with their client’s senior teams to understand the business, culture, and roles thoroughly. This approach ensures a comprehensive understanding of the client’s needs, reducing the risk of misinformation or misalignment. 

Cutting-edge technology: By leveraging advanced tools, Corvus can sift through vast amounts of information to identify qualified candidates. This tech-enabled approach helps in managing the information overload often associated with executive search. 

Behavioural profiling: Corvus uses behavioural assessments to ensure cultural fit, which requires critical analysis of candidates beyond their CVs and interviews. 

Critical thinking assessments: As part of their selection process, Corvus includes critical thinking assessments for candidates. This directly evaluates a candidate’s ability to navigate complex information environments, a crucial skill in today’s business landscape. 

Emotional intelligence evaluation: By assessing emotional intelligence, Corvus recognises the importance of leaders who can effectively manage relationships and make sound judgments in emotionally charged situations. 

The success of Corvus People’s approach is evident in their results. They report that 97% of their Corvus Assured candidates have remained in their new roles for 12 months or more. This high retention rate suggests that their critical thinking-based approach leads to better matches between candidates and organisations. 

Corvus People’s services extend beyond just filling positions. They offer Human Capital Management Consulting services, which focus on developing and retaining top talent. This holistic approach recognises that critical thinking skills are not just crucial for hiring but also for long-term organisational success. 

In the face of recruitment challenges, Corvus People’s methods have proven effective. Clients have reported success in filling complex roles with demanding skill sets, even when previous attempts had failed. This success can be attributed to Corvus’s thorough, critical approach to understanding both the role requirements and the candidates’ capabilities. 

By emphasising critical thinking in their processes, Corvus People is well-positioned to help organisations navigate the challenges of misinformation and complex decision-making in executive hiring. Their approach aligns with the growing need for leaders who can think critically, adapt to changing environments, and make informed decisions based on thorough analysis rather than intuition or potentially misleading information.

I often must stop myself from stating the obvious but on this occasion, I’m going to go for it: Succession Planning is all about planning for the future of the business. It often includes finding the time to “think” and the time to have critical conversations with family members and high potential colleagues. 

It’s about securing the future of the business and often requires a stoic approach –“What happens if Paul wins the lottery? “Great for him but he’s now off on a around the world trip. Who’s going to do his job and make sure that everyone gets paid?”, “What happens if Orla decides to hang up her Ops Director hat and move to Goa to become a Yoga instructor?”… Okay, so that was probably a bit too specific but hopefully you get the point. 

Succession planning is all about making sure that you have a suitable plan B. 

I spoke to our Head of Human Capital Consulting, Chris Mullan and this is what he had to say: 

“Developing your internal talent and hiring for growth potential are two sides of the same coin, they are both essential for building a resilient, future proofed business. Providing investment for internal talent isn’t just about retaining them, it’s about creating a pipeline of leaders who know your business, your culture, your strategy and processes. Plus, it’s cheaper to build your own than constantly having to go to market for new talent every time you need to fill a position. 

In saying that its equally as important to your approach to external hiring. When bringing new talent into your business, its critical to look beyond the immediate role requirements and assess candidates for the ability to take the next 1-2 (possibly 3) steps in their career path. That talent who can demonstrate not only the skills for the current role but also the potential to grow into future positions ensures that futureproofing. Not only does it save money and time associated with recruiting externally it helps create a culture of opportunity which is attractive to high calibre talent.  

Utilising both strategies helps businesses become more agile and resilient. Creating a robust talent strategy will differentiate your business from others in the market and deliver a steady stream of talent that will ensure business continuity and growth.” 

In any business, it’s crucial to have a succession plan in place. If there are no internal candidates (Plan Bs) ready and able to step into the roles of key leaders (Plan As) should they leave unexpectedly, you’ll need to look externally. Being proactive about this is far better than being reactive. 

Recently, I’ve been collaborating with several business owners to bridge the gap between their stepping back and the next generation stepping up. In all these cases, there was a significant gap that needed to be filled, often spanning 10-15 years. Unfortunately, there was no one within the businesses with the desire or readiness to take on these leadership roles, necessitating an external search. 

There’s a huge benefit to taking a proactive approach to succession planning. It means that instead of having to be reactive to the unexpected and having to make a distressed purchase-style decision on hiring, you’ll be able to take your time to ensure you have the right talent within the business, developing and growing until they are ready to take the step up. 

This proactive approach not only mitigates risks but also positions the business for long-term success. 

If you’ve ever worked at a large, monolithic company—let’s call it a “SHREK company”—you know the experience comes with its own unique flavour of chaos. SHREK companies are big, loud, and often overly complicated, just like their ogre counterpart. Think endless meetings where everyone talks but no one listens, processes that require five approvals for ordering coffee, and a tech stack that feels like it was cobbled together by medieval alchemists.

Now imagine transitioning from that ogre’s swamp to a boutique search firm: small, agile, and alarmingly functional. It’s like moving from a Renaissance fair—all pomp and drama—to a chic, minimalist coffee shop where everyone knows your name and spells it correctly. Here’s what I learned from making that jump and how my time in the swamp gave me a surprising toolkit to thrive in this new world.

Lesson 1: Big Swamps Teach Big Patience

In a SHREK company, things move at the speed of molasses. A simple decision can take weeks because, “hey, let’s form a task force and put together a deck first.” That slow pace taught me patience—a skill that is, ironically, incredibly useful in the fast-paced exec search boutique world. Now, when a client changes their requirements for the third time this week, I don’t flinch. I just channel my inner swamp zen and get on with it.

Lesson 2: You Learn to Herd Cats (and Donkeys)

Big companies are full of people. LOTS of people. And they all have opinions. You’re essentially herding a mix of cats and donkeys (both metaphorically and, in some cases, literally if you count office mascots). Navigating all that taught me the fine art of persuasion, compromise, and knowing when to throw in an anecdote to lighten the mood. Turns out, those skills translate beautifully to boutique firms where matrix is not the key but relationships are and everyone’s voice carries weight.

Lesson 3: Systems Overload = Efficiency Hacks

SHREK companies love a system. No one remembers why these systems exist, but you better follow them. Working in that environment forces you to develop efficiency hacks because otherwise, you’ll drown in a sea of spreadsheets and intranet portals. When I moved to the boutique world, I brought these hacks with me. Suddenly, I was the go-to person for automating repetitive tasks or streamlining processes. Turns out, a little swamp ingenuity goes a long way.

Lesson 4: Humility is Key (But Confidence is King)

In a massive organization, you’re one tiny cog in a very big machine. It’s humbling and sometimes frustrating, but it also teaches you the importance of humility. That said, SHREK companies also toughen you up. You learn to speak up, pitch ideas, and advocate for yourself because, if you don’t, you’ll get lost in the swamp’s noise. Most importantly you work with a pool of pedigree folks whose success and resilience will rub on you.
That combination of humility and confidence has been invaluable in boutique land, where every idea counts but collaboration is king.

The Final Takeaway: Big Swamp Energy

While boutique firms are leaner and nimbler, there’s a surprising amount you can bring from the swamp. A big-picture mindset, resilience, and the ability to find humour in even the most ridiculous situations (like realizing your new office’s coffee machine has better tech than your old company’s CRM).

So, here’s to embracing both worlds: the ogre-sized lessons from the SHREK swamp and the bespoke charm of boutique life. And if you’re wondering, yes, I’ve already suggested that our next client pitch include waffles. Donkey would be proud.