Pauline McGuirk is one of the leading search consultants in the manufacturing and industrial sectors and works as part of the Howgate Sable Network to offer a premium search consultancy for clients in these areas. Here, she shares some more information about her approach to search and how she works with her clients to propel their businesses forward with the right talent placements. 

Hi Pauline, welcome to the Howgate Sable Network! Can you tell us a bit more about you and your background?

I’m a bit unusual in the search sector in that I’ve spent a lot of my career on the client side. Unlike many, I came to search after a long and successful career working in businesses including Volkswagen and then in mergers and acquisitions. My background has always found me working in manufacturing, automotive, industrial and aerospace – basically any business where something is being engineered! Because I have worked within the depths of so many businesses in these sectors, I approach search in a relatively unique way. I understand exactly the problems at hand, because I’ve lived them… and that makes finding the right person to take the role and the business forward an easier task. 

What benefits does executive search bring?

Businesses of all sizes need good people to drive them forward. Regardless of what sector they’re in or what challenges they’re facing, without the right people in the right roles at the right time, it’s incredibly difficult to effect real change. Executive search helps find those people and put them into roles where they can drive things forward. 

The power of a really excellent executive search consultant is in their consultative role. The job is as much about understanding what a business truly needs as it is about finding the right person. Often, what the business in question says it is looking for and what will actually make the biggest impact are two different things. Executive search consultants are skilled at quickly understanding the true picture and applying their broader sector knowledge to advise on the right type of person to fill a role. 

How do you work with clients to support their search needs?

Executive search consultants are a walking library of reference. I’ve got over 25 years of experience in these sectors and my role gives me a unique insight into the commonalities in challenges between businesses of all types in the manufacturing and industrial spaces. What this means is that I apply my wider knowledge of the trends and concerns at a macro level to each brief, which means I can be more consultative and ultimately do a better job. 

I’m not afraid to challenge clients and to prompt them to consider other areas of their briefs, and I have an ability to rapidly read a situation and assess what’s needed. 

Why do your clients choose you?

I’m really proud of the fact that I have such a large number of clients who have stuck with me for many years, and I hope that this is because I can be relied upon to do a great job! Quite simply, I really care. I care about the quality of my relationships with both clients and candidates, and I care about putting the right person in the right place. 

I love to see organisations transform and flourish when they have the right leadership at the helm. I recognise that clients put a great deal of faith in me when they ask me to help them find a senior appointment, and I understand the onus of responsibility on me to do whatever I can to meet their needs. 

There is rightly a lot to be said for honesty, integrity and professionalism in search, but I think that care and empathy are just as important as qualities in a search consultant.