Talent Qualification
The wrong CISO hire costs $400K-$800K by the time you've separated and replaced them — and the candidates who interview well aren't always the ones who can do the job. "Strategic thinkers" but know nothing about technology itself. We run structured technical and behavioral evaluations for security leadership, engineering, and IT roles, with real reference deep-dives and defensible answers about who can do the work.
Qualification Process
The difference between unknown and validated.
We separate claims from evidence with a structured process that tests technical depth, leadership judgment, role fit, and reference signal before the offer goes out.
A clear recommendation with risks, evidence, and notes your hiring team can defend.
Overview
Hire right the first time — for the roles where a mistake costs six figures.
The Pressure
Senior cyber and IT hiring is harder than it has been in a decade — and regulators now hold you to it.
- Workforce shortages documented in the (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Study span every regulated sector, with average CISO searches now running nine to twelve months.
- NYDFS Part 500 raised the bar on what a "qualified individual" actually means.
- CMMC Level 2 requires demonstrably qualified personnel, not just credentialed ones.
- SEC Cybersecurity Disclosure rules require board-level cyber competency that withstands scrutiny.
- Credential inflation means a meaningful share of candidates carry certifications but limited operational depth — the mismatch that creates six-figure hiring mistakes.
The Gap
The people evaluating your candidates usually can't see past the résumé.
- Search firms understand role seniority but cannot evaluate technical depth.
- Internal interview teams can only assess up to their own technical ceiling — so the senior-most hire is structurally the hardest to vet.
- Reference checks are usually performative, targeting only the curated reference list the candidate submitted.
- Compensation benchmarking goes stale fast in a market where senior cyber and AI roles are repriced quarterly.
- No structured rubric leaves the decision riding on interview polish rather than demonstrated capability.
How We Help
We run structured technical and behavioral evaluations led by practitioners senior to the role being filled.
- Run pre-hire technical assessment with role-specific rubrics for security leadership, engineering, and IT roles.
- Deliver leadership candidate vetting for CIO, CISO, and VP Engineering through scenario-based behavioral evaluation.
- Conduct real reference deep-dives — actual conversations with people who worked with the candidate, cross-validated, not the curated list.
- Provide internal skills validation for promotion decisions and search-firm evaluation before you spend the retainer.
- Benchmark compensation current to the quarter, and pair with our Consulting practice for interim-leadership coverage so the role keeps producing during the search.
You get a defensible answer about who can actually do the work — before the offer goes out.
Capabilities
What we deliver
Pre-Hire Technical Assessment
Role-specific technical evaluation — security analysts, engineers, architects. Structured, defensible, repeatable.
Leadership Candidate Vetting
For CIO, CISO, VP Engineering candidates: structured behavioral interviews, scenario-based evaluation, reference deep-dives.
Reference Deep-Dive
Real conversations with people who actually worked with the candidate — not the curated reference list. Multiple sources cross-validated.
Internal Skills Validation
For promotion decisions or skills inventory: structured assessment of internal staff capability.
Recruiter & Search Firm Evaluation
Many search firms don't understand cyber/IT. We assess whether yours does, before you spend the retainer.
Compensation Benchmarking
Honest market data for the roles you actually need to fill.
Hire right the first time
Let's talk about your open role, search problem, or pipeline of candidates.