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People & HR Practice

Hiring a Head of Talent? Use this playbook from two of our searches

We kicked off two Head of Talent searches this year: one for a PE-backed software platform, the other for a VC-backed AI infrastructure company. According to the titles, it was the same role. In practice, one company needed a People leader to steady an HR team in transition, and the other needed a recruiting architect to build an AI-first hiring engine.

What follows is the playbook we took from both searches that launched the same month, with the same title, that ended in two very different hires. Here are nine moves tied to what we saw and how you can apply them to your own Head of Talent hire.

Jeremy Baras
Jeremy Baras Partner · November 12, 2026
The two searches

A side-by-side look at each company

The PE-backed platform

  • ~900-person software company built through acquisitions
  • Heading into an offshore hiring build-out, right-sizing and more M&A
  • HR had seen “multiple leadership changes in recent years”
  • Client cited “prior issues caused by hiring a non-HR leader stepping into HR role”
What they needed

A People + Talent leader to steady an HR function in transition.

The AI scale-up

  • Venture-backed AI infrastructure company under $100M ARR
  • Aiming to more than double revenue in a year
  • Leadership called hiring “the single biggest risk and unlock” to its goals
What they needed

A talent leader to build an AI-first hiring engine.

The playbook

From brief to signed offer: nine takeaways that matter

Each move is drawn from what happened in one or both searches.

1Scope the role

Decide which Head of Talent you’re hiring

After repeated turnover, hire a stabilizer

After repeated turnover, include "stabilizing the existing team" into the role’s scope from day one. Set the title’s level carefully, it determines whether you attract a proven operator or someone stepping up for the first time.

Seen in

the PE-backed platform search

Let the hiring mix choose the background

Map next year’s hiring plan by function and geography, then source leaders who have hired that mix.

Seen in

the AI scale-up search

What happened in our searches

Same title, two jobs

“Head of Talent” can mean a People generalist who also runs recruiting, or a recruiting architect who builds the hiring engine. Here’s how the two scopes compared.

The PE-backed platformThe AI scale-up
Scope Inherit a team in transition and “stabilize the function.”Build the recruiting architecture, capacity models, hiring bar, and repeatable systems.
Talent acquisition mandate Majority of near-term hiring is international60–80% technical hiring (engineering, research, AI) and increasing international recruiting efforts
Reports to Chief Administrative Officer, who previously ran the functionChief Financial Officer
In-office requirements Hybrid, 3 days per week in the NYC officeRemote role, based in the US
What they asked for
  • “Operator-level leaders, not ‘ivory tower’ executives”
  • “Not a stretch role”
  • “HRBP experience is essential”
  • “Experience with AI-driven sourcing and automation is a non-negotiable”
  • “Engineering recruiting strongly preferred over go-to-market”
  • “Comfortable ‘building the plane while flying it’”
2Calibrate the brief

Lock the brief before you build the slate

Score sample profiles before outreach starts

Agreeing on real examples early surfaces disagreements before they cost you a slate.

Seen in

both searches

Read repeated rejections as a calibration signal early on

Tally rejection reasons weekly. If you're excited about the candidates you're meeting, the brief or comp range might need to change.

Seen in

the AI scale-up search

Name profiles to avoid

Red flags and archetypes to avoid are equally strong filters to cull the talent pool.

Seen in

the PE-backed platform search

What happened in our searches

How candidates were evaluated

Each search ran on a Hunt Club scorecard, with criteria scored 1–5 for every candidate we presented.

Targeting the Experienced Rising Star

What candidates were evaluated against

  1. Proven track record of inheriting and stabilizing existing HR & TA teams.
  2. Experience overseeing global recruiting alongside ability to operate as a strategic HRBP to strengthen HR infrastructure and systems.
  3. Ability to operate as a credible advisor to the CEO and executive team. Not a junior People leader or first-time ‘Head of’ role.

Excerpt from the 8-criteria Hunt Club scorecard. Each criterion scored 1–5.

AI as a Mandatory Competency

What candidates were evaluated against

  1. Personally owned the design, deployment, and continuous improvement of AI-driven sourcing, screening, and recruiting automation systems.
  2. Owned global hiring forecasts and prioritization. Worked as a close partner to Finance and People on compensation strategy, leveling, market alignment, and offer calibration.
  3. Experience supporting technical and non-technical hiring across multiple geographies.

Excerpt from the 7-dimension Hunt Club scorecard. Each dimension scored 1–5.

3Run the interview loop

Give every round a job, and keep it moving

Run rounds in parallel to protect momentum

The PE-backed platform search ran four panel interviews in any order and went from screen to signed offer in 24 days. Parallel rounds and a 48-hour feedback rule keep finalists warm.

Seen in

the PE-backed platform search

Give every interviewer a lane and a time box

Five or six rounds only add signal if each one tests something different. Defining areas to probe keeps rounds from repeating the same questions.

Seen in

both searches

Put finance on the panel

A talent leader’s budget partner is the CFO, and the CFO is best placed to test workforce planning, cost tradeoffs and leveling.

Seen in

the AI scale-up

If AI skills are non-negotiable, listen carefully

Listen for a number or a material business outcome they got from leveraging AI, and treat “we improved efficiency” on its own as an incomplete answer. For more questions on AI fluency, see our AI Competency in HR & People Hiring guide.

Seen in

both AI scale-up search

What happened in our searches

Interview guide: the loop, and what each round probed

One client ran its panel interviews in parallel; the other ran its rounds one after another. Pick a search to see its loop from screen to signed offer, then who was in each round, what they were set to test, and sample questions you can borrow for your own loop.

Interview loop

The PE-backed platform search

  1. Hunt Club screen

  2. CAO

  3. Parallel, any order · 30–45 min

    • Peer HR leader
    • COO
    • CCO
    • CMO

  4. CEO

  5. References

Hunt Club screen → signed offer

24 days

Chief Administrative Officer

First round, 45 mins

What they probed

  • TA experience
  • HR business partnership
  • Leading a team
  • Culture

Sample questions

  • Walk me through your first 90 days in a People role you inherited. What did you fix first, and why?
  • Tell me about a time you led both recruiting and HR business partnering. How did you split your time?

Panel round · parallel, any order · 30–45 mins each

Peer HR leader

Panel round, 30–45 mins

What they probed

  • Daily operating rhythm

Sample questions

  • How would you divide responsibilities with an HR peer who covers another region?

COO

Panel round, 30–45 mins

What they probed

  • New business
  • Scale

Sample questions

  • What would you need from sales and operations leaders to hire ahead of growth?

CCO

Panel round, 30–45 mins

What they probed

  • New business
  • Scale

Sample questions

  • How have you staffed up behind a new business line or market?

CMO

Panel round, 30–45 mins

What they probed

  • Pressure-testing assumptions

Sample questions

  • What’s one assumption about this role you’d push back on?

CEO

Final round, in-person meeting

What they probed

  • Executive presence
  • Leadership
  • Vision alignment

Sample questions

  • A year from now, what would you want to have changed about our People function?
  • Where would you need my involvement, and where wouldn’t you?

References

What they probed

  • Business impact
  • Leadership
  • Handling pushback
  • Growth areas

Sample questions

  • What tangible impact did they have on the business?
  • How did they perform in moments requiring agility, ambiguity, or transformation?

Interview loop

The AI scale-up search

  1. Hunt Club screen

  2. Head of People

  3. CFO

  4. VP of Engineering

  5. COO + VP Customer Success

  6. Sr. Talent Partner

  7. Head of People or CFO

  8. References

Hunt Club screen → signed offer

30 days

Head of People

First round, 45 mins

What they probed

  • End-to-end ownership
  • Scalable hiring systems
  • Talent quality vs. velocity
  • People Ops partnership

Sample questions

  • Walk me through a hiring system you built end to end. What broke as it scaled?
  • You roll out AI screening. How do you know quality of hire didn’t get worse?

CFO

Second round, 45 mins

What they probed

  • Workforce planning and forecasting
  • Cost discipline and tradeoffs
  • Compensation and leveling rigor
  • Signal over noise
  • Trust and partnership with Finance

Sample questions

  • How do you build a hiring forecast, and how do you keep it tied to the plan?
  • How do you set leveling and comp for a role you’ve never hired before?

VP of Engineering

Third round, 30 mins

What they probed

  • Technical hiring depth
  • AI-driven sourcing and screening
  • Signal quality in technical interviews
  • Hiring manager enablement

Sample questions

  • How do you help engineering managers run interviews that predict performance on the job?
  • Walk me through an HR & People process you rebuilt around AI, end to end. What did you stop doing entirely?

COO and VP of Customer Success

Fourth round, 30 mins

What they probed

  • Influence without authority
  • Hiring for outcomes, not just roles
  • Global and operational complexity

Sample questions

  • Tell me about a recruiting process you got leaders to adopt without having authority over them.
  • What changes when you hire across several countries at once?

Sr. Talent Partner

Fifth round, 30 mins

What they probed

  • Team leadership
  • Change leadership
  • Daily operating rhythm
  • Working style

Sample questions

  • How do you set a weekly operating rhythm for a recruiting team?
  • A rejected candidate asks why an AI-assisted screen turned them down. How do you answer?

Head of People or CFO

Final round

What they probed

  • Leadership presence and decision-making
  • Values, ambiguity and pace
  • Practicality of vision

Sample questions

  • Walk me through a time you disagreed with an executive about a hire or headcount plan. How did you make your case?
  • What would your recruiting function look like in 12 months, and what would you do first in the next 30-60-90 days to get there?

References

What they probed

  • AI in practice
  • Change management
  • Leadership
  • Cross-functional partnership

Sample questions

  • How has the candidate incorporated AI into their talent function, and what impact did it have? Did you see measurable improvements (speed, quality of hire, cost, candidate experience) from their use of AI?
  • How effective was the candidate at influencing cross-functional stakeholders? Can you share an example where they had to align different teams or perspectives?