"By completing this with utmost attention, enthusiasm and interaction we will learn the SNH Way — which would certainly also bring a positive approach to your personal and professional lives as well."Pinkal Soni, Co-Founder & CEO, Seven N Half
Why We Exist —
And How We Think
Welcome, Comrades. You have taken the first two steps — you know who SNH is, and you know our 12-step recruitment process. Now we go deeper. What we cover together here is the SNH way of thinking — the frameworks that guide our best decisions, and the mindset that separates recruiters who fill roles from recruiters who change careers.
Think of SNH as a ship navigating towards a harbour. The leads are the captains — they navigate, they manage clients, they steer. You are the crew — skilled, essential, and on the path to becoming captains yourselves.
When the crew performs at their best, the captains have the bandwidth to focus on where the ship goes next. That is the SNH system.
"Learning is a never-ending process. These foundations are not a one-time read. The best SNH recruiters come back to these principles regularly — and every time, they find something new."The SNH Way
Know Your Client —
Research Is the Way of Life
Knowing your clients, their company values, their Dos and Don'ts, and competition benchmarking is of utmost importance. Before you speak a single word about a role — know who you are representing.
| Dimension | What to Find Out |
|---|---|
| Business Competition | Which companies compete directly for the same customers? |
| Employee Strength | How many people do they employ? Is the organisation growing or shrinking? |
| Consumer / Customer Types | Who buys from them? B2B or B2C? Enterprise or SMB? |
| Office Locations | Where are they present? Which cities, which countries? |
| Cultural DNA | What is their reputation as an employer? What do ex-employees say on Glassdoor? |
The H&M vs Zara Framework —
SNH's Most Important Principle
To capitalise on time, you need a smart approach to finding the right candidates. The Targeted Approach is how SNH does it. And we learn it through a story you will never forget.
You are looking for a dress for a family wedding. Your budget is ₹30,000. You want the best dress — premium quality.
You walk into the mall and visit H&M first. The salesperson shows you dresses priced ₹5,000, ₹10,000, ₹15,000. What do you feel? Disappointment. They didn't understand what you wanted, or they don't have it.
You walk next door to Zara. The salesperson immediately shows you dresses at ₹20,000, ₹25,000, ₹28,000. You find the perfect one. You're delighted. You'll come back. You'll recommend them to friends.
Standard hike = 25–30%
Maximum current salary = ₹30L ÷ 1.30 = ₹23L
→ Target candidates currently earning ₹18L – ₹23L for this role
Develop Your
Recruitment Strategy
After understanding the role and the target pool, it's time to commence sourcing. But sourcing without strategy is noise. Strategy means knowing which tool to use, in which order, for which role.
Passive applications come to you. Slower process, good for mid-level volume roles where volume matters.
Candidates who apply are actively looking — which for senior roles, is often a yellow flag.
Proactive, targeted, faster for senior and niche roles. You go to the candidate — they don't have to find you.
The best candidates for senior positions are rarely actively looking. Direct sourcing reaches them.
Boolean Search —
Three Stories That Make It Unforgettable
Boolean keyword search uses AND, OR, and NOT to define relationships between keywords. The theory is simple. The practice is powerful. And SNH teaches it through three stories you will never forget.
You're shopping online for a wedding dress. You want formal AND floor-length. You're open to blue OR green. You don't want sequins (AND NOT sequins). And you won't consider strapless (NOT strapless).
That's Boolean. You just wrote a search string without knowing it.
Ordering for a group. You want pepperoni AND mushrooms. Thin crust OR pan crust (either works). AND NOT fish (allergy). NOT gluten (one friend's dietary restriction).
Every condition you set is a Boolean operator. The more precise your 'order,' the better the result.
Looking for a match who enjoys hiking AND camping. Reading OR watching movies (indoor flexibility). AND NOT smoking (dealbreaker). NOT meat-eating (dietary preference).
Your search string on a dating app is identical in logic to your search string on LinkedIn. Master one, master both.
Here are three levels of real Boolean search strings, exactly as you'd use them in LinkedIn or Naukri.
AND (B2B OR enterprise OR SaaS)
NOT (fresher OR intern)
AND implementation
AND (optimization OR optimisation)
AND (OMS OR "Order Management" OR "Ordering Experience")
Reviewing a CV —
The Two-Pass System
The thumb rule for reviewing a CV is the top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach. Before you call a single candidate, you should have questions ready that you cannot miss.
Only run the hygiene check on profiles that passed the relevance test. Here are the five things you are looking for.
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1Gaps — Any break in employment, even 2 months, needs a reason. Flag every gap. Ask about it on the call. There is always a story behind it.
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2Stability — Tenure of less than 1.5–2 years at each company needs justification. Check for patterns. One short stint is a story. Three in a row is a pattern.
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3Grammar — Grammatical errors: human error or communication skills gap? You decide, but flag it. For senior client-facing roles, this matters more.
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4Consistency — Consistent formatting throughout? Inconsistency signals lack of attention to detail. Not a dealbreaker alone, but relevant.
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5Completeness — All months AND years in tenures? Education from 10th to PG? Contact details complete? Missing information should make you curious.
Every CV you screen. Every single one. Open the LinkedIn profile. Cross-check tenures, titles, employers, and education. This is not optional.
20% of candidates have discrepancies between their CV and LinkedIn — some innocent, some deliberate. You will find them. Your client trusts that you have.
Compensation Detailing —
8 Questions, Zero Ambiguity
Compensation detailing is one of the most important skills in executive search. Done right, it prevents surprises at offer stage and positions you as a professional who knows exactly what they are doing. Here is the exact SNH framework — word for word.
"Thank you for the detailed information. Just to confirm: Your fixed compensation is ___. Your variable is ___ paid annually. You have a JB/RB of ___ for ___ year/s, and if you resign within a year you will need to pay back ___. You have stock options worth ___ vesting over ___ years. Having understood [Client's] structure, your expected CTC is ___."
| Candidate Says | Your Response |
|---|---|
| "As per industry standards" | Push for a specific number. Do not accept this. "I understand, but what specific number would make this move worth it for you?" |
| "Open to discuss" | Same as above. There is always a number in their head. Your job is to surface it now, not at offer stage. |
| "A 30–40% hike" | Calculate the exact amount immediately. "So that would be approximately ₹__ Lacs. Is that correct?" Always convert % to ₹. |
| "₹X Lacs fixed" | Good. Confirm the full structure they expect. "And what variable structure would you expect on top of that?" |
| "Let me have the first discussion first" | Acceptable for very senior roles. Note it clearly in your screen notes so your lead is aware. |
Screen Notes —
The Document That Wins Mandates
Why are screen notes important? Because there is a fundamental difference between a CV and screen notes — and that difference is you.
A comprehensive document outlining professional history, education, skills. Created by the candidate. Covers everything — including what's irrelevant to this role.
A summary based on your interaction. Covers what the CV cannot — your professional judgement, your assessment, the context behind the numbers.
The CV is the menu. Screen notes are the waiter's expertise.
When a great waiter says "the sea bass is exceptional tonight — the chef has been preparing it for 6 hours and the portion is generous, but if you prefer something lighter, consider the risotto" — they make the customer's decision easy and satisfying.
- ✗Generic phrases like "Strong communication skills" or "Go-getter attitude" without evidence.
- ✗Information that's already on the CV, copied word-for-word. Add value, don't duplicate.
- ✗Your personal opinions without professional justification. Everything has a basis.
- ✗Unverified information. If you didn't confirm it, don't write it.
- CV reviewed for both relevance AND hygiene
- LinkedIn cross-checked against the CV
- Compensation detailing complete — all 8 questions answered
- Screen notes written by you, not copied from the CV
- Coach reviewed and approved the submission
"By completing this with utmost attention, enthusiasm and interaction we will learn the SNH Way — which would certainly also bring a positive approach to your personal and professional lives as well."Pinkal Soni, Co-Founder & CEO, Seven N Half