David Morley, Head of Tax and Estate Planning at Canada Life, needed a tax consultant with a private client background to support his London team. 'I simply couldn't find the right person through traditional channels,' he said. 'I knew I had to think outside the box, as they say.

'I decided to recruit from the legal and accountancy professions to find someone who wanted to do more than fly a desk. The person we wanted would be seeking something different: to get out and travel around, and to give seminars and workshops to support the up-market IFAs who are our main targets.'

Simon Godley, Director of Talentpool Selection, saw David's adverts and gave him a ring, not for a job, but to help him out.

'Simon showed initiative in ringing me which impressed me,' smiled David. 'He then offered to save me time and hassle by filtering out only the right people for our requirement. He came round to see me and discussed the brief in detail.

'He understood immediately that we were looking for candidates who were not deskbound, and appreciated the commercial realities of the world, rather than adopting a purist, inflexible view as many professionals do.

'As a result, Simon was able to offer a very high quality range of candidates, so we had the luxury of two or three who could equally do the job. That meant we could choose the one whose personality would best fit the team. In this job, the right personality is 80 per cent of the battle, the rest is training.

'The great benefit of working with Simon was that he created a buying experience for us by showing he understood how to provide the right match. Most other agencies I've worked with try to shoe-horn any available candidate in, saying: "I'm sure I've got one who would suit you perfectly".'