Is location limiting your talent pool?

Every search consultant has seen it: a high-priority role, a strong brief, a competitive salary package - and yet, months in, the seat remains empty.

The instinct is often to revisit the spec, increase the salary band, or question the market. In our experience, the issue is frequently somewhere else entirely. It's the postcode on the job description. ​

We’re increasingly seeing firms hiring for very similar roles at the same time, often with overlapping remits, expectations and target profiles, all competing for a small, highly sought-after talent pool.

When those roles also require international experience, the challenge becomes even more pronounced.

A recent set of mandates brought this into sharp focus for us at Ambition.

We were instructed by three global law firms on almost identical roles: Senior Business Development & Marketing Manager positions supporting the same internationally focused practice area.

Each role carried a strong global remit and, initially, all were intended to be London-based.

What happened next is telling.

Two of the firms maintained a London-only search strategy.

Despite strong employer brands and competitive compensation packages, both roles have remained open for an extended period.

The reality is that the available candidate pool for this type of senior, practice-specific role in London is limited, heavily competed for, and often already securely employed.

The third firm took a different approach.

Recognising both the constraints of the market and the importance of securing the right individual, not simply the most locally convenient one, they widened the brief.

Alongside London, they opened the search to their US and European offices. Given the international nature of the role, they adopted a more location-agnostic mindset.

The outcome was significantly different.

We successfully placed a Senior Business Development Manager into their Paris office.

The successful candidate brought deep practice expertise, a strong international perspective, and was able to make an immediate impact.

By broadening the geographic scope, the firm was able to access a stronger and more relevant talent pool, ultimately achieving a more efficient and effective hiring outcome.

Of course, not every role can, or should, be flexible on location.

There are many positions where proximity to partners, clients, or specific markets is essential. However, for senior roles with a genuinely international remit, where work spans jurisdictions and is delivered across offices, location flexibility can be a decisive advantage.

The lesson here is not that London lacks talent. It’s that for highly specialised, hard-to-fill roles, restricting a search to a single geography can unnecessarily narrow the field.

Conversely, firms that are willing to look across jurisdictions, particularly within Europe and established international hubs, often unlock access to a deeper and more engaged talent pool.

As law firms continue to operate globally, serve cross-border clients and collaborate across offices, their hiring strategies need to reflect that operational reality.

When a role has been open for some time, it can be worth asking not only who you are targeting, but where you are looking?

At Ambition, we're seeing first-hand how thoughtful flexibility on location can unlock outcomes that a single-market approach simply cannot.

We recruit for legal business development and marketing roles across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, as well as APAC, and that cross-border perspective consistently shapes the conversations we have with firms about where, not just who, to hire.

Sometimes the most effective solution isn't redefining the role. It's widening the map.

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About the author

Ben Webb is a Divisional Manager at Ambition, specialising in senior legal business development & marketing appointments across the UK & Europe.

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