How to handle rejections for non-executive Board work

Everyone gets turned down for roles, executive and non-executive, even the most experienced non-executives. But every occasion where a recruitment does not go your way offers a great opportunity for you to deepen your insight and understanding of the way non-executive recruitment works, to connect with the recruiter, and to understand and further hone your own offer. It’s important to expect to find yourself in this situation from time to time, and if you do, here are some words of encouragement:

  • Always ask for feedback when you are stood down at the first stage. Try not to avoid or resist it: for the reasons set out below, feedback is rarely a painful thing, but it is important to get some if you can. If feedback isn’t offered in the email or telephone call, ring the hiring organisation or the recruiter and see whether it could be made available on request. In some cases, it may not be offered at all – especially if the field has been very large (it’s not unusual to receive hundreds of applications for some non-executive appointments) but most of the time you should be able to get some.  
  • It’s all relative. Remember that you will rarely have been turned down because of something you did badly or wrong. Where competition is intense – such as where a field is very large and there are limited interview slots available – candidates who appear to be the most relevant or ‘complete’ may be prioritised. It’s important to ask what the successful candidates had in common, and don’t give up! 
  • Remember it’s not a perfect science. Boards are complex entities, with many different aspects and requirements inherent in every role. For this reason, success often comes down to a blend in what you can offer against what the Board is looking to achieve. For example, success is unlikely to come down to one professional background, one experience, one skill, or one strength in any candidate. It may take into account useful networks and contacts you can bring, communication style, connection with certain audiences, understanding of particular subject matter, or diversity. Each time you are successful in receiving feedback, ask where your strengths were most noticed so you are aware of that for next time.     

The most powerful tool at your disposal in becoming a non-executive is your ability to select opportunities for which you are a good match, and where you have a good chance of standing out of the field for all the right reasons. But every opportunity along the way to understand how you are perceived as a candidate is invaluable. Keep going: don’t give up!

Celebrating New Leadership: Announcing Starfish Search’s 2025 Promotions

At Starfish Search, we believe in the transformative power of skilled and principled individuals to shape successful organisations. We are therefore delighted to announce the promotion of four exceptional colleagues, each of whom exemplifies our values of integrity, professionalism, and inclusive leadership.

Webinar Recap: Navigating Recruitment in the AI Age with PPMA

Starfish Search recently partnered with the Public Services People Managers Association (PPMA) to deliver a timely and thought-provoking webinar: “Navigating Recruitment in the AI Age.” Our own Sunita Patel was joined by Jason Makepeace from GovCats to explore how artificial intelligence is already reshaping recruitment, leadership, and workforce planning across the public sector. If you missed the session, the full webinar is available to watch here.

Lorraine Payne Named Among Top 10 Interim Consultants in the 2025 IIM Awards

We are incredibly proud to share that Lorraine Payne, Partner at Starfish Search, has once again been recognised by the Institute of Interim Management (IIM) as one of the UK’s top interim consultants, securing a place in the Top 10 for 2025. This honour, based entirely on feedback from interim managers themselves, celebrates the individual consultants who go beyond the brief — those who listen carefully, understand deeply, and deliver consistently for the interims and organisations they support.

ACCREDITATIONS

espo
espo

ESPO is a public sector owned professional buying organisation (PBO), specialising in providing a wide range of goods and services to the public sector for over 40 years. Starfish Search has been awarded a place on ESPO’s Strategic HR Services framework (3S). Services we offer under the framework include: Lot 1, Executive and Managerial Interim Recruitment Lot 2, Executive and Managerial Permanent Recruitment.

espo
espo

Starfish are proud to be certified Disability Confident Committed. This scheme provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace.

espo
espo

Crown Commercial Service supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2020/21, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £2.04bn - supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers. Starfish Search has been named as a supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s Executive and Non-Executive recruitment. Services we offer under the framework include: Lot 3 - Non-Executive and Public Appointments.

espo
espo

Bloom, launched in 2012 is the UK’s leading marketplace for professional services. They provide an end-to-end solution for the procurement, contract management and payment of all professional services, via the compliant NEPRO³ framework. Their public sector clients have access to 20 professional services categories and over 4500 accredited suppliers. Bloom provides swift routes to market via either direct award or mini competition. Starfish is an accredited supplier to BLOOM; our services can be accessed via this framework - Executive and Non-Executive Search and Interim Management.

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