The Shift in Consulting Talent

The mood inside professional services has changed. It's not just that the market is tighter than it was two years ago; it's that the buyers—specifically the private equity-backed firms—have stopped buying the narrative and started checking the engine.

The Reality Check

I spend my days advising firms on senior hiring in AI, cyber, and tech strategy. The feedback I'm getting from candidates is consistent: the big consulting firms are becoming frustrating places to build. Partners are hitting a wall—not a lack of intellect, but a surplus of governance. They want to innovate, but they spend half their week managing internal politics or protecting margins.

That is why PE-backed firms are suddenly landing talent that used to be out of their league. They aren't offering prestige; they are offering permission. The feedback loops are shorter. You have an idea, you execute it, you see the result. For a certain type of leader, getting away from the bureaucracy is worth the risk.

But there is a catch.

The Signal-to-Noise Problem

Just as these firms are looking to hire, the signal-to-noise ratio in the talent market has crashed. "AI Strategy" is on every CV I see. But when you get these candidates in a room and press them on details, the drop-off is steep. There are plenty of people who can talk about AI frameworks or "transformation," but very few who have actually used the tech to drive revenue or productize a service.

It's the same story in cybersecurity and GRC. The market doesn't need people who can frame the problem anymore. It needs people who can fix it. The era of the pure "strategist" who hands off the execution is ending. The demand now is for operators—people who understand the commercial side but can still get their hands dirty with the tech.

The Clarity Shortage

The biggest realization I've had this year, though, isn't about the candidates. It's about the hiring firms.

Most firms don't actually have a talent shortage. They have a clarity shortage. They know they need to change their business model—move away from time-and-materials, integrate automation, fix their margins—but they haven't defined what the person leading that charge will actually do in their first six months.

If you can't articulate the job, you can't hire the leader.