The Brief vs. the Job Description
There's an important distinction between an executive job description (a public-facing document designed to attract applicants) and an executive search brief (an internal document that defines what you actually need). Most companies conflate the two — and produce documents that do neither job well.
A job description written for a job board optimizes for applications. An executive search brief optimizes for precision. At the VP and C-suite level, you don't need 300 applicants. You need 5 exactly right candidates. These require different documents.
Brief vs. Job Description
What a Strong Executive Brief Contains
The company context
Stage, funding, headcount, product, revenue range, and the specific growth challenge the new executive will be hired to solve. This is not a boilerplate company description — it is the precise operating context a candidate needs to evaluate whether they are the right fit.
The mandate, not the responsibilities
What specifically needs to change or be built in the first 12 months? "Own the revenue number" is not a mandate. "Build the outbound motion from 0 to $1M ARR pipeline in 12 months" is a mandate. Mandates are specific, measurable, and tell a candidate whether they've done this before.
The must-haves vs. the nice-to-haves
List the non-negotiable requirements (stage experience, domain knowledge, functional depth) separately from the preferences. A brief that treats everything as a must-have produces a candidate who doesn't exist. A brief that's honest about priorities produces a searchable pool.
The reporting structure and decision authority
Who does this person report to? What decisions can they make independently? What requires CEO sign-off? Candidates at the VP level evaluate organizational authority carefully. A vague answer on decision rights signals dysfunction.
The success profile
Describe a candidate who would succeed in this role at this company. Not a list of credentials — a description of how they operate, what they've built, and what kind of environment they thrive in. This is the most useful section for sourcing passive candidates.
What to Avoid
Avoid credential inflation ("15+ years of experience"), generic language ("passionate about growth," "strategic thinker"), and impossible intersections ("must have B2C and B2B experience, prefer fintech background, require Series A and Series D experience simultaneously"). Each of these narrows the pool artificially or signals that the brief hasn't been thought through.
The Brief Calibration Test
After writing the brief, ask: "If I described this person to a sophisticated recruiter, would they know exactly who to call?" If the answer is no -- if the description could apply to 500 different people or to almost no one -- the brief needs work. A brief that can be acted on is a brief that closes searches.
See: Majhi Search Framework | Search Readiness Assessment | The Brief That Cannot Be Filled
"41 days. A $275K search. Two firms failed in 60+ days. That's not luck -- that's a different system."
-- Majhi Group placement record. Read the full process anatomy