The Second Chair
We find the candidate. Then we test the evidence. For retained clients, our consultants sit in on your existing interviews — leading the challenge phase, testing every claim, and debriefing you on the evidence before you make the appointment.
Most interviews reward performance, not evidence. Competency questions are predictable, panels decide in the first five minutes, and "I led the transformation" is taken at face value. A candidate who interviews well and a candidate who performs well are not the same person — and conventional processes can't tell them apart.
How It Works
Three phases around every interview — before, during, and after — turning a conversational meeting into a structured evidence-gathering exercise.
The Evidence Plan
We define the critical competencies, set lines of enquiry, build the evidence plan and brief the panel before anyone sits down.
The Challenge Phase
Your hiring manager leads the interview. We hold back and take a structured account of every claim — then probe inconsistencies, test the detail and turn assertions into evidence. Your manager keeps the relationship. We carry the scrutiny.
The Debrief
A structured, evidence-based debrief within 24 hours of every interview — what was established, what wasn't, and what to test next.
What You Receive After Every Interview
- 01Established vs asserted — which claims are supported by evidence, and which remain untested
- 02Inconsistencies and unexplained gaps — flagged clearly, with context
- 03Risk indicators — areas requiring further scrutiny before an appointment is made
- 04Recommended follow-up questions for the next interview stage
- 05Reference-check strategy — what to verify, with whom, and how
- 06A confidence assessment to support the hire / no-hire decision
Three Ways to Engage
From contingent placement to our flagship retained advisory — choose the level of involvement that matches the assignment.
Contingent Search
Specialist headhunting and placement. The same investigative approach to sourcing and assessment — paid on success.
Retained Search + Advisory
Retained headhunting, plus interview advisory: interview architecture, question design, panel briefing and assessment support throughout the process.
Retained Search + Advisory + The Second Chair
Everything above, plus our consultant in the room for every interview: a live challenge phase and a written evidence-based assessment after each stage.
Book an Interview Assessment ReviewWithout a Search Mandate
One appointment, not a whole search
Engage the Second Chair for a single senior hire you're already running — your shortlist, your process, our scrutiny.
The full discipline, standalone
The same evidence plan, challenge phase and debrief, applied to your existing interviews. The assessment is yours to keep, however the process ends.
How many relationships start
Many clients meet us through a single assignment before extending Nitrous Group across their hiring.
Careers as detectives and specialist officers in the UK Police Force. Structured investigative interviewing applied to every assignment.
Engage & Explain · Account · Closure · EvaluationBook an Interview Assessment Review
Send us a shortlist you're already running. We'll show you exactly what the Second Chair would test — before you commit.
Book an Interview Assessment ReviewYou interview the candidate. We assess the evidence.