The 48-Hour Standard: What a Real Shortlist Commitment Looks Like
Forty-eight hours from a complete brief to a qualified shortlist. Here is how we deliver it consistently and what it requires from both sides of the engagement.
We commit to a shortlist within 48 hours of receiving a complete brief. This is not a marketing claim — it is a service level we have delivered consistently across 300+ mandates and is built into our operational model.
The 48-hour clock starts when we have everything we need: role definition, compensation band, must-have versus nice-to-have skills, interview process, and the hiring manager contact we can engage directly. A brief that is missing any of these elements will not hit the 48-hour window — and we will tell you that upfront rather than submit a shortlist that cannot close.
On our side, the 48-hour delivery requires active pipelines. We do not use job boards as our primary sourcing method. Every Comnet consultant maintains a live candidate pipeline in their domain — specialists they have spoken to in the last 90 days who have indicated openness to new opportunities. Our 48-hour shortlist is drawn from that pipeline first, supplemented by targeted outreach where gaps exist.
The shortlist itself is typically 3-5 candidates. We do not believe in volume shortlists. If we submit 12 candidates, we are telling you we cannot determine fit — we are asking you to do our job. Three to five well-qualified candidates with a clear recommendation on our preferred candidate is the standard.
If we cannot meet the 48-hour commitment on a specific brief — because the market is thin, the role is genuinely niche, or the requirement is changing — we will tell you within 24 hours and give you an honest timeline. Transparency over false urgency is how we maintain trust over multi-year client relationships.