Tomáš Drážný (Executive Job): Companies picture the ideal candidate as a cross between Batman and Superman

In this episode of the CEO na ostří nože podcast, we talk to Tomáš Drážný, CEO of Executive Job, a company that connects businesses with senior executives. The key question of the episode: why do companies pay so little attention to whether a candidate fits their company culture? For management roles it’s crucial, because a manager directly shapes the culture of their team.

According to Drážný, “the fish rots from the head”. If culture isn’t a priority for top management, nobody else will make it one. Many companies, he says, still suffer from a “numbers-first syndrome”. They talk about people, but revenue is what really counts. As a result, HR often plays only a minimal role in strategy. The key is a competency model for the role that captures not only professional skills but also personality traits and company values. Above all, it takes people who actually live those values, because that shows in an interview.

The biggest mistake is when one or both sides aren’t authentic. A candidate who tells the company what it wants to hear can charm them in an interview, but sooner or later their true self will show. Drážný compares it to a relationship: the phase when everything is perfect eventually ends. Authenticity takes a lot of self-confidence on both sides, but without it the relationship won’t work.

Companies, he says, often don’t know exactly what they want. They imagine the ideal candidate as a cross between Batman and Superman, and no such person exists on the market. The biggest challenge for a headhunter is therefore not finding candidates but managing the client’s expectations. He advises companies to write job descriptions as marketing documents that sell the role. They should say openly what makes the role interesting, such as building a team, restructuring or expansion. They don’t need to hide the team’s challenges or weaknesses either, because honesty can attract exactly the right people. A description of the culture should be written by HR together with the line manager, not assembled from generic phrases.

Managers make a similar mistake in their CVs and LinkedIn profiles. They describe what they did, but not what they achieved. Saying that a CFO ran the finance department tells you nothing. What matters is how much they saved or what return they delivered. A senior executive should tailor their CV to the specific company and open with an executive summary explaining why they are applying and how they would solve its problems.

What else will you learn in the podcast?

• Why companies overlook culture fit when hiring senior executives

• How to build a competency model that also captures company values

• What a job description should include to attract strong candidates

• Why a job ad might mention the team’s weaknesses

• How to write an executive CV that stands out

• What questions to ask a headhunter to tell whether they’re any good

According to Tomáš Drážný, hiring a senior executive doesn’t start with finding candidates but with answering what the company really needs. If you want to find someone who fits, you have to show openly what kind of company you are, including what isn’t working yet.