The Invisible Candidate
For junior and middle-grade posts, recruitment runs on scale. Job boards generate volume. Hundreds of applications arrive quickly. Shortlisting is compressed into limited time windows. Panels rely on fast signals to make decisions.
This approach works when candidates are actively applying.
At consultant level, it fails.
Most substantive consultants are not searching. They are in post. Running services. Holding clinical risk. Managing teams. Time is limited and attention is scarce.
This is the invisible candidate. Highly employable. Rarely visible.
When consultant roles rely solely on online applications, Trusts recruit from availability rather than suitability.
Public NHS Jobs data shows that around one third of consultant adverts are re-advertised at least once, with many roles appearing multiple times before an appointment is made.
NHS Employers workforce reporting also points to extended time-to-appoint for consultant roles, often stretching into many months from advert to start date.
During this period, candidate drop-off is high. Strong clinicians disengage before interview, not due to pay or seniority, but because silence and delay signal uncertainty.
What enables consultants to engage?
For a consultant to seriously consider a move, several conditions usually need to be met:
- Credible insight into the service and its leadership. Clear articulation of what the role is meant to achieve. A CV that reflects senior impact rather than task history. Advocacy that provides context, not competition.
- Interview scheduling that respects clinical workload. Early handling of verification, documentation, and approvals.
Only when this groundwork is in place do consultants have the space to think clearly about change.
This work happens before any formal application exists.
Where Indigo Fits
Indigo operates upstream of the advert.
For consultants, this means clear context, protected time, and representation that reflects senior judgement. For Trusts, it means access to clinicians who rarely appear on job boards, fewer delays, and appointments that convert without repeated advertising cycles.
The value is not speed alone. The value is alignment.
If you are an ST7 preparing for your first consultant role, or a consultant quietly assessing whether a move makes sense, clarity matters more than speed.
A short conversation can remove months of uncertainty.
