Many years ago, I missed a phone call from a billionaire.

He was calling me personally about a job in his office.

I missed the call.

No caller ID. No direct number. He’d left no easy way for me to get back to him.

I tried. I called his office. I was redirected. I eventually found the right person, but they weren’t particularly interested in helping me reconnect with him.

And that was it.

The opportunity disappeared.

Ships in the night.

I still think about that call because it taught me something I’ve never forgotten:

Some opportunities have a very small window.

You don’t necessarily get another phone call. Another meeting. Another interview time. Another chance.

I was reminded of this recently.

A client of mine had gone to considerable effort to approach a very high-profile business entrepreneur. We worked carefully on the approach and crafted a strong letter.

It worked.

The entrepreneur responded positively and offered her a specific date and time for a Zoom conversation about a week later.

There was one problem.

My client had a conference that day and wanted to move the meeting.

I cautioned her against it.

She wasn’t presenting. She wasn’t speaking. In my view, this was one of those occasions where you step out of the conference for an hour and take the meeting.

But she went back with several alternative times that suited her diary.

No response.

A couple of weeks later, she followed up again.

This time, the entrepreneur referred her to another member of staff.

The original window had closed.

Was changing the meeting time unreasonable? No.

But that’s not really the point.

When you’re actively looking for a new executive role, board appointment or significant business opportunity, you need to understand the environment you’re operating in.

You’re not the only person they’re talking to.

Their diary may be horrendous.

Their interest may be fleeting.

And there may be another excellent candidate who simply says:

“Yes. I’ll make that work.”

After more than 20 years in recruitment, I’ve seen this play out again and again.

So if you’re seriously in the market, make yourself ridiculously easy to deal with.

• Keep your phone accessible.
• Make sure your voicemail actually works and sounds professional.
• Check your email and messages regularly.
• Return calls quickly.
• Don’t make people hunt around trying to find you.
• Be flexible about interview and meeting times wherever you reasonably can.
• If an important person offers you a window, think very carefully before asking them to move it.

I’ve kept the same mobile number for more than 20 years.

And I still answer my own phone.

It’s hardly sophisticated technology, but it works.

I’m also seeing more people using AI screening tools and other technology that can inadvertently make them harder to reach. That’s fine when you’re trying to protect your time.

It’s less clever when you’re actively trying to create opportunities.

There’s also a broader lesson here.

We talk a lot about recruitment being a peer-to-peer process. Ideally, it should be respectful and accommodating on both sides.

But don’t confuse what should happen with what actually happens.

Scheduling senior people is difficult. Things move quickly. Priorities change. Attention moves elsewhere.

And, inevitably, the candidate who is available, responsive, and easy to schedule keeps moving through the process.

So when an important opportunity arrives, don’t automatically assume:

“They’ll offer me another time.”

Maybe they will.

Maybe they won’t.

Sometimes the door doesn’t slam shut.

It just quietly closes while you’re trying to rearrange the diary.