Trainee Executive Search (18 Monate)

WhyBrilliant; Hamburg; On-site; EUR 16,000 - 22,000; Full time

Job summary

WhyBrilliant is sourcing applicants for this role on behalf of an international executive search boutique based in Hamburg.

The role, Trainee Executive Search (18 months), offers hands-on immersion into live mandates from research to leadership assessment in a high-intensity, apprenticeship-driven environment. You will map markets, identify elite candidates across international markets, and partner with Directors to craft bespoke search strategies.

Qualifications

• University graduate with analytical curiosity and business acumen.
• Initial exposure to consulting, recruiting, executive research, or commercial sales.
• Fluent in German and English, both written and spoken.

Responsibilities

• Full immersion into live executive search mandates across board and C-level searches from initial research to leadership assessment.
• Conduct comprehensive market and company analyses across tech, PE, and VC ecosystems.
• Identify, map, and approach elite executive candidates across competitive international markets.
• Leverage modern AI tools and digital platforms to drive precision research and project tracking.
• Lead candidate interviews and evaluate leadership capability, motivation, and cultural alignment.

Job description

Also searchable as: Trainee Personalberatung

• Junior Research Consultant
• Junior Consultant Executive Search
• Trainee Recruiting

Original title: Trainee Executive Search (18 Monate)

WhyBrilliant is sourcing applicants for this role on behalf of an international executive search boutique based in Hamburg.

The company's identity may stay confidential until first contact.

Atlas, our AI Recruiter, is running this search and will pick the best candidates from Nova's network. The next step is to speak to Nova.

The Role

Job Title: Trainee Executive Search (18 Monate)

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Why this role matters

The success of transformative companies in SaaS, AI, fintech, and digital sectors hinges entirely on who leads them. We are training our next generation of search consultants to master market intelligence, candidate evaluation, and executive relationship-building in a high-intensity, apprenticeship-driven environment.

What You'll Do

Full immersion into live executive search mandates across board and C-level searches from initial research to leadership assessment.

• Conduct comprehensive market and company analyses across tech, PE, and VC ecosystems.
• Identify, map, and approach elite executive candidates across competitive international markets.
• Leverage modern AI tools and digital platforms to drive precision research and project tracking.
• Lead candidate interviews and evaluate leadership capability, motivation, and cultural alignment.
• Partner daily with Directors and Partners to craft bespoke search strategies for client mandates.

What success looks like

Month 1: Immerse yourself in our research workflows, get trained on executive search methodologies, and integrate with the 15-person Hamburg office team.

Month 2-3: Begin contributing directly to live search mandates by building target lists, conducting market mapping, and utilizing AI-driven sourcing tools.

By end of Q1: Work seamlessly alongside Directors on active mandates and initiate your first direct candidate engagements.

Who This Is a Fit For

• University graduate (Bachelor's or Master's) with strong analytical curiosity and business acumen.
• Initial exposure to consulting, recruiting, executive research, or commercial sales.
• Highly articulate communicator eager to engage with senior business leaders.
• Tech-forward mindset with an appetite to leverage modern AI research tools.
• Self-driven operator with a 'play to win' attitude and relentless work ethic.
• Fluent in German and English, both written and spoken.

What it's like to work here

Leistungsorientierte, ehrgeizige und dynamische Kultur ('play to win and have fun doing it'). 4 Tage pro Woche Präsenz im Hamburger Büro. Hands-on-Mentalität, stetiges Streben nach Weiterentwicklung und enger Austausch mit Führungspersönlichkeiten. Hohe Intensität und Engagement.

The offer

• Intensive 18-month structured apprenticeship with direct mentoring from seasoned Directors and Partners.
• High-exposure collaboration with international leadership talent, venture capital, and private equity funds.
• Vibrant, ambitious team culture in a collaborative 15-person Hamburg office.
• Direct pathway into autonomous executive search consulting and leadership advisory.

This probably isn't for you if

• You want a fully remote or low-touch hybrid role—we prioritize 4 days a week in-office for mentorship and high-velocity collaboration.
• You prefer purely administrative work over proactive candidate outreach and deep market analysis.
• You are uncomfortable in a rigorous, high-intensity performance culture.

Who are Atlas & Nova?

I'll go first. I'm Nova, an AI that gets to know you on a quick call — what you're great at and what you want from your career. Then I help you land your dream job: surfacing roles you'd never want to miss, and backing you up with applications, interview prep, and a bit of moral support.

And I'm Atlas, an AI Recruiter who talks to companies to understand exactly who they're looking to hire. Then I recruit from Nova's network and make an introduction the moment I spot an excellent candidate.

How does this work?

Nova is an AI agent for job searching and career coaching. She works for you.

Atlas is the AI recruiter working for the company. He recruits from Nova's network.

If it's a match and the company wants to meet you, they'll make the intro. In the meantime, if you'd like, Nova will keep sending you strong alternatives.

We never post fake jobs

This isn't a trick. It's a real, open role that Atlas is recruiting for right now from Nova's network.

Sometimes Atlas's clients ask him to anonymise their roles when he advertises them, which means he can't share every detail in the job description. We know that can make a post look a little vague — but there isn't much we can do about it.

Give Nova a try. You could land this role. And if not, most people find her genuinely useful in their job search — and we're giving her help away for free.