How to find MPCs in the candidate database you already have

Before you start another candidate search, take a look at the people already in your database. There may be candidates whose experience you understand well but have never connected to a focused business-development effort.

MPC is commonly used to mean “most placeable candidate.” For this process, think of an MPC as someone you can represent with a clear, supported explanation of where they could fit. A strong résumé alone does not give you everything you need to start outreach.

Start with a manageable group

Choose one practice area, role family or market you know. Working through a defined group makes it easier to judge experience consistently and recognize the companies where it may be relevant. You do not need to clean your entire database before making a useful first pass.

Review the résumé alongside your notes. Look for specific responsibilities, types of work, progression and achievements that you can explain without adding assumptions. Keep the original source nearby. If two records describe the same person, reconcile them before treating them as separate prospects.

Check whether the record still reflects the person

An old résumé is a starting point, not a current candidate brief. Confirm whether the person is open to a move, what kind of role they want, where they can work and whether their compensation expectations have changed. Ask about anything important that is missing or ambiguous.

Also confirm representation boundaries: what may be shared, with whom, and at what stage. Check prior submissions and any companies the candidate has excluded. A record that needs clarification belongs in a follow-up queue, not straight into an outreach sequence.

Sort records by the next action they need

Use a few working groups instead of a complicated score that hides uncertainty:

• Ready for a brief: current information, clear experience, agreed search direction and confirmed sharing boundaries.
• Needs a conversation: potentially relevant experience, but important facts or permissions are missing.
• Hold: the candidate is not available, the information is too uncertain, or there is a restriction that prevents the proposed outreach.

These are workflow decisions, not permanent judgments about a candidate. Someone can move between groups as circumstances change. Add the date and the reason so the next person reviewing the record understands the decision.

Turn the record into a usable brief

A useful brief tells you what to research next. Capture the candidate’s core work, the environments they know, their desired next step and the constraints that matter. Add a short “why a company might care” explanation, backed by the candidate’s actual experience.

For example, “experienced manager” does not give you much direction. A confirmed description of the operation they managed, their responsibilities and the kind of team they want to lead gives you a stronger basis for selecting companies. Do not add scale, results or qualifications that the source does not support.

Keep internal notes separate from information intended for a prospect. The research team may need the complete record, while an initial introduction may need only an approved, anonymized summary. Review the actual outgoing content rather than assuming that removing a name makes it suitable to share.

Finish with an actionable shortlist

The output should be a shortlist you can work from, a list of candidates who need a conversation, and a clear record of exclusions. Each ready candidate should have enough information to support company research and a tailored draft. A bigger spreadsheet is not useful if nobody knows what to do with it.

You can work through this yourself or discuss the MPC Database Audit with RGE. It is primarily an installation add-on and can also be purchased at the full à la carte price. We’ll confirm the records, deliverables and scope on a call. Finding promising candidates in the database does not guarantee an interested employer or a placement.