Isaacson, Miller's in-person interviews with candidates are biographical in nature. We trace a person's career, learning about accomplishments in each successive role, challenges undertaken and milestones achieved, mistakes made along the way, and lessons learned.

The goal of these preliminary interviews is to form hypotheses and make initial judgments that can be tested in further interviews and references. We look for the fit between what the candidate has encountered in the past and the challenges of the role under consideration. We seek to identify the patterns in a candidate's career that may have led him or her to particular kinds of challenges and success at certain tasks or roles.

After completing our own candidate interviews and any preliminary reference checks, we report in detail the results of our work and recommend four to eight semi-finalists for our client to invite for interviews.