An internal candidate's guide to surviving the head-hunter

Your Director resigns and you begin covering their role. You feel you’ve been performing well in the job. You are ambitious and start to think ‘this could be my opportunity for permanent promotion’.

A few days later, out of the blue – it happens. You get the call from the Chief Exec ‘You’re doing a sterling job covering but we’ve decided to use a head-hunter to find x’s replacement’. Your heart sinks.