Locations, Location, Location - AKA does life exist outside of a Capital City?

In my previous blog we were discussing the issues around candidates relocating and over the last ten days it has come to our attention that there are wider issues around where businesses are based and the general perception of those locations.

As a southerner living in Birmingham, England’s official second city no matter what Manchester might claim, I thought that hosting the major global events such as the G8 Summit and Eurovision had placed the City on the world map. This just goes to show how wrong I can be.

My ire was raised by the discovery that there are currently three searches for top Global and European roles, which are to be Birmingham based, being conducted by two London and a German based search firm. This surprised me as Birmingham has offices for most of the UK’s top search firms (including InterSearch) who by rights would probably expect to be asked to pitch for these assignments. Yet, the decision was made to choose London based firms. Do those recruiting companies believe that whilst they can base their businesses in Birmingham, it is bereft of the expertise to recruit its Executives? Or is approaching a firm in a country’s capital the default option?

This led me to wonder; do the other major European countries have this same default option or is it a peculiarly British thing?

Your thoughts and comments on the matter would be welcomed.