How to find SAP specialists without gambling on a CV database

Why the standard route disappoints

Send a requirement to five agencies and you receive twenty CVs, most of them keyword matches from a database. The consultant has never been met by the person sending the profile, availability is uncertain and the same CV arrives from three suppliers. The screening burden lands entirely on you.

Write the requirement for a specialist, not for a search engine

The best profiles decide within minutes whether a requirement is serious. Include:

Vague requirements attract vague profiles. Ten precise lines outperform a two-page generic role description.

• The actual work: what system state, which release, what is being built or fixed
• Team context: who they work with and who decides
• Practical facts: duration, start, onsite days, extension likelihood
• Language requirement, stated honestly — German-speaking or not

Screen for judgement, not for keyword coverage

A useful technical screening asks how the candidate handled a specific situation in their last project: a failed cutover, a performance problem, a disputed requirement. Keyword checklists confirm exposure; situation questions reveal whether the person actually led the work.

Verify availability and continuity

Ask when the current engagement genuinely ends, whether an extension is on the table, and who backs the assignment if the person drops out. This is where a network of known partners differs from a database: the supplier has worked with the person before and can name a replacement in the same skill area.

Decide quickly

Good SAP specialists are typically gone within one to two weeks. A process with three interview rounds spread over a month systematically selects for people nobody else wanted. One technical conversation plus one commercial confirmation is enough for most contract roles.

What to expect from a good partner

A realistic assessment of whether the profile exists at the budget and timeline given, two or three genuinely matching candidates instead of twenty, and one accountable contact who stays involved after the contract is signed.

Frequently asked questions

How fast do good SAP specialists get taken?

Typically within one to two weeks. Processes with three interview rounds over a month usually end up choosing from the people still available, not the best.

What should an SAP requirement contain?

The concrete work and system state, team context, duration and start, onsite expectation, extension likelihood and an honest language requirement.

How do you screen an SAP consultant properly?

Ask how they handled specific situations in their last project — a failed cutover, a performance issue, a disputed requirement — rather than checking keyword coverage.