Grey January is brightened by Curly Moloney’s review of the past year at her executive recruitment firm.

Moloney made her Mudlark debut with her sceptical appraisal of a professor’s theory that woman executives face a “glass cliff” – they are more likely to get jobs at companies that are already in trouble than successful ones (October 1 2004).

Hers, in any case, is a success. Moloney Search’s turnover in 2005 nearly doubled in every division.

But Moloney’s list of the year’s “lowlights” contained some sparkling gems:

• The candidate and client who discovered a shared love and interest in llama conservation but not whether the job on offer was appropriate.

• The client who forgot to mention until the shortlist was drawn up that fluent Spanish and Portuguese were essential, and that the role was based in Sao Paulo, not Woking.

• The candidate, aged 28 and with an MBA, who turned up with her father because she could not believe she had been headhunted.
• The successful candidate who, only when it came time to discuss a starting date, mentioned that this might be influenced by the fact he was ‘out on bail.’