I was recently asked by the Board of a large public technology company to discuss that company’s succession plan, a process that started with the current CEO out of the room.

Living in the Silicon Valley for many years, we’ve come to expect certain things. The sun will (mostly) shine, new companies will emerge – and Hewlett Packard will continue to lead in the Valley from both an innovation and a cultural standpoint.

I am sure you all have been discussing Carol Bartz’ termination (over the phone no less) from Yahoo last week. As an executive recruiter for over 20 years and the veteran of many CEO searches myself, I often witness the state of the organization shortly after the senior leader has been issued his/her walking papers.

Over the past 20 years in Silicon Valley, I have seen public companies go from CEO-run organizations with little compensation scrutiny to Board-led companies with hard-working compensation committees and associated compensation consultants.

I recently asked an old Heidrick colleague, Ellen (a pseudonym), now working in internal staffing at a massive technology company, to describe the differences between recruiting from inside a company as opposed to recruiting as a retained executive search professional. Here are her answers: