The Inside Dope On Executive Recruitment

In the world of the executive recruiter there are two types of people, those who are hunted and those who want to be hunted. For CIOs already attracting the attention of executive recruiters, they know how recruiters work. They understand that the process is much like a dance on a stage where the main lights are coming up slowly. But for those who are sitting in that gray area between middle and senior management, caught between management duties and P&L responsibility, the executive recruitment industry often remains an enigma. As one year ends and another begins, driven IT managers are thinking about what they have accomplished, and what's next for them professionally. For them, now is the time to present these secrets from the executive recruitment industry. Axiom 1: Executive Recruiters Know The Inside Skinny. By the time a big executive change hits the wires, you can be sure that some executive recruiter somewhere knew about this weeks, if not months, ago. That said, no executive recruiter worth his or her salt will give up that kind of information. Professional ethics, trust, and business success demand that executive recruiters not talk about executive moves or corporate plans gained through close working relationships with boards, CEOs, COOs, CIOs, and HR executives. Axiom 2: Executive Recruiters Work For Companies. Executive recruiters are hired by client companies " and work closely with these clients to find the right executive at the right time. It is ultimately what the client company needs that tips the power scales. Top executive recruiters have very good relationships with senior executives, but it is important to know that they always represent the client. Axiom 3: Executive Recruiters Help Companies Define Top Jobs. Executive recruiters are charged with finding the very best executive who can solve a business need. This means that defining the need " and the open executive position " are essential to success for the company and for the potential candidate. In addition, this means that the executive recruiter will help uncover the candidate characteristics, titles, geographies, and professional experiences that are necessary or important for success in the role. In addition, the executive recruiter and company will work together to create questions that screen candidates. What many executive recruiters do not do (and should) is create a timeline to find candidates and fill the position so that the client company can measure results. Axiom 4: Some Executive Recruiters Employ Research Departments. Every executive recruitment firm must do research. Some firms have streamlined and specialized the research function via a dedicated department. The materials created in defining the open position and the experiences are fed to the research department, which then works closely with the executive recruiter to begin identifying potential candidates.

While those four truisms focused on the recruiter-client relationship, the next several delve into the recruiter-candidate dealings. Axiom 5: Don't Send Your Resume Blind. Contract or temporary agencies deal in bulk, meaning it's a numbers game. Executive recruiters do not. This means that no one should send a resume to an executive recruiter without having a conversation first. It will go straight to the trash can. Axiom 6: Networking Counts. Introductions from successful colleagues to executive recruiters are among one of the best ways to start to build a relationship with an executive recruiter. Axiom 7: Create redibility. Since executive recruiters are gatekeepers to top-level jobs, candidates must create credibility with a recruiter. To do so, they need to think in terms of building a one-on-one relationship with a partner in an executive search firm. And in doing so, it's often advisable to think of an executive recruiter's needs: the best candidate. One way to build credibility is to assist a recruiter on an existing search " even if it does not necessarily benefit you directly. You are creating credibility here. Axiom 8: Don't Hound. Once you have met an executive recruiter and begun a discussion, relax. Don't take on the characteristics of your least favorite salesperson, who calls in monthly just to check in. Touching base every 4-6 months is plenty. Have a reason to call, such as scuttlebutt about potential top-level openings at a competitor or to extend an invitation for the recruiter to address a C-level group about industry trends. Axiom 9: Industry Visibility Counts. Think of the work that executive recruiters do behind the scenes. Day in and day out, they are researching changes in the industry, who is taking on significant unit or P&L responsibility, and who is emerging as an industry leader. This means that candidates who want to be hunted need to get on panels, and otherwise elevate their visibility at industry events. Axiom 10: Your Online Persona Should Define Your Next Job. When an executive recruiter talks about your online presence, he or she is not talking about your blog. In most cases, an executive recruiter will be wary of someone who has a blog. What they are really interested in is this: At a certain level, managers start to create an online persona " that includes authored articles, short bios and media quotes. Your online persona must project your ability to do the job you want next " not the job you currently have. And this axiom should be extended beyond your online persona and into every aspect of your professional life. Umesh Ramakrishnan is vice chairman of executive search firm Christian & Timbers.