The executive recruiter is a necessary individual to modern management.
An executive recruiter is a good investigator, is tactful, and knows how to analyze a person's past performance and make an accurate guess as to whether or not you are a proper candidate for a job. They know they can't make many mistakes and stay in business. They also know that they must conduct affairs ethically and maintain a reputation for reliability.
THE SMALL OR UNKNOWN CONSULTANT: SHOULD YOU DEAL WITH ONE?
Some executives question whether or not they should deal with a small consulting firm or with a person who runs an independent operation.
New consulting companies are springing up all the time. You can usually tell something about a consultant by the way they conduct their business. The ones who are anxious to collect fast fees and are willing to make under the table deals are not likely to last long. For this reason if a consultant of whom you have never heard of, asks to see you to discuss a job opportunity, you have a perfect right to inquire the names of some of their clients. If they are legitimate, they will have no hesitation in listing companies that have retained them. With this information, if you have any doubts you can conduct your own investigation.
POLICY REVIEW OF CONSULTING FIRMS
Executive recruiting firms, like any other reputable businesses, follow well defined principles of operation. These principles are highly ethical and designed to protect themselves and their clients from charges of unfair employment practices. Here are some of those governing policies:
- An executive recruiting firm will not conduct searches on a contingency basis. It will not undertake a search on a no fee condition if it does not come up with an acceptable candidate.
- An executive recruiting firm will not pirate applicants from a client company.
- The executive recruiter is a professional. They do their best to deliver for the client. Their livelihood depends on their reputation.
- The professional recruiter charges a standard fee. The company pays it, not the applicant.
SOME SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO USE SEARCH CONSULTANTS
- If you are looking for a job, you have more going for you if you are presently employed. Therefore, if you contemplate relocating within the next three or four years, it is a good idea to discuss your plans with several top consultants and give each of them your resume.
- Don't send your resume blind to a search firm. If possible, send it to a member of the organization whom you know.
- Keep your resume up to date. If your job changes or you get a promotion, update the resumes you have on file with consultants.
- If you are simply making the rounds and have no appointments, don't be angry if you don't get past the consultant's secretary. If you have used the search firms previously, be sure to mention this to the secretary, who may pass it along to their boss. This knowledge may get you in.
- Keep in confidence any information you may have received from a consultant.
- Observe the decent rules of courtesy in dealing with a consultant.
- Explain your qualifications clearly and explicitly. The consultant is better able to help you if they know exactly what you can do.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A COMPANY BEFORE TAKING A JOB WITH IT
Before you accept a position, be sure you have asked all pertinent questions and get the facts directly from the employer. Here is a following checklist of what you should ask:
- Is the company a moneymaker? Is it growing? Is it static? If the third, what are the causes? Can you do anything about them?
- Are you being hired because the company has a pressing short-term problem that needs to be solved, and you have a special ability or talent that makes you useful on a short-term basis? If so, be cautious. Generally, the long-term opportunities of a job are its greatest guarantees of continued satisfaction and challenge.
- Is the job a newly created one? If so, was it established at the suggestion of the consulting firm which is recruiting you? If the answer to this second question is "yes," dig deeply to discover how sincerely executives of the company believe that the job is necessary.
- If the job is a long-established one, find out who your predecessor was and why they left. It might even be a good idea to talk with them.
- Check turnover in management personnel.
- Know everything possible about the superior to whom you are expected to report to and their influence on the company.
- Insist on meeting associates. Conversations with them may give you information that you will never get from other sources.
- Be certain of your conditions of employment pay, benefit program, stock options, for whom and where you will work, and your responsibility and authority.
- Make certain the job is not a dead end. When you are making a move, it is your responsibility to check your room for advancement.
- Get the facts on the company's reputation—how it stands locally and in its industry.
- Be frank with the consultant. Outline to the consultant exactly what requirements must be met before you will make a move.
WHAT TO DO IF A RECRUITER CALLS
If you are a typical executive who has been approached for the first time by a recruiting executive, here are some points to keep in mind:
- Don't be upset if your interview with a consultant does not lead to the results that you hoped it would. If a recruiter is convinced you are qualified for a job they may give you such a buildup that you think you are some sort of genius. The letdown may be severe if you do not get an offer. A consultant has other candidates, and they too may have been given the treatment. A consultant's job is to get you in the mood to take the job should it be offered to you. If they are impressed by your ability they may strongly recommend you.
- A consultant frequently asks questions during a preliminary interview that seem to have no bearing on your ability to do a job. They may be aware of secondary qualifications that are not included in the job specifications. They must decide whether or not you are the kind of person who will fit into the organization of their client. Therefore, personality, attitudes, hobbies, and various other intangible factors are important. For example, if your philosophy of management is totally different from that of the top people at the company he represents, he may eliminate you as a candidate not because you can't do the job but because, in his opinion, you wouldn't get along well enough with associates and superiors to be allowed to do it.
- If a recruiting consultant asks you for an interview, they at least want to know how nearly your qualifications for a job match their job specifications. They would never come to see you if they didn't think there was a chance that you might make a good candidate for their client's position. Their examination of your qualifications will be careful and detailed. Their primary objective is to get enough facts about you to discuss your qualifications with their client and decide whether or not discussions should be continued.
- A consultant is usually slow to submit your candidacy for their client's position. They like to have at least three or four qualified prospects before beginning to direct interviews between its management and the job candidates. You should be just as slow in committing yourself. Insist on getting full facts about a job before you declare yourself a candidate.
- Don't be impatient. Instant decisions are seldom made in hiring people for key management jobs. The employer wants to talk to a number of top candidates before they make up their mind. Good job candidates wish to weigh the advantages of moving, against staying where they are. It generally takes six months from the time a consultant first talks to an executive about changing jobs to the day when they go on the client's payroll. The hiring process is slow and careful and the executive has to give the company ample notice of their impending departure.
- Don't expect an exclusive. In nearly every case, you can be sure that the executive recruiter is submitting the names of other qualified executives to their client. There also may be candidates from sources other than the consultant. Go along with some of the consultant's requests, i.e., detailed resumes, exhibits, adjusting your schedule as much as possible so as to be available for interviews. You have to judge from the tone of the talks how seriously you are being considered. But you should always show interest.
- If your recruiter and the employer are convinced you are the right fit, you can expect heavy pressure from both to accept it. Nevertheless, take your time and investigate thoroughly to make sure the new position has both short and long-term advantages over your present job. An employer will usually respect your desire to consider the pros and cons.
A company expects its executive recruiter to do the preliminary screening of candidates. Usually only three or four candidates are interviewed by the management. If all are rejected, the consultant has to recommence their search. There are at least two or three interviews before the final one. A perceptive person can usually tell whether or not an offer will be made. However, if you have been through a series of interviews, and after a considerable period of time you have heard nothing from the company or the consultant, in all likelihood the job has gone to somebody else. If you wish to confirm this, call the consultant. The consultant will probably make it a point to tell you as soon as a decision is made. They want your goodwill. They may even need you as a candidate for another job some day.
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