Headhunting: Looking for Senior Staff

Posted by inetseo on February 5, 2010 · Leave a Comment

One thing has become clear in recent years – if you are looking for senior members of staff, using a Headhunter is still the way to go!

The reason being for this is that your average CEO is not too keen to have his CV distributed on an ad-hoc basis, around potential employers. By the same token, you also have to understand that your average high street recruitment agency will not have too many CEO jobs on the books.

In steps the Headhunter!

Headhunting is very different to traditional recruitment. We caught up with Phil Marsh, MD at Executive Headhunters to find out where some of the major differences lie.

Flexibility and an ability to think outside of the box is very important. You must be able to understand that is you are approached by a company looking to fill a position for a CEO with a salary of £200,000 p.a, then a knowledge of how to find possible candidates is imperative. You are unlikely to ever find these individuals in a CV database.

Confidentially is another thing. The positions at these levels are normally quite sensitive and are not something you want spread about the market place. Getting this level right whilst at the same time not completely cutting yourself off from contacts, requires a particular approach.

Another requirement is understanding how to network correctly. Never underestimate how important this can be. A successful Headhunter will have a very wide reaching network of colleges, acquaintances, friends and associates. Never turn away an opportunity to network with someone!

You also need to be completely open with the candidate regarding the role. So many times you hear about roles being ‘talked-up” only for them to find that the reality is very different. Research into just what the job entails will be something expected of you – you must be able to deliver a very concise breakdown to the candidate.

With many tools available on the internet to speed up the more traditional forms of recruitment, this is one that will never be replaced. The personal touch with a headhunter is key to a successful relationship with both client and candidate alike.

Executive Headhunters are based in Cheshire and cover all aspects of Headhunting and Senior Executive appointments