Excerpt: Executive search is a lengthy process but a very fruitful one. It would be best if you had patience and progress step-by-step without being discouraged. We have decided to do some of your work and have set up a guide that will help you know everything you need to know about Executive Search.
Recruitment is a time-consuming process, and it gets even more demanding when you are recruiting people for filling up senior-level positions. Executive search is the type of recruitment in which the companies themselves approach the recruitment agencies to get highly qualified candidates for the vacancies in the executive jobs. The recruiter is supposed to get the cream of the layer from their pool of candidates. Therefore, the candidate has to be evaluated and judged rigorously. They are judged based on their technical and intrapersonal skills, as it takes a lot more than just skills to lead a team or run an organisation. The candidates are interviewed at regular intervals and assigned tasks that help the recruiter know which one of them is the most suited candidate for any role.
The process is so exhausting and hassling because one can make no mistake and has to keep an eye out for the right talent at all times. From one-on-one interactions to constantly assigning your candidates some tasks, it can be pretty hectic at times, but you must remember that the result is very fruitful. As a recruiter, one will have to especially pay attention to what the candidate has done previously in their career.
There is always a dire need for a solid and qualified leader to run or manage an organisation. However, it is even harder to recruit them with the rise in several recruitment agencies in all markets because the candidate you are looking for can always be snatched from right under your nose by other agencies. It is why we decided to do the research and help you conduct this with the right executive search software without worrying about any other factors that might otherwise be stopping you from getting on board with it.
1. Pay Attention To The Company’s Demands
You must pay attention to what the organisation is looking for in a candidate and start searching and screening applicants based on those requirements. Remember, one must fit into the technical requirements and have a personality that would be the right fit for the organisation. For example, the candidate should know how to be a leader and take charge of any situation under any amount of stress. The person hired should also be able to motivate those working under them and maintain the right balance of firmness and politeness to properly manage all of the employees below them.
2. Write Up A Job Description
You will initially be required to make a job description that has all the necessary details about the job and the qualifications expected from a candidate. The job description should have a title that will grab the attention of the demographic of people you are looking for and have them interested enough to click on it and get more details about the job before they apply. In addition, the section for requirements should be highlighted and so that only those who qualify will apply for the position.
3. Conduct Research
It is essential for you to immediately start searching and organising a pool of candidates after getting an idea of what a company will like. It is essential that no detail is sidelined and all of your candidates fulfil the basic requirements in the first round of screening. One-on-one interactions will help you get to know your candidate more personally, so don’t shy away from the number of interviews you will be scheduled as long as each interview is fruitful.
4. Check For Validity Of Information
You must cross-check and verify all the documents provided by the candidate before proceeding any further with them. It will help remove any room for error and discrepancies. In addition, if a candidate has been referred by an employee of the company you are recruiting for, it becomes even more crucial that you conduct a background check on them and find out if the referral is valid or not.
5. Conduct Interviews
You must keep constantly engaging with your candidates so that your pool of candidates will go stale. You have to schedule constant interviews and interaction sessions with all of your candidates. These sessions will help you prepare your candidate and know more about them. It will make screening and shortlisting easier on your end. Also, remember to assign tasks at regular intervals to your candidates and evaluate them based on how they perform in these tasks.
6. Set Up A Profile
By the time you have shortlisted your candidate(s), you will have to set up a candidate profile that will help you sell the candidate to the company in a way. You will highlight all the essential parts, like the skills and qualifications that the candidate has and their experiences in any similar field of work. In addition, you will mention any and every information relevant to the job the candidate is being recruited for.
7. Prep Your Candidate
As the recruitment period gets over, you will have narrowed down the list of candidates to a tiny number. When you finally have 3-4 candidates left with you after all those rounds of screening and shortlisting, you should arrange an interview with the higher-ups of the company they will be working for. It will help you receive their input and opinion on your side before you choose and choose one final candidate. You must prepare your candidate thoroughly for this interview. Their past one-on-one interactive sessions with you should be helpful now.
Executive search is considered one of the most taxing and challenging hiring practices so try to incorporate technology and its tools in your work to make it smoother and more accessible. It is bound to affect your agency’s brand value and efficiency if not done correctly. It can also result in huge losses and decrease your rate of customer satisfaction. It is very costly for more reasons than one.
Having a senior level position be vacant for a long time can result in drastic errors, and it’s even more harmful to have an under qualified candidate be hired in the position. It would also hamper the regular cycle of work at the office and lower productivity by large margins. This is why you must pay attention to the demands of the company or firm that you will be recruiting for and get them a candidate that ticks off all the checkboxes of a perfect candidate. It is supposed to be a lengthy process as not many qualified individuals are present in the market to fit the senior level jobs but don’t be discouraged. Have a good time recruiting!