It’s very different from traditional recruitment. Executive search, as the name suggests, is about recruiting senior executives and C-suite level executives. Head-hunters need the right recruiting skills, the right calibre of talent, and the right kind of executive search software.
What does an executive search entail?
As mentioned above, executive search is separate from recruiting junior to mid-level employees. The recruitment CRM needs are different.
Only the highest levels of employees are head-hunted during executive-level recruiting.
Finding executive candidates is not easy. In fact, it can be more challenging and time-consuming than any other form of recruitment.
Typically, most such vacancies are not announced publicly. The hiring companies use the search firm’s help to locate the best-qualified candidate in a discreet and low-key way. So, there’s the added pressure of working quietly in this highly competitive environment. Using executive search software helps mitigate all these challenges.
Identifying top talent for executive recruitment
Senior and c-suite executives are not easy to find and engage. Head-hunters need these high-performing executives as candidates to make their clients satisfied. The roles being advertised are of strategic importance to the company, so only the best executive candidates will make it to the list.
- Social media is where head-hunters typically go in search of potential candidates. But some things hold head-hunters back in this case.
- Senior executives are usually too inundated with messages and connection requests on social media to find the important ones from head-hunters.
- Executives do not have the time to regularly check and update their social media accounts.
Many executives do not make proper use of social media to be found easily by recruiters.
These three points are common barriers to a successful executive search system. So, while social media is an easy and accessible platform open to every head-hunter, it can also be incredibly limiting after some time.
Most executives are too busy to spend much time networking online or updating their accounts religiously. They are also very likely to be flooded with messages which are mostly left unread and unanswered. So, head-hunters who have been trying to contact these executives via social media will be left in the cold.
Passive executive candidates are another challenge in executive search. Active candidates are easy to spot and approach. But senior executives are more likely to be passive candidates than active ones. They are happy to be where they are for the moment and so they are not open to pursuing new opportunities. It takes a proactive recruiter to conduct thorough research and find out the contact information of the executives.
Executive search software – tool for improved executive recruiting
When head-hunters and their talent acquisition teams are preparing to identify, approach, engage and place the best executives, they cannot do so without the support of executive search software.
While recruitment is people-focused, the truth is that modern recruiting is also very tech-driven. With remote hiring systems firmly in place, it is now more necessary than ever to have the right tools in place. And executive recruitment software is at the forefront of the most important software solutions needed by search firms.
This type of CRM software does everything. Whether it is candidate sourcing, talent mapping, streamlining communication, or generating client reports, a good executive search software will help head-hunters with every stage of the recruitment process.