What is a recruitment executive?
Executive Recruiters find candidates to fill job openings. They often work for recruiting agencies, which are hired by businesses and other organizations to locate qualified candidates. In many ways, being an Executive Recruiter resembles a sales job. Today, the Executive Recruiter's job relies heavily on technology. An ideal candidate for the Executive Recruiter position will have a combination of strong technical skills and strong people skills. They will be familiar with multiple candidate-sourcing websites and background check resources. They must be a flexible person who is willing to look at candidates with unconventional backgrounds. A detail-oriented personality is essential for this position, as it is key to find relevant background details. In addition, some more specific skills are needed, as detailed below. Charisma and Persuasiveness – The Executive Recruiter is the first point of contact for the firm. As such, it is important that they be able to engage the potential recruit quickly and present a good face for the company and the position that is open. Technical Skills – The Executive Recruiter will be an active user on all relevant job-hunting sites and will be able to navigate the systems effectively. Effective use of background check software is a must as well. They will also make use of online interview and training programs to select their final candidates. Decisiveness – Often times, the Executive Recruiter will find more than one qualified candidate. In this case, they must be able to parse candidates down to the smallest detail in order to make the call of who they will recommend to management. Corporate Knowledge – It is key that the Executive Recruiter be well-versed in the history and culture of their company, or the company contracting with their agency. An ideally qualified candidate for a position may not be an ideal fit for the specific company, and details like that can only be uncovered through a thorough knowledge of company history.
How do you find an executive recruiter?
Here are some ways of identifying recruiters who specialize in your area of expertise. Start by tapping your own network. Many senior executives work with recruiters at some point in their careers as a candidate or client. Ask the most experienced professionals in your network to refer you to the recruiters they know. Building relationships with recruiters may expose you to career opportunities that you might not learn about otherwise. Most employers don’t advertise the positions they hire recruiters to help fill, which are typically a firm’s most senior and highest-paying. And search executives usually promote their services to employers, not job hunters. Identifying and connecting with recruiters who specialize in your area of expertise can be very worthwhile — though candidates should remember that recruiters are paid by the employer, and will put that employer’s interests first. Such niche recruiters aren’t always easy to find, so job seekers might need to use creative tactics. Here are some ways of identifying recruiters who specialize in your area of expertise. Start by tapping your own network. Many senior executives work with recruiters at some point in their careers as a candidate or client. Ask the most experienced professionals in your network to refer you to the recruiters they know. Other sources are people you know in your industry or at organizations that interest you. Find out which recruiting firms their employers use. Don’t be discouraged if the list you compile is short. In certain niche markets, there are recruiters who pretty much work with all big players, so you’ll typically hear the same name several times. A good way to stay on a recruiter’s radar screen is to suggest names of prospects you know for jobs the recruiter is seeking to fill, but for which you don’t qualify. Be sure to offer quality referrals because inappropriate recommendations can reflect poorly on you. Scan recruiter directories. Your local library may have these resources available at no charge.
What do executive recruiters do?
Executive recruiters, sometimes called executive headhunters, are the recruiting professionals who focus on filling executive positions within companies.This involves a structure whereby the client company “retains” or pays a recruiter to work on a particular high level job. Executive recruiters, sometimes called executive headhunters, are the recruiting professionals who focus on filling executive positions within companies. Depending on the knowledge and experience of the individual recruiter, an can fill professional positions like doctors or lawyers, or they may be focused on filling high level management positions. Some executive headhunters only work within certain industries, or they may work for an executive recruiting firm. It is important to differentiate between agency recruiters (headhunters) and corporate HR professionals who specialize in filling senior management level roles. When most people use the term executive recruiter (the focus of this article), they usually mean the people who work at executive search firms (companies that earn fees for placing applicants with their client companies.) However, large companies often employ specialized talent procurement professionals within the HR department that focus on building, grooming, and retaining the executive bench. Search firms that focus on very senior level management positions often work on what is called a retained basis or retainer. This involves a structure whereby the client company “retains” or pays a recruiter to work on a particular high level job. The executive recruiter “owns” the job requirement exclusively, so the only way for a candidate to get that position is to apply through that external search firm. Firms generally use a retained strategy with high level positions, because the candidate search process can easily surpass six months in duration. The external search firms are called upon to do the search, but then also perform a variety of value added services such as assistance with salary negotiation, market research, interview set-up, candidate consultation, legal advice, and tenure and performance modeling.
Working with Executive Recruiters
Whenever you work with a search firm or staffing company, an honest, open approach is key to long term success. Candidates should view recruiting companies as career partners and build strong relationships with the individual recruiters. Strong agency recruiters have a wealth of information about individual hiring managers and open jobs that can give you the leg up over a regular applicant coming in through the web. If you are an executive, however, the same advice applies with added significance. Executive jobs are few and far between. Quality executive recruiters (generally speaking) have a lack of open jobs, not a lack of candidates. The onus is on you to get through to the recruiter and make an impression. What you do after initial contact is what will set you apart – recruiters want to work with candidates that view them as strategic partners and not simple brokers. Leverage the recruiters industry and company knowledge and take the time to meet them – even if they do not have a retained relationship with the client, they may be able to offer valuable insight. Additionally, know that the average life-cycle of an executive position is very long. Jobs stay open for a long time, since the process of executing a placement including search, selection, interview, and negotiation can easily take over a year. Be sure that you have very strong lines of communication with your recruiter and that they are giving you detailed feedback throughout the process. Because the recruitment process can fall through at any stage, be sure to have multiple job prospects going at once – however iterating your continued interest and thoughts to the recruiter throughout the process.
Executive Recruiting Best Practices
Because they are looking to fill high level positions, executive headhunters need to use all the recruiting industry’s best practices to stay ahead of the competition. Not only do they need to demonstrate a high level of professionalism and drive, they need to use the latest recruiting tactics to get the best candidates for executive positions. Here are some of the best practices for the executive recruiter who wants to get ahead. Executives at large corporations need to stay on top of the latest technology trends and understand how to use complex business software to get things done; recruiters who work with these high level executives need to do the same. In the competitive world of executive recruiting, you can’t afford to use outdated methods of sourcing and screening candidates. Technology like performance management or customer relationship management software can help recruiters track candidate information and marketing strategies, and many companies are now offering recruiting management software specifically designed to screen candidates and help with other recruiting tasks. While this may sound like something more suited for accountants or other business people , keeping complete and detailed records of all clients, positions, applicants and candidates can be invaluable to an executive recruiter as well. Nothing turns off a client or kills the confidence of a candidate like a recruiter who doesn’t have all relevant information at their fingertips. It is extremely important for high level recruiters to keep thorough records of applicant information, their talent pool, every contact with candidates and clients, as well as marketing and development efforts. A wide network of business contacts that includes prospects, clients and hires is a recruiter’s best asset. Executive recruiters need to tend this network like a garden, strengthening existing relationships with regular communication and constantly staying on the lookout for new relationships. Recruiters should check back with hires after they have been placed and make sure to ask for referrals to grow their network. It’s very important to hang on to every contact you have made; even if one particular contact isn’t the right fit for one position, they could be perfect for the next one. Growing your network through referrals is also an important practice. Becoming one is not only a Zen ideal – in executive recruitment, it’s a necessity. You have to, in a sense, become your ideal candidate. If you recruit scientists, you should know at least 25% of what they do about the subject. Befriend scientists. Go to science conferences. Drop by your placed candidates for the first day and see what they do – analyze their real function and profession. Read what they read, dress like they dress, and play where they play. At the highest level of recruiting, search professionals should really stop being simple service providers and become respected resources to their industry. This reputation is only built by a dedicated interest for the area of recruitment and a dogmatic approach to building trusted relationships in the industry.
How do you become an executive recruiter?
The qualifications to become an executive recruiter vary among employers, but you will typically need a bachelor's degree in human resources or another relevant subject. If you want to recruit for a specific industry, then a degree in that field is beneficial. You need excellent networking skills. The qualifications to become an executive recruiter vary among employers, but you will typically need a bachelor’s degree in human resources or another relevant subject. If you want to recruit for a specific industry, then a degree in that field is beneficial. You need excellent networking skills. You can gain experience as an entry-level or junior recruiter whose job is to find candidates for lower- and mid-level positions. As you progress in your career, you can move up to recruiting for executive and C-level positions.
