Insights
What you should know about executive search firms
Many companies use executive recruiting firms, or headhunters, to fill their key positions. It's worth knowing who they are and how they operate, regardless of your current employment situation. The worst time to try to build and develop a relationship with a recruiter is when you're already in need of a job.
Many companies use executive recruiting firms, or headhunters, to fill their key positions. It’s worth knowing who they are and how they operate, regardless of your current employment situation. The worst time to try to build and develop a relationship with a recruiter is when you’re already in need of a job.
What you should know about executive search firms
By Jose Ruiz | Alder Koten
Many companies use executive recruiting firms, or headhunters, to fill their key positions. It’s worth knowing who they are and how they operate, regardless of your current employment situation. The worst time to try to build and develop a relationship with a recruiter is when you’re already in need of a job.
The socioeconomic events of the past five years have dramatically changed business dynamics and, as a result, labor market dynamics. Pressure from recessionary markets has forced companies to seek greater focus and specialization in order to compete in global markets.
Broadly speaking, companies have shifted from being generalists in a regional market to being specialists in a global one. At the height of the recession, I asked Francisco Garza-Egloff, CEO of Arca-Continental, what his reaction to the economic situation would be. His answer: “We’re going to invest more. But we’re going to invest in less.” Eduardo Garza T. Fernández, chairman of the board of Frisa Industrias, remarked, “You can’t compete in the global market just by trying hard.” Tolerance for learning curves has dropped dramatically, and we now find ourselves in a situation where, despite high unemployment, companies are struggling to secure the talent they need to compete effectively. Executive search firms are playing a critical role in helping companies meet this challenge.
An agency, a job board, and an executive search firm are not the same thing.
- Agency: Focuses on sourcing certain profiles and represents talent (acting as an agent) when a company has specific requirements. In many cases, the agency handles payroll and provides temporary staffing services. The focus is typically on temporary positions in certain professional areas.
- Job board: An intermediary between people looking for work and companies posting openings. Typically, there’s no involvement beyond facilitating the transaction and providing the infrastructure for autonomous interaction between the two parties.
- Executive recruiter: Starts from a specific requirement and implements a structured process to define, research, proactively identify, evaluate, and present candidates to clients.
Who is the executive recruiter’s client?
The client—the one who pays—is the company. Executive recruiters represent companies and devote their time to locating the talent their client needs, typically under significant time pressure.
Tips for working effectively with executive recruiters
- Seek the relationship, not the transaction. Think long term. Some people recommend staying on a recruiter’s radar by checking in every two weeks. That’s a sure recipe for having your calls go unanswered. Look for conversations that add value to the recruiter’s work, and build an alliance that lasts your entire career. Become a source of information and knowledge about what’s happening in the industry you share.
- Understand the recruiter’s job. Recruiters gravitate toward executives who understand the dynamics of the process and steer clear of executives who might make them look bad to their clients.
- Know your limitations. Understand the requirements and details of the position thoroughly. Study and ask questions before confirming your candidacy. Evaluating a candidate for a role is a shared responsibility among the candidate, the company, and the recruiter. Learn to say no when a position is beyond your level of competence and prior experience.
- Be transparent. Don’t try to oversell yourself to the recruiter. Put everything on the table so that together you can determine whether it’s a good fit for both you and the company.
- Don’t underestimate them. A recruiter’s reach and standing in your industry is usually deeper than you imagine. Consider that a good recruiter talks to no fewer than five people a day about what’s happening in the industry, in companies, and in the region.
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