When doing an executive search, the roles can look quite different, from the other roles you have recruited in your company. It is also a risk that the same candidate you are communicating with, is being pursued by other competitors.
In that case, it is essential that you have a hiring plan in place before your team starts to invest time in contacting potential candidates. To ensure that you are hiring the right top talent for your company, we have created a short guide explaining how to source and recruit executive-level candidates.
Understand the Role
When focusing on executive recruitment, you must have the right recruitment strategy. The first step is for your team to understand the role and define the person you are looking for. Executive search can be very different from other roles since the role often comes with more requirements. Your team cannot start hiring for the role without knowing exactly what they are looking for.
Make sure to understand the qualifications the person needs to have, what function the candidate will have in the company and which long time goals you have for the role. Also, make sure to clarify what kind of personality you are looking for, to ensure that the candidate fits into the team and company culture. You probably already know the professional experience the ideal candidate needs to have when starting the executive search but remember to focus on the specific skills you need for the role as well.
Implement Social Sourcing Strategies
Senior and executive-level candidates might not be actively looking for a new job opportunity, but perhaps they are still active social network users. When focusing on executive recruitment, make sure to join professional online groups, and start to build a network with potential candidates.
Your team has probably already posted the job on different job boards and on LinkedIn. But relying on these tools alone, when doing an executive search, will not get you all the relevant candidates for the position. To ensure that you have all eyes on the candidate market, use social sourcing to connect, engage and attract top talents.
Check Resumes and Relevant Keywords
When focusing on executive recruitment, you must check the relevant keywords are aligned with the requirements and skills you identified in the first step. Look at the job title and make a list of relevant keywords, for you to use when searching for resumes. Lastly, do not be afraid to use boolean search tools, to find qualified candidates in a more time-efficient manner.
Once you have found and received the resume, that fits the requirements and keywords for the position, you can begin to look deeper into the resume. Look at if the candidate’s work history is consistent and progressive, or if have they been “jumping” around in their career. If you find these are red flags but still feel the candidate is relevant for the position, you can ask questions regarding the concerns during the phone screening.
Conduct Effective Interviews
You want to hire the best executive candidates, but how effective is your executive recruitment process and is the process helping you hire the right talent? A structured interview has been shown to not only be more reliable but also more effective than an unstructured interview.
A structured executive recruitment process and interview process, show that your company is professional. It also makes the process faster and more productive, which gives you a better chance to hire the right top talent, before your competitors.
