Let's start by calling a spade a spade: filling a senior management or C-level vacancy can feel like an ordeal. Whether you want to hire an experienced executive director or a senior vice president, you'll run into the problem of scarcity. In today's job market, good candidates are in high demand but difficult to find. As a result, executive recruitment usually takes a long time. Many companies find the process quite hopeless. The best candidates usually already have a good job, so it's difficult to explain to them how they'd benefit from switching jobs.
The good news is, it's not impossible. But you can only find a senior manager or executive if you adopt the right approach. You'll only have a chance of success with an elaborate, well-thought-out headhunting process. So, what does executive recruitment truly entail?
The average executive recruitment agency will tell you a successful executive search involves a lot of tasks. If you post a vacancy online and passively wait for the right candidates to contact you—well, chances are that will happen when pigs fly. So, many decide to dive into a database and sift through hundreds of résumés, hoping they'll be lucky enough to find a handful of suitable profiles. This labor-intensive "fingers-crossed approach" isn't ideal, but it might help you select several candidates.
However, the difficult part has yet to begin. For now it's time to convince candidates that an introductory meeting with you is worth their precious time. How to go about it? You'll have to sell the vacancy and your company in no time. If you're not a full-fledged sales expert and therefore haven't mastered the art of selling, you'll lose the candidate — and all your time and effort will have been in vain.
The thing is, recruitment has little to do with human resources these days. It's turned into sales. That might sound surprising, but it's true. Companies of all shapes and sizes find themselves facing this new recruitment reality — from small start-ups to scale-ups and multinationals. And it applies to virtually all industries and specializations — whether you're looking for a CEO with knowledge of life sciences or a general manager with supply chain expertise.
A little stamina goes a long way, but it's not enough if you want to make executive recruitment successful. You also need thorough experience, knowledge, and expertise. So, many companies hire an executive search firm or headhunter agency to get some much-needed help.
But that only makes sense if you work with the right party. The question is, who can provide the solution you're looking for? If you google "executive search firms," you'll be flooded with results. Surely, there is no shortage of headhunters that know how to promote themselves. That makes it difficult to see the forest for the trees.
For you need to distinguish between empty and realistic promises. Who can put their money where their mouth is? In other words, what prerequisites should a headhunter agency meet? To set you in the right direction, we'll discuss the 7 success factors that help us recruit top talent time and again. Each of our executive recruiters possesses these traits, which they use to identify candidates who help our clients achieve long-term success and growth. So, for the purpose of this blog post, we'll translate practice into theory to give you an idea of our proven approach!
Most executive search firms claim they can find your ideal candidate. But do you know which recruiter will take on your assignment? Chances are that a big name agency will have a fresh graduate (or, a junior recruiter) find your new manager or C-level executive. No matter how talented this person is, that's usually a bad idea. It's difficult for fresh graduates to convince heavyweights that they should switch jobs. Let's be honest: if you were an executive with a solid job and employment contract, and a 20-something would recommend that you throw it all away, would you take their advice?
Most senior candidates don't take very young recruiters seriously. That's because the latter lack the experience and authority to engage in a conversation at these candidates' level. So, it's much better to leave an executive search to executive headhunters (or, senior headhunters) who have experience working as managers and executives!
A recruiter should possess a huge amount of expertise to make the executive recruitment process successful. For example, a ton of experience and an extensive network are indispensable. Such things enable them to find candidates and spark their interest.
C-level executive recruiters should also be able to communicate at the candidate's level. They need to have gained lots of experience. A the same time, they should keep their knowledge up to date. Highly experienced recruiters don't just keep track of the job market. They also follow the news. After all, experienced candidates and clients will want to talk to them about a variety of topics, such as economics, politics, finance, and business. Only then, they'll take recruiters seriously.
Expertise also entails an ability to thoroughly understand candidates. Senior recruiters ask the difficult questions junior recruiters usually avoid (due to a lack of experience). By doing so, they significantly reduce the likelihood of a mismatch.
Finally, good senior recruiters are familiar with your industry. Are you looking for a CEO or CFO with specific IT knowledge? Or do you need marketing executive recruiters to find you a well-versed CMO? Experienced headhunters understand your requirements and will select a suitable candidate.
We've said it before and we'll say it again: recruitment has turned into sales. Do you want to find leaders who know everything about IT or professional services? Are you looking for a senior manager who has in-depth knowledge of finance or the industrial sector?
If you hope to bring in a highly skilled jack-of-all-trades, you should sell your vacancy. So, it's wise to only work with senior recruiters who have strong sales skills. Major bonus points if they worked in management, executive, and sales positions themselves (like SalesSupply's well-versed experts). They know how to recruit the heavyweights you're looking for. They'll pitch the job and your company in a concise, effective way!
You can hire an entire executive search team to find your perfect match, but they'll need to understand people. If they don't, the mission won't succeed. One recruiter can do more than a 10-person team, provided you work with the right expert — or, someone who will take the time to understand candidates.
Recruitment is much more than checking whether a candidate has the required competencies. Good recruiters also assess if a candidate possesses a range of important soft skills. For example, managers and C-level executives should always have excellent communication skills, as they deal with people. It's also crucial that they are good listeners and can help people connect. Additionally, a bird's-eye view is indispensable. Senior recruiters consider these traits. They check if the candidate really fits the company culture.
Excellent recruiters also show candidates that they've done their homework. During the first few minutes of an interview, a candidate will immediately notice this recruiter gets them. What's essential in this context is that the recruiter doesn't bring up the vacancy right away. They should first build a relationship and show genuine interest to discover what an executive candidate is looking for in a new job. Sometimes, great employment conditions and growth opportunities will do. But often, candidates prioritize making an impact, tackling challenges, having a bigger say, or increasing the scope of their job. Experienced recruiters listen very carefully to understand how they can convince someone to come work for you.
Once you find the right candidate, you don't want to let them slip away. Senior recruiters know how to run a successful executive search — by combining speed, efficiency, and quality. If they have a background in sales, that's a huge benefit. Recruiters who worked in sales understand that acting quickly and accurately isn't optional. In today's market, it's an absolute must. If you make candidates wait for a week, they'll walk away — either because they've lost interest or because your competitor brings them in.
Most candidates and clients need guidance during the headhunting process. In these cases, the recruiter should provide them with coaching and advice. In other words, they also need to act as a senior consultant. When doing so, there's only one goal: to increase the chances of success for the candidate and the client.
Good headhunters have the experience, flexibility, authority, and expertise to support both parties from start to finish. After all, a candidate with 10+ years of experience will not take advice from just anyone. But they will listen to a recruiter who speaks their language and is on the same page as them!
A large network and a stellar reputation are crucial to executive search assignments. Of course, you can't snap your fingers and expect these things to appear. An outstanding track record is built over the years, and a recruiter who wants to recruit executive candidates should have it.
If you google "headhunter Netherlands" or "executive recruitment Netherlands," you'll get a list of agencies that claim to operate across the Netherlands. But have they successfully completed recruitment assignments in all geographical areas? Are they familiar with the characteristics of each area? Do they operate at the global level, too? Do they know many people personally? If recruiters can check off all these boxes, they can save you a lot of time and achieve success!
The best professionals (people who are a perfect fit in terms of experience, skills, and personality) are extremely difficult to find. Skilled senior recruiters will do the searching for you and use an effective approach to filling complex vacancies for executives, directors, and managers.
Perhaps you're looking for an expert in a specific city, and you googled terms such as "executive search Amsterdam," "executive recruitment Amsterdam," "executive search Rotterdam," or "executive search Utrecht." Here, too, seasoned recruiters can help you out. They work with the parameters you've set, but they also think outside of the box. It's usually wise to take their advice regarding (the requirements for) job descriptions. For example, you can discuss with them how to create an appealing job description that helps attract a larger audience. If you run an executive search with good headhunters, you'll reach the finishing line much faster!
Would you like to run a senior executive search because you need a shortcut to recruiting a suitable candidate? Then you've come to the right place! Using the 7 success factors described in this blog post, SalesSupply has achieved success time and again.
Each of our senior recruiters has more than 20 years of experience working in executive, management, and sales positions. We use our experience to recruit executive candidates. We never stand still, because stagnation means decline. SalesSupply is a forward-thinking executive search firm that happily embraces meaningful new developments.
Are you looking to fill a complex vacancy? Can you use some professional help running an executive search? And do you prefer to work with senior recruiters who have a ton of expertise, experience, and sales and people skills? Feel free to contact us!
We'll find you a suitable candidate within 3 weeks. That's a guarantee.
Do you want to discuss a potential collaboration or have us start an executive search right away?
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