Getting the Most from Your Recruiters
Share your Position Description with recruiters, whether they are contingent or retained. It will accomplish two objectives. You will have saved them a lot of time trying to understand what you want and you can now be confident that they have a full, accurate and complete description of the position. When you give it to them ask them to confirm to you whether they have additional questions about the position. This document is now your baseline against which you can evaluate a recruiter’s ability to present candidates that match what you need.
If you will be working with a retained recruiter, consider the following:
- Confirm that they are clear on the requirements of the position and ask what questions or concerns they might have that could affect a successful search.
- Meet the recruiters and any other individuals that will have a meaningful role in the search, particularly if they will be involved in candidate interviews.
- Recruiters may tell you they or someone from their staff will meet with you to prepare the Brief. If you’ve previously given them the Position Description, ask what additional information they need.
- Ask them to describe in detail the interview and evaluation process they will use.
- Request that they prepare a list of companies with the names of the people in the positions that they anticipate contacting on your behalf. Give them feedback on the completeness of the list and the appropriateness of the positions they plan to contact. Identify any company they cannot use as a source for candidates due to a prior client arrangement. Make sure the companies on their list are the ones you want on the list.
- Ask them to describe the timeline for their milestones and make sure you and they are clear on what happens if they do not meet their milestones.
- Make sure your contract allows you to withhold their final payment until they present a candidate that accepts your offer.
Retained recruiters use researchers to create their search lists who may also be the ones who make the initial contact with potential candidates. The largest search firms usually have in-house researchers but often turn to independent researchers when appropriate. Independent researchers sometimes specialize in an industry or function and, therefore, become the go-to research person or research organization for that industry or function. Independent researchers and their organizations do not typically work exclusively for any one recruiter or firm. It’s possible, therefore, when different recruiters tell you how great their researchers are, they may be using the same researcher.
The top 25 executive search firms handle approximately 15% of the total executive search business with the other 85% being handled by boutique search firms. Since you are dependent on the professionalism of the individual recruiter who will be in charge of your search, there is very little distinction between success from a top 25 search firm and a smaller boutique firm, despite what you might hear from the search firm.
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