Executive search professionals – what do they need to know?
Executive search is a profession. The executive search process is very different from the search for professionals, and it is to executive search that executive search professionals with specific competences are dedicated. These competences include communication skills, knowledge of different sectors and building an impeccable reputation.
Communication skills of an executive search professional
Excellent communication skills are essential for an executive search professional. When dealing with top executives, you need to have a good grasp of complex issues, be able to read subtexts, and be able to strategically plan conversations. Also, interviews often take unexpected turns, as candidates are very active in the conversation, unlike in specialist selection. It is also necessary to build trust in the first few minutes of the interview, which requires a lot of experience in difficult interviews. The executive search professional is a partner, not a broker, to the manager as a candidate. That is why immediate communication and the ability to make the right contact is an essential competency of an executive searcher.
Knowledge of different sectors
The tasks of executive search professionals can be related to different sectors. Whether it is IT, logistics or manufacturing, a good executive search professional must be familiar with the key indicators of each sector, the largest companies in the sector and the uniqueness of the sector’s labour market. When an executive comes to speak to an executive search professional, he or she needs to be sure that the professional has a good understanding of the position he or she is offering the candidate. If there is little knowledge of the field, the manager will not be able to gain the confidence of the professional and the recruitment will not be successful.
A reputation for excellence and building it
Changing jobs is a major step for a manager and should only be entrusted to an executive search professional with an impeccable reputation. If there is no information, no testimonials, no mention of the professional as an expert in executive search in the news, then trust is not guaranteed. Executives try to choose the best executive search professionals and trust them with their career issues. If an executive search professional is not widely known for his or her impeccable reputation, then it will be difficult for him or her to be allowed to represent top executives in the job market.
All three of these competences can be acquired by working on specialist search projects, but moving into the executive search space is a challenge. For every recruitment professional, it is an aspirational role and a high level of recognition. Importantly, executive search professionals move from being an intermediary between the candidate and the employer to being a partner to the candidate, a role that requires good preparation. Candidates of extraordinary ability also require extraordinary expertise in recruitment from their partners.
