The peculiarities headhunting of top-level managers
Finding a good employee is not easy. Finding a trustworthy manager whose competences and value system fit quickly and professionally into the company’s culture and operations is even harder. One of the most effective ways of targeting top managers is now known as headhunting. Recently, such headhunting has moved into the virtual space, opening up all the possibilities to actively search for executive candidates on specialised job portals or social networks.
Around ten years ago, when newspapers were perhaps the most important medium, these periodicals used to devote entire pages to job advertisements. This was due to the high level of interest, the extremely fast information rate and the circulation in the thousands. However, the situation soon changed and the internet quickly overtook the press. These changes benefited jobseekers, with the creation of dedicated job portals and the emergence of social networking accounts such as LinkedIn, which made it much quicker and easier for candidates to advertise their job search or find existing vacancies. From a recruiter’s point of view, the internet has optimised the search for employees, especially headhunting.
The web is the thing
It is not difficult to see how the Internet is superior to newspapers. A newspaper advertisement (even in the smallest word count or format) costs a lot, whereas if you post a job on the internet, you will pay nothing, or only a minimal registration fee. This reduces the cost of advertising the job and allows you to focus immediately on the hunt for the best head.
The aforementioned social network LinkedIn is nowadays very widely used not only in the world but also in Lithuania. It allows for business networking, job searching and, since last year, the possibility for employers to advertise on LinkedIn. This means that employees can be searched for on the social network itself, rather than being redirected to other websites.
It is easy to imagine the volume of job advertisements that are published on such portals every year: just a visit to the popular websites cvonline, firsty.lt, etc., shows how many people from a wide range of occupations are being sought. However, these figures do not mean that it is easy to find a highly qualified manager. For this reason, very often employers or recruitment companies use third sources such as professional contacts, groups, other social portals, etc.
The hunt for professional leaders is a process that requires responsible planning, as many people need people with years of experience, professional staff and the knowledge they have in their heads. In addition, confidentiality requirements should be taken into account when planning a headhunt. It would be advisable not to disclose too much information about the company, the previous manager, etc. in advance. Headhunting can produce excellent results, but only if it is used responsibly.
