My own Recruiting 2.0

The world has changed, and we are all racing to keep up, and to transform the way we all do business within our own specific specializations.

In 1995, I entered the world of recruiting.  Throughout the past 29 years I have worked within the recruitment agency world, corporate talent acquisition, leading teams around the globe, and in executive recruitment, where I have transitioned my career to exclusively concentrate on now.  As models and approaches have changed over the years, one thing remains constant, recruiters change lives one placement at a time.

Recruiting is not rocket science, but it takes a very special personality to be and remain successful throughout a career.  Whether you are just getting started or are a seasoned recruiting professional, this article discusses the transformation as it relates to executive recruiting and my view on how the world has changed.

Over my career I worked my way up the talent acquisition ladder to being a global leader for large well-known companies only to get to the senior levels and to look back at my accomplishments and consider, have I made a difference.  Have members of my team excelled in their careers, have I left the corporate world better then when I joined, and have I affected lives, one placement at a time, I was very surprised with my own answer, and it was a resounding no.

I have a true love for recruiting, at all levels, but where I found my niche was at the executive levels and an ability to see the larger picture and build an experience that created value and positive outcomes for the clients and candidates that I represent.  It was with this mission in mind that I branched out on my own 2 years ago and walked away from the corporate world to use my expertise and experience to build and support executive teams around the globe to attain their own missions and goals.

When I say that I am part of Executive Recruiting 2.0, I am not referring to a new way of recruiting, I am referring to a more in-depth and changing environment of recruiting.  In most recruiting practices our goal is to be a trusted partner that builds a relationship with our hiring leaders and to show value and expertise to alleviate, or reduce pain points.  Companies today have shown us, among other things, that they need to do more with less, so finding the right talent with the right skills is abundantly more important than ever before.

Executive recruiting requires the ability to go above and beyond the standard relationship and to provide a consultative approach that others may not.  Areas that I have chosen to work towards, that I refer to as 2.0, are:

• Not selling right out of the gate.  Leaders utilize the services of an executive recruiter by having the trust that they can deliver upon what they say can be done.  Pushing for a hard sell in meeting number one doesn’t always represent that relationship and appears as you are a transactional recruiter.
• Providing compensation market data that sets the benchmark for a successful search, and ultimately a successful placement.
• Sharing the talent market data and competitive landscape so that leaders are clear on what they can expect, and delivering upon those expectations.
• Being a subject matter expert in the niche that you have chosen to support.  Executive recruiters are not the experts at everything, we show trust and value within our specialization.
• We are not resume pushers just to get to the short-list.  This does not show value or experience, any recruiter can find candidates, but finding candidates with specific required and soft skills is where we differentiate ourselves.
• Keeping leaders aware of what is constantly happening within the search is critical.  Many executive recruiters communicate progress in varying ways that work for them and their leaders.  For example, the path I have chosen is an ATS that provides links to leaders so that they can view the activity of their searches at any given time.  Candidates are shared through this system, scheduled through the system, and aligned to the role and hiring team through the system. 

Regardless of the approach that an executive recruiter takes, the differentiator and transformation is your personal 2.0.  Not all transformations are the same, my recruiting style may not be the same as the recruiter next door, but we use the style and tools that works best for us and aids in our overall success.  Building relationships and understanding our place in the recruiting ecosystem is what sets us apart and allows us to flourish in our companies and/or recruiting firms.  Although it may go by a different name or term for you, ultimately, we all change lives one placement at a time.