Searching for Your Ideal NED Role

When looking for your next NED role, there are usually three courses of action to take.

1.      Speak to all your friends, contacts and connections, letting them know what you’re looking for

2.      Network extensively. Do Zoom network meetings have the same ability to build rapport as being in the same room as other people?

3.      Sign up to the alert boards, which often mean you receive the same NED roles week after week after week …

But what if you know the type of role you want eg, Chair, NED, Trustee, Chair of xyz Committee etc; you know the industry you want and are best suited to and you know the type of companies you want to work with. You may even know THE companies you want a NED role with!!

The simple answer is to identify the companies you would be interested in working with and ask them. You probably need to be a little more subtle than that. After all, it is doubtful they would appreciate your CV, albeit an excellent CV, being thrust upon them out of the blue!

You need to be very pro-active about this type of search. Firstly, you’ll want to research the companies you would be interested in working with. Develop your list of who you want to approach.

Secondly, who is the right person to contact? I would suggest the CEO in the first instance.

And thirdly, how should you approach them? Write a letter? Send an email? Pick up the telephone? Anything else?

My personal favourite is to write a letter and put it in a hand-written envelope (so long as your handwriting is legible!) marked “personal”. Nowadays, so few people put the effort into writing a letter, it is all email or instant messaging, that a well-crafted communication really stands out. From my many years as a Group Board Level Executive Assistant, a handwritten, personal envelope was more likely to get through to my executive than one with a typed label. We tended to work on the premise that if somebody had put some effort in, the least we could do would be to read it. Now, not everybody thinks as we did, but it is worth some effort.

At this stage I would definitely NOT include the CV. This is because you’re not applying for a directorship right now but simply explaining that you would like to work with them at some point in the future. Give only the briefest of reasons why you’d like to work with them and why they should consider you.

The questions you want to ask are:

• When is a role likely to be coming up next?
• What is their application process?
• What are the particular criteria required of applicants? 

It can look more professional if you are introduced, anonymously, by a third party rather than writing yourself – this can come over as a little bit desperate! Remember, all you want to know is how they conduct the search for a NED, in house or via an Executive Search Agency, and preferably find out which agency they have historically used and if they have any notion when they will next be looking to make a new board appointment. I find using phrases such as “I am looking for some advice”, “I appreciate you are very busy”, “perhaps your EA could help” help to build bridges with the addressee. The one essential thing to remember is to tailor your letter to the individual / company you are writing to. Please, do not write one generic letter, sign it, photocopy it umpteen times and send it out … it will go straight to the bin.  

Then … you wait. There are four specific types of response you are most likely to receive:

1.      Silence … you don’t actually get a response

2.      A polite reply thanking you for your interest and stating they will keep your name on file for when a role is available

3.      A polite reply answering some or all of your questions

4.      A polite reply asking further questions about you

Whatever their response, you now need to keep in regular contact with them. If they want to talk to you on the back of your initial contact, that’s brilliant. If they’ve given you a date for when they’ll be looking for a new NED, fantastic. You just don’t want them to forget about you. Use your judgement when deciding how frequently to follow up. 

Is this time consuming? Yes

Is it worth it (in the long run)? Most definitely!

Of course, we could do all of this for you…           

Our NED Portfolio Builder service is bespoke to each individual client. If you would like to know more about this service, I will more than happy to answer any questions to see if this is something that could work for you. Please send me a message and let’s arrange a suitable time to have a call.