Job Boards, Social Media, Networking, and Executive Placement Firms – 4 Ways You Can Find Your Next Executive.

There is no shortage of resources when it comes to filling an administrative or managerial level position.  Between job boards, social media, employee referrals and agencies, your possibilities are abundant, even in this job market.  However, when you are looking for your next executive, your resources shrink while the cost of that hire increases.

You are limited to a finite number of avenues to source and screen for an executive or board level hire whether it is on a temporary or permanent basis. Here are some of the most common options and some pros/cons of each.

Job Boards

• Pro
  • Inexpensive
  • Large # of people
  • Potential for a trusted referral
  • Little upfront time investment
• Con
  • In general, you receive responses only from those actively looking and happen to be looking where you post. You may miss out on those most qualified, currently engaged and not spending their time searching job boards.
  • Time-consuming – culling through all of the responses can be tedious. A clear message for what you are looking for and a good screening process for all respondents can help minimize this.
  • You only receive self-selected responses based on what information was published resulting in a large quantity of clearly unqualified individuals and possibly some of the best candidates who found your posting was unappealing. The latter is common at the executive level. Their time is highly valued which makes them are more selective of the opportunities they consider.

Social Media/LinkedIn (Searching)

• This is a similar list to the job boards with the exception of a higher chance of a possible trusted referral. If you are searching on these, a level of search expertise is recommended along with a connection to the executive. The executives we speak to respond to few inquiries through social media due to the number of fishing expeditions, knowledge (not talent) seekers, and wild goose chases.

Your Network

Again, similar to the list above, since much of your network has visibility to those activities (job postings, social media, etc), you get the added benefit of increased potential for a trustworthy referral, possibly with personal, relatable experience.

Executive Placement Firms

Whether you call it to search, placement, recruitment or headhunters this industry knows executives.

• Pro
  • Less time commitment on your part
  • Some level of screening (this varies greatly from firm to firm) prior to being presented to you
  • Higher possibility of a wider market both currently looking as well as currently engaged
• Con
  • Costly – typical search fee is 30% of total annual compensation
  • Trusting that the company doing the screening truly understands your needs and is not screening out potentially good candidates based on their lack of knowledge and understanding

It is no secret the cost of hiring an executive can be up to 1x the cost of the first year compensation.  The risk of hiring the wrong executive can easily double those costs. Consider your past experiences (what has and hasn’t worked for you), your current resources/network and the impact of making the right or wrong hire for your business.  For any scenario, we highly recommend the project-to-perm model.  This gives you the opportunity to observe them hands-on first where they will be demonstrating their skill sets and potential results rather than just ‘trusting’ them or their referrals.

If you’re currently looking for an executive, contact Cerius Executives for the temp to permanent Executive Placement.