The changing face of executive job search.

I am consistently asked the same question by candidates.  Why is there not more executive activity at the moment?  My answer is that there actually is a lot of activity but that it is not as identifiable as it has been in the past.

We are seeing three things right now.

Firstly, there are less roles advertised.  Fewer companies and executive search firms advertise positions because of the plethora of resumes that are received.   It is not an efficient use of time to field follow up calls from under qualified candidates which usually amount to the majority of the resumes.

Secondly, companies are often filling roles that are unique to the organization and might not necessarily know exactly what they are looking for in a candidate.  The market has changed and roles now tend to encompass more components than they have in the past.  That ideal mix is often unknown until companies are meeting with candidates.  It is becoming increasingly common at our company for us to actually write the job descriptions for our clients. 

An example of this is a V.P. of Marketing role that now has strategic PR and social media pieces attached to the job description.  What is the ideal mix and will that ideal mix change some more in the near future?  Do we really need a P.R. background if the heavy lifting of P.R. is only needed in the first couple of years?  

Lastly, there are more in depth first interviews taking place today than in the past.  This is partly driven by social media which allows a profile to be screened and assessed and even investigated prior to a live meeting.  This makes for an effective use of company time but for candidates it means that less are interviewed.

The moral of the story.  Make sure that you have a strong online presence and continue to network as much as possible.  Casual meetings are the key to displaying knowledge and passion and often prompt a hiring manager to create a job rather than rely on existing organization structures.

Farewell,

Mike