One vital tip that companies should follow when they hire an executive search firm

I often hear about companies hiring executive search firms who upon hiring them, immediately provide them with a job description.

This is a mistake!

Never provide a search firm with a job description for a position until they provide you with their own job description based on the details that you have given them for the search.

It is fundamentally important that the search firm fully understands the role.

1.

Once you invite the search firm AND their recruiter who will be working on the assignment,

review the position with them and communicate all pertinent details for the role as well as the division and the company in general.

2.

Next, have the search firm develop an opportunity profile for the position that must be approved by the client before it is used to engage potential candidates.

3.

Once the company receives an opportunity profile from the search firm, it will become much clearer as to whether the search firm fully understands the role and whether they will be able to initiate a high quality search.

If a search firm does not fully understand the role, the importance of the position, the impact within the organization, the value proposition of the company, and all individual opportunities associated with the position, than it will be near impossible for an ideal candidate to become fully engaged with the role when they are approached by a recruiter.

After the firm develops an accurate depiction of the role, it is then acceptable to provide the search firm with an additional job description that can be used for pulling any missing details that can be added to the opportunity profile.

The company is paying for the search so it is essential that they get the best return on their investment.

This is achieved by increasing the probability that high quality candidates get all the pertinent information when they are contacted about the opportunity by the search firm.

I will be taking some vacation so I will not be publishing my next blog entry until Monday July 23

rd

2012

Farewell,

Mike