Info about Employment Agencies
An Inside Look at Search Firms and Their Consultants
The more an executive knows about headhunters, the more effectively he can deal with them and maximize the service they provide.
• LARGE VERSUS SMALL
Executive search firms come in large, medium, and small sizes¡ª from hundreds of employees in dozens of locations to a one-man office. Some offer only domestic assistance, others have international capabilities. Some have a general practice serving many fields and types of positions while others are specialists. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using one or the other from the perspective of the executive?
If search firms service your field, then they are of use to you regardless of size. The large firms have more clients and do more searches at different levels and in more locations¡ªobviously a plus. Quality resumes often circulate, sometimes in a summary sheet form, around their system making staff aware of you. If you are willing to relocate, a resume sent to a firm with multiple offices may attract the attention of recruiters in other cities¡ªmore bang for your effort. If you want to send out only a few resumes, that is, initially make contact with only a few search firms¡ªyou are likely to get more action from a big firm. Of course, there are small executive search companies with some of the same clients and other quality corporate relationships of their own. However, many small firms do not retain mail-in resumes.
If you are receptive to international placement, the large search companies with overseas offices are better for you.
As an accommodation to a client, a recruiter can, for instance, arrange for a multilingual U.S. executive to interview with consultants in the firm's London, Brussels, Paris, and Frankfurt offices.
This is what happened in the case of an executive in New York City who asked his headhunter friend if he could aid his son-in-law (an American aerospace engineer living in Paris) in finding another job, possibly in the United States. The headhunter, with the consent of this gentleman, showed copies of the resume to the heads of both the international and aerospace departments of his firm in New York, and also sent copies to his London and Paris offices. In this way, the candidate, who was willing to settle wherever the job required, had the field covered through the efforts of a single firm.
If you know a specialty search firm that has placed people in your field in attractive positions and with good companies, they are clearly of value to you. However, the large search firms have equal, if not stronger, track records and capabilities. Many have several specialty desks serving different fields within the context of their general practice. It is not uncommon to have all of the hot fields and hot jobs represented. So you will find search consultants covering financial services, high-tech, consumer products, retail/merchandising, real estate, and so forth. Their offices are adjacent and these men and women exchange ideas and talk about their work. Lists of new search assignments also circulate. Often a talent scout in one field abets his neighbor in another with a recommendation. As a result, a general manager or perhaps a financial services or MIS (management information systems) executive crosses industry lines to an opportunity. Could this happen as easily in a small or specialty firm?
A billion dollar company with a worldwide operation was searching for a new president. They wanted someone from outside their industry because they didn't respect those whom they knew in top posts within it. The requirements included: general management experience with large staffs located in numerous places, international business experience, a financial background, and an impeccable demeanor. By consulting with his colleagues in various fields, the headhunter was able to draw on the specialized knowledge of each of find candidates to recommend¡ª and eventually place.
• THE HIERARCHY AND STRUCTURE IN A SEARCH FIRM
What is the typical hierarchy and structure in an executive search firm? There is either a chairman or president; large search firms may have both. Beneath them are key executives whose prime responsibility is new business development and account management. Their titles include vice president, consultant, director, principal, partner, or more exalted variations (managing director, executive vice president, senior vice president, senior partner, etc.). The titles are bestowed on those who bring in a lot of new business or manage other officers. There is no uniformity of titles. One may even find the head of a particular specialty division occasionally titled chairman of the XYZ practice. Very large companies may have regional directors over a cluster of offices. But regardless of titles, nearly all officers are charged with bringing in business and managing accounts (directly or indirectly). Giant firms may have a board of directors traditionally composed of a few senior executives from within the firm and outside directors. Large and medium size firms often have an executive committee primarily composed of senior management from within the company. And some companies have levels of associates who work for a partner and with his direction, often make the voluminous cold calls trying to develop candidates. This is also done by all levels of executives, though senior management usually calls their network of contacts. Many associates have accounts of their own and are moving towards the senior ranks. Entrance to officer level generally hinges on developing a minimum amount of new business. Some firms also put a premium on filling jobs. There are also research staff who develop the names of executives in the companies to be hunted in.
• THE BACKGROUNDS OF EXECUTIVE SEARCH CONSULTANTS
In quality firms, the partners generally held executive positions prior to entering the search business. Many are specialists who practice search serving their former industry. A few have grown or developed within the ranks of this newer field, having started as an assistant to a consultant, progressing upward as they learned the business.
There is a tendency for headhunters to have expertise in one or a few fields, whether gained from having been in them or over a period of time in the search business. Why? The growing complexity and the uniqueness of each hot field and hot job require that they know enough about them to "talk" the business with prospective clients and candidates. Companies rarely pay large fees in advance unless they have confidence that the headhunter knows the industry he will search in. There are exceptions, however; sometimes clients have enough general confidence in a headhunter to give him the assignment.
Educationally, the professional staffs in top firms are usually college graduates, often with advanced degrees, including MBAs, LLBs, and even PhDs, and from leading schools.
There are a few women in the upper ranks in several of the major firms; their numbers are increasing, but are still disproportionate. There are, however, many female professionals in the tiers below, and many get promoted. A few have made it to the partnership level. Where other minority groups are concerned, the big international firms have professional staffs around the world who are of diverse nationalities. Hispanic and black representation in the United States is meager. Some women and blacks have formed their own smaller, often specialty firms.
At the partner level, headhunters tend to be in their mid-thirties and up¡ªthe preponderance being older. To first become successful in another field takes time. Consultants also need experience and maturity which enable them to more effectively interface with the senior management of diverse companies. The professional ranks, below senior management, are primarily filled with younger staff although there are many who are in their forties and up.
• HOW AND WHY DID HEADHUNTERS GET INTO THE BUSINESS?
A few were reverse recruited. That is, they were called by a head-hunter to discuss a position with a client and the conversation eventually turned, whether from their initiation or the recruiter's, to the search field and eventually to the possibility of their joining the company. Others were specifically approached, since they were well regarded executives in their particular industries, as to whether they would like to apply their backgrounds to the search business. Still others, after a first or subsequent encounter with a recruiter, had a seed planted. They experienced the occupation as a candidate and liked what they saw. This germinated over time to a real interest and they may have started contacting search companies seeking more information and possible employment.
The search field is relatively new¡ªperhaps a tad over 40 years old¡ªand exciting in its early adulthood transition, growth, and development. No doubt executives sensed opportunity here, and less bureaucracy and structure than their large corporate environments may have burdened them with. So hunting heads became a challenge and an interesting new career option that also enabled the use of expertise acquired over a period of years in their former endeavors.