Executive Recruitment: How to Find and Hire The Right Person for Your Company

Filling an executive position is a significant undertaking. The process requires abundant resources, care, and attention to vet the right person to lead the organization to new heights. While turnover is always an issue to be avoided, the stakes are high with an executive role.

Here are some practical tips to find and hire the right executive for your company.

Clarify the Role and Needs

Perhaps the most important step of the executive recruitment process is clarifying the organizational needs and how this role will fill them. In other words, what problem will this role solve for the company? It's essential to consider how this job will fit into the existing and future hierarchy and what's expected from this person over time. Key stakeholders need to take a 30,000-foot view when exploring this role while objectively looking at past issues in this position.

The next step is building parameters around the recruitment scope and what qualities or experiences you want to see on a candidate's executive resume template. The recruitment scope could include factors such as geographical location or industry experience. Key qualities would include their educational background, years of experience, certifications, and any special considerations you require for this role— i.e., experience in mergers and acquisitions, digital transformation, etc. 

Work with a Knowledgeable Recruiter

If your company has the resources to work with an experienced executive recruiter, you should do so. Finding and vetting executives is a nuanced skill that's uncommon among in-house human resources professionals. Bolstering your in-house team with a consultant specializing in executive recruitment is an asset. 

Executive recruiters can provide experience, network reach, negotiation skills, and objectivity. As discretion and privacy are essential in executive recruitment, having a third party manage this process can be beneficial. 

Look Beyond the Job Market

One of the most common mistakes companies make when looking for skilled executives is only considering those looking for a job. In reality, the best executive candidates are gainfully employed and may not be actively looking for a new role. Executive recruitment often comes down to poaching from other organizations.

Look beyond the job market and note executives in your company and employees' networks to identify potential candidates. Use the parameters listed above to start the vetting process and determine if there are any candidates worth approaching. 

Look at Potential

Don't get pigeonholed by looking at specific metrics and relevant experience. Some of the best executives come from diverse backgrounds with knowledge and experience not directly related to their new role. 

Innovative companies find an opportunity in working with someone who will challenge the status quo. We see this in the rise of outsider CEOs and executives with unorthodox educational backgrounds. It's essential to look at an individual's potential and what fresh perspective they could bring to your business as an executive. 

Be Patient and Persistent

The executive hiring process can take months. It's much like a courtship in which your hiring team will work to nourish the relationship and showcase the value of your organization. It could mean finding space in the budget for relocation fees or calling local private schools to ensure there would be a place for your new executive's children. 

At this stage in someone's career, making a change is rarely a necessity. You have to showcase your company's credibility and highlight why this experience would be rewarding for the executive beyond the paycheck. Be patient, proactive, and persistent to attract top talent to your C-Suite.

Using these guidelines, you can find an executive candidate who can help your business evolve and stay ahead of the competition. Be clear on your company's needs and work with an executive recruiter whenever possible.