Executives have an incredible influence on your organization. To establish a great company, you need to recruit the top-most candidates.
Filling the top slots of your company could be a complicated and stressful task.
Recruiting employees for an executive position is different than hiring for other roles. The process is comprehensive.
It requires a great deal of knowledge, research, and skills.
So, let’s discuss a few ways to recruit executive-level employees for your company.
Understand the job and industry
Like any other thing, the first step is research. The department you are hiring for will be likely out of your area of expertise. Before you begin recruiting, you need to get familiar with the industry.
For instance, if you are hiring for the VP Finance position — you may want to get in touch with the VPs of Finance in your network. Try reaching CFOs or CEOs in your network, who have previously hired an executive for finance.
Expand your knowledge by asking them different questions. You can ask the following questions:
- What are the different stages of finance leaders and which one is right for us at this stage?
- What should I look for in the candidate?
- What are some good questions to ask in the interview?
- How can I close these candidates?
After you have asked them these simple questions, you will have an adequate amount of knowledge on the subject.
Bonus tips: When you reach out to finance executives, you can ask them if they would like to join your company for the position.
Be sure of what you are looking for
You need to be certain of what you are looking for in the candidate. The most sought-after qualities and skills in the executive level employees include:
- Leadership
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Change management
- Communication
MRC or job specification is another thing you need to set explicitly before recruiting. Aim to answer the following questions:
- Mission: Why are you hiring the person? What he needs to accomplish in the next 12-18 months. Write 3-4 sentences in simple English without any jargon.
2. Results: What results are we expecting for him/her. What outcomes the candidates must be able to achieve in his first 12-18 months. Aligning with the KPIs, set 4-5 measure KPIs.
3. Competencies: What experiences and skills they should have? Separate the must-haves from good to have.
The profile of the candidate you are setting should flow from mission to competencies.
After you have written down the skills and job description, it is now time for the
Source Candidates
There are many ways to source candidates which we will discuss in a while. Whichever ways you are following just remember to keep your MRC document with you to help others understand what you are looking for:
- Speak with people in your network: Reach out to your current employees, your professional friends, or investors.
- Recruit a source: If you don’t have people in your recruiting team, you can hire an external contractor who can generate leads for you
- Hire an executive recruiting firm: There are firms which specialize in Executive Search and can help you recruit the perfect employee for your business.
Executive recruiting firms are quite effective when you are hiring for VP or C-level employees. Here are a few things you may want to know about exec recruiting firms:
- They might seem a bit expensive but they specialize in hiring executive-level employees, so the cost is well worth
- Communication is the most crucial thing when you hire an exec recruit firm.
- Before you pick a firm, conduct long interviews. Interview the person from the firm you will be working with.
- A recruiter from your company can help you improve the communication between the executive research firm and your company.
Some CEOs have had bad experiences with executive search firms but this does not mean that all the firms provide poor service. When you are hiring a firm, don’t go for the cheaper ones. Look for a reliable and credible company. For instance, ecap is a renowned executive search company in the UAE with vast experience in the field.
Close the candidate
Throughout the process, don’t get confused or double-minded. It should be a straight yes. At any point, if you ramble or have second thoughts, it’s a NO.
If you have found the right candidate, craft an offer which is hard to refuse. You can ask your investors to provide market data or hire a compensation firm.
Some companies negotiate by offering low amount initially. However, this can give you bad results if it starts the relationship on a bad note.
Also Read: 6 Ways to Turbo-Charge Your Career Mid-Year
Add Comment