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Business Management Review | Saturday, May 28, 2022
Executive search companies work to fill specialized job roles that can't be filled using traditional recruiting techniques.
FREMONT, CA: Executive search companies search, vet, and introduce highly qualified candidates to companies. They generally seek candidates for senior, executive, and highly specialized positions. The firms are selected from a pool of candidates that best suit the client firm's needs.
Also called headhunting firms, executive search companies are third-party agencies acting as intermediaries between the candidate and the company. They may conduct screenings, hold negotiations, and encourage candidates to accept the job. Still, they don't do any hiring on their own.
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Understanding the differences will help you select the right firm to fill job vacancies.
1. Job Hunting Role
Recruiting agencies normally play a less proactive role in seeking out candidates. Instead, job openings are posted online on social media sites such as LinkedIn or Facebook, job portals, newspapers, and magazines. In addition, they enable candidates to extend to them by posting job openings.
Conversely, executive search companies play an active role in finding talented professionals. They straightaway contact prospects that are the best fit for the role. Generally, executive search companies work to fill specialized job roles that can't be filled using traditional recruiting techniques.
2. Process of Matching Candidates
Finding and matching candidates is distinct for executive search and recruiting agencies. Normally, recruiting firms embrace a reactive or passive search tactic. They promote a position, gather CVs in bulk, and then reach active job seekers.
Conversely, headhunting firms adopt a more active approach to filling job positions. They apply a more organized and systematic approach to finding the right candidates. Finding potential employees generally includes a complex market mapping exercise to create a list of candidates. The shortlisted candidates are further reviewed, and one or two are selected to best meet the organization's criteria. Finding suitable candidates differs slightly, but the result is the same — a selection of highly qualified top-talented individuals for given positions.
3. Type of Candidates
Another significant difference between executive search and recruitment agencies is the type of candidates they prospect.
Recruitment agencies generally prospect active candidates. But who are the active candidates? They are prospects with a prepared CV who want to switch positions. The individuals are generally de-motivated in their current position. Recruitment agencies attract the such type of candidates through their passive recruitment strategies.
Executive search companies, on the other hand, seek passive candidates. Contrary to active candidates, they aren't looking for a job move. Instead, an executive search company targets these candidates and tries to convince them to accept an attractive employment offer.
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So, is there any advantage in seeking passive over active candidates?
Seeking passive candidates is an exercise of selecting the brightest star in the workplace. Candidates who are satisfied with their positions are implied to have the capability, work ethic, and characteristics that make them perfect for a given job. Consequently, they are more likely to succeed when transitioning to a new workplace. Seeking passive candidates is a significantly less risky proposition compared to active candidates.
Recruiting passive candidates is ideal if you want to hire stars with a positive track record who can impact the business's bottom line. Passive candidates will more likely align with the job roles and requirements.
Instead of settling for a 'close enough match, you can go for a 'perfect' match when you go for passive candidates. And this is possible through hiring the services of executive search companies who will endeavor to sell them the role instead of offering them.
4. Working on Local vs. Global Mandates
Recruitment firms generally work on recruiting local candidates. They seek employees who are located near the place where the client's office is located.
In contrast, executive search companies can conduct global searches of executives, including C-level professionals. The services prove invaluable for global multinational companies that want to hire a candidate with international exposure. In addition, the company will negotiate salary and persuade the executive to accept the job offer. This is something that the recruitment agency cannot do due to its business model in hiring candidates.
5. Job Roles
Recruitment agencies generally seek candidates with a broad skill set to fling different positions. The agencies are generalists offering services to fill any position within the firm. They look for candidates with the following job profile.
• Non-executive positions
• Jobs requiring less specialized skills
• Jobs that don't require any specialization
• Candidates with multiple skills matching different roles
On the other hand, executive search firms seek candidates with specific skillset. They generally seek individuals with highly specialized skills. The firms are specialists who focus on finding individuals with the following job profile.
• Technical skills
• Executive level positions
• Hard-to-find positions
• Business critical positions
Executive search firms specialize in hard-to-fill positions, making them highly valuable to companies. They apply a unique approach to finding player top candidates quickly for the clients. As a result, the firms help companies fill a small number of highly specialized positions quickly.
Executive search firms will persuade the candidate to accept the position. However, the firms will only make an effort if the offer is a genuine career-enhancing opportunity. The firm will never shoehorn a candidate to earn a commission.
Which is Better: An Executive Search or a Recruitment Firm?
Firms typically hire executive search companies for senior-level posts such as directors or C-level executives. Their services are sought after when it's difficult to locate and persuade top talents to make a move. In addition, the services of executive search firms prove invaluable when hiring the candidate will have a big impact on the success or failure of a project.
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