Every client is looking for the same thing – the very best talent for their critical position. And often we are asked to justify what many companies consider an added expense, namely our fee for services in finding such talent. After all with large job boards like The Ladders and Career Builder and social media sites like Linked In and Facebook offering job posting capabilities, some feel it’s easier than ever to find great talent.
And, depending on the position, sometimes it is. Websites like Linked In and The Ladders can provide value for certain roles. But with the ever changing needs of the market, more often than not critical roles are becoming increasingly niche specific, blending multivariate skills crossing multiple disciplines. And in those cases a job posting may actually be putting you farther away from finding the best talent.
What is the difference between this and a Linked-In job posting?
Unfortunately, not very much.
Recently, we connected with a CEO who was posting a very high level position on Linked In. He was having what he considered tremendous success with his posting (over 500 applicants) and somewhat haughtily told us that he would never need to use an executive search firm again.
What he apparently failed to realize is that having multiple applicants does not necessarily mean that you have the righttalent in your pipeline. Many clients have come to us after having conducted a search on their own using job postings on Linked In and elsewhere. They too had received multiple applications for their jobs and all had experienced the same thing – hundreds of applicants that didn’t match the criteria for their role (and in some cases were completely off). And what was worse was that they had to spend an inordinate amount time sifting through those Linked In profiles and resumes only to find very few if any matched their needs. One of our clients received 328 applications/resumes and only 2 potential matches – a success rate of .006% (and neither turned out to be a good fit which is why we were called in).
That’s because job posting sites are designed to be easy and convenient to use for both talent and client. Easy for the client to upload their job description and easy for a talent to upload and distribute their resume. Which is great – except that it’s not.
Many active job seekers errantly believe that the more jobs they apply to, the better their chance of landing a new role. Too often they click on every available position that they feel might be a fit. Director of Business Development? Sure *click* Vice President of Marketing? Why not? *click* Senior Manager of Operations? Sounds good *click* and the same generic resume ends up in dozens of inboxes. It ends up hurting that applicant’s talent brand and wasting precious client time.
And not to be too harsh on the active job seekers. Often they are simply trying to get the attention of a particular company and not seeing a role that directly fits them, are hoping that their resume will be kept on file for other potential openings. That’s the problem with things that are easy and convenient. Often they are neither.
And for clients, it’s why an Executive Search Consultant may be the best answer for a high level, critically important role. The success rate with an Executive Search firm is likely to be much greater than that of a self-directed search for a number of reasons.
The first function of an Executive Search firm is to ascertain the needs of the client. We start all of our searches with the same question: Why? Why do you need a VP of Marketing? Why are you searching for a Chief Operating Officer? What’s driving the need and why are you having trouble finding this talent? Often after asking that seemingly simple question, we’ve discovered that many of our clients believe they are searching for one thing and are actually in need of another. They might be looking for a Chief Operating Officer but are in fact in need of a Senior Client Partner, or they are desperately seeking a VP of Marketing but in reality need an SVP of Business Development; which is why a job posting for a COO or VP of Marketing is not going to solve their challenge.
If your company has a high level position that has been open for 3 months or more, and has been the subject of numerous and fruitless job posting campaigns, it may be time to consider an executive search firm. While cost is always going to enter the conversation, it’s best to look at the subject holistically. How much is the lack of a Senior Client Partner costing your company while you errantly look for an Operational talent? How much is your employer brand being damaged by repeatedly posting a position and in effect telling the talent pool that your company seems incapable of solving what appears to be a relatively easy challenge?
An Executive Search Consultant who has experience in providing solutions might be well worth the cost. The costs associated with utilizing an Executive Search Firm is a small investment compared to the amount your company would pay in salaries and onboarding expenses for an average or low performer who will require eventual replacement. And when you consider the increased profits/efficiencies generated by a superior performer sourced from an executive search firm, the “cost per hire” ratio becomes less relevant than the “cost per success” comparison and results in a fantastic return on investment.
And that CEO who was mentioned before with the 500 applicants for his role? Still posting, still sifting, and if his repeated posting of the role is any indication, still not finding the right talent. How convenient.