It could be argued that a modern company’s single biggest asset is not its marketing campaigns or the computers in the office or even the fax machine, but the employees, the people, who work there. Hiring the right people for the job is crucial for managers, since a qualified and motivated employee will be much more productive than a mismatched or discouraged one. Managers are responsible for bringing the correct personnel on board, so to speak, and there is inherent liability in hiring someone who is likely to quit. This is especially true for upper managers, since they have many responsibilities and aren’t so easily replaced if lost. Today, a career placement agency or employment agencies may be used for general staff, but for executive managers, some executive search firms may be contacted instead. Upper managers like these aren’t found through any job placement firm; executive search firms will be hired to help fill in senior and executive manager positions at a client company, and this can make all the difference. HR executives may also be found this way, and some executive search firms in fact specialize in them.
Helping With the Hiring Process
A company will always use in-house talent to interview job candidates and hire them, but a client company may reach out to executive search firms for the process of finding job candidates in the first place. This is not always easy, and many companies lack the time, money, or in-house talent to do this. A company with vacancies in its offices can’t afford to wait too long to fill them, so executive search firms will help out. How might this work?
Like other job placement firms, executive search firms will gather job candidate profiles into their data banks for future use. These candidate profiles will contain the person’s important information such as their educational background, work history (exec manager candidates will certainly have job experience), particular skills, awards and certifications, and more. This data allows the executive search firms to match a candidate to a job opening that would best suit them based on their capabilities and interests, and their own personal growth goals. It may be noted that American workers want more than a paycheck; they are also looking for opportunities for personal and professional growth and networking, so they are more likely to stay with a company that provides them. An executive search firm in particular will match candidates for high-level manger jobs with open positions among their clients, and the client may take care of the rest.
It may also be noted that a job candidate, even an executive manager candidate, should be mindful of his or her online activity. Many search firms are now taking into account a candidate’s online activity, and some messages or material from that candidate may raise red flags. A candidate pay insult or belittle a previous employer or co-workers, or post offensive or obscene material online. Or, evidence of that person committing crimes or other harmful acts may be seen. This may greatly lower a candidate’s chances of getting hired.
At Work
Once an executive manger candidate has been matched to a company, they may go through a series of interviews with the employer, and they may get hired for the job. If this happens, the new manager may want to get some assistance with their new responsibilities. A first-time executive manager, or one who’s surrounded by new people, may choose to hire an executive coach. Such a coach will help encourage the client to think more productively and effectively, and become more personable and easy to approach and get along with. The coach won’t provide actual advice or ideas on their own unless asked, but they can help the manger brainstorm and articulate new ideas on how to more effectively be a good manager and get along with others. Someone new to management, for example, or someone with a questionable personality may get the most out of this. In short, such a coach may help draw out the best of what a new manager can do, and this has been known to greatly improve a manager’s performance and popularity in the office alike.