Hire a HeadHunter

If your company is experiencing dramatic growth or is in the midst of a corporate turn-around, chances are you need to hire a headhunter. The reason is simple: senior executive searches are simply too important.  Executive leaders at that level can make or break a company. Consequently, while the business landscape may change, the need for high-performing executives remains a constant. What follows are the dozen reasons to hire a headhunter.

One Dozen Reasons to Hire a Headhunter

1. You require a top-performing senior executive.
If hiring the best talent available is important to your company, a search firm can help you do the rigorous work required for game-changing hires.

2. You have a C-level leadership opening that must be filled.
If bad things will happen if the role is not filled, or if the cost in lost revenues and missed opportunities is too high, a search firm can mitigate the risk.

3. You have a senior executive position that is extremely nuanced.
If you are seeking an unusual blend of knowledge, skills, and abilities along with the requisite cultural fit, a search firm can help you thread the needle.

4. You have entered a new market or created a new senior executive position.
When an executive search falls outside your area of expertise, an executive search firm can plug the knowledge gap with their domain know-how.

5. You have an incumbent executive that you need to replace.
For companies that need to line up a replacement while the senior executive is still in the role, search firms offer a much-needed veil of secrecy.

6. You need to recruit from sensitive target companies.
If you need to recruit top executive talent from partner firms with which your company does business, the confidentiality that search firms offer helps avoid ruffling feathers.

7. Your senior leadership team lacks diversity.
Because women, Black and Latino candidates are not well-represented at the senior executive levels, search firms can help level the playing field by conducting original research to ensure equal opportunity for all candidates.

8. Your senior executive team could use some back-up.
If you sense a key executive might be on the verge of leaving or that you could benefit from top-grading, a succession bench help you tee up executive hires in advance of need.

9. You do not have the bandwidth to take on an executive search.
If you already have too much to do and too little time, taking on an important executive search can quickly become its own full-time job. That is what search firms do.

10. You have tapped out your network for candidate referrals.
If you have exhausted your network of connections for possible referrals, it is time to access another network. Executive search consultants are among the most well-networked people in the business.

11. You have an important executive search that is taking too long.
Whenever a search takes to long, it is time to call in reinforcements to speed time-to-hire for challenging searches and those with compressed timelines.

12. You cannot provide concierge-candidate care.
If you lack the time or inclination to hold the executive candidate close through to hire, you risk losing the candidate to a competitor. Candidates often confide more in search consultants, enabling them to address concerns before they threaten a successful outcome.

An executive role needs to be senior enough to justify investing in an executive headhunter. Senior leadership positions that report to the Chief Executive Officer, including C-Level executive position ( COO, CFO, CMO, CIO and CTO) are usually too important not to retain an executive recruiter. As the dozen signs above suggest, there are a number of reasons to call in executive recruiting experts. The competitive advantage when you hire a top performing executive is often game-changing.  For executive search to be successful, it takes industry and functional insight, a rigorous process, and unrivaled access. Based in the Greater New York City Area, The Good Search is a retained executive search firm that outperforms traditional search firms by making executive search smarter.

