The Differences Between Normal and Executive Recruitment

In a competitive recruitment climate where businesses are struggling to fill roles, don’t expect your normal candidate attraction strategy to work effectively. There are just too many nuances involved, requiring you to adapt your approach.

What is Normal Recruitment?

In this article, we define ‘normal recruitment’ as the actions you must take to fill unskilled, entry-level, or mid-management roles within your company. To do so, most businesses follow a concrete (but not very creative) process that stretches across a few weeks.

• Step 1 – Recognise your need to recruit due to a talent or skill gap.
• Step 2 – Create a job listing that expresses your candidate requirements.
• Step 3 – Post an advert on job boards like Indeed, Monster, and LinkedIn.
• Step 4 – Promote the opening across your social media channels.
• Step 5 – Allow candidates to come to you, reviewing applications as they arrive and conducting interviews where appropriate.
• Step 6 – Select a suitable individual and bring them on board.

What is Executive Recruitment?

On the other hand, executive recruitment is the actions you must take to fill top-end leadership roles within your company. It requires a lot more time and attention because, as a general rule, you’ll be targeting (and converting) passive candidates.

For executive recruitment, we recommend focusing your efforts on LinkedIn, creating an established network that you can draw from. This will require you to:

• Step 1 – Research your target employees and pinpoint where they spend time.
• Step 2 – Design an outreach strategy that targets relevant people in your industry.
• Step 3 – Engage with your ideal candidates and start to develop a relationship with them.
• Step 4 – Establish yourself as a trustworthy, reputable, and rewarding employer.
• Step 5 – Directly invite executive-level employees to apply for your position.
• Step 6 – Carefully manage their experience during your review process.
• Step 7 – Be willing to negotiate in order to present the perfect job offer.

Throughout this process, you should also consider networking with recruiters. Agencies within your industry will have already put in the effort required to nurture an executive-level candidate and could help speed up your hiring timeline.

The Differences Between Executive and Normal Recruitment

1. Resource Consumption

On average, executive recruitment will demand more time and money than mid-level roles. To successfully bring someone on board, you should expect to spend between 25 and 35% of the candidate’s annual salary on costs like advertisements, networking, vetting and specialist fees.

2. Candidate Location

The best executive candidates for your business are unlikely to be actively looking for roles. They’ll already be employed with your competitors, requiring you to get creative if you want to bring them on board.

Rather than relying on the usual job sites like Indeed, Reed, and Monster when you want to connect with top-end talent, LinkedIn will be your best friend.

3. Requirements

A single touchpoint isn’t enough.

When it comes to nurturing an executive-level candidate, you’ll need to become a persistent presence in their life. This is especially important when you’re attempting to convert someone from a passive candidate into an active one.

Why should they step out of their comfort zone and work for you?

Use LinkedIn to your advantage, repeatedly showcasing the benefits of working for your business. Your unique employer value proposition will come in handy here, so make sure to invest in it before you start your search.

4. Candidate Experience

Unlike bottom and mid-level candidates who are desperate to move up the ladder, qualified executives don’t have to compromise to impress an employer. Therefore, you need to demonstrate that you are worthy of their attention, responding quickly to their queries, offering additional benefits where requested, and prioritising their experience through the interview process.

5. Background Checks

Only an experienced executive recruiter can vet a top-level candidate appropriately; making sure they have the right skills for the role. The more technical your requirements, the more complicated your search will get.

You need a specialist like Ross Clifford & Associates on your side.

We take the time to deeply understand the candidates in our market, as well as the intricate expectations of our employers. While normal recruitment focuses on speed and quantity, executive recruitment demands accuracy and quality.

Contact us today to find out more.