As you would imagine I receive many calls from retail job sites and publications trying to sell me advertising. I had one such call this afternoon from a polite but animated chap from a well known retail publication. I hate being sold to (ironic...) but I gave him a couple of minutes of my time.
The sales exec explained that their publication was received by Directors in Retail throughout the industry and that their online job page was a big draw.
He spent a couple of minutes telling me that their company had access to senior candidates across the industry including those at director level -well this certainly sounded very impressive but then so do we...
I then shared how I feel about headhunting with this unsuspecting soul. If I place an advert, I might get some company branding/exposure out there but that is where the benefit in advertising our roles ends. I can't control who sees the advert that week nor can I assess what is most important to that individual and overcome any preconceptions they might have about a sector or a specific company.
I have to rely on the best people in the market picking up the publication at the right place and time. I then have to rely on a one dimensional advert catching the imagination of many different types of people. Further to this I have to rely on them either having their CV ready to send (some of the best people I approach have hugely out of date CV's) or them sitting down to update it. Finally I have to rely on a senior professional having the time or the particular push to invest the time and apply for the role.
This seems like too many if's and but's to me and any headhunter who has the patience and experience they should have can access and approach anyone they need to. Our clients don't just want to see a shortlist of candidates that are actively looking to change jobs - they want to see people who have their heads down immersed in day to day trading. So in short I explained to the very nice sales exec that a good headhunter will always have an infinite level of access to senior candidates as long as they have a pen, a piece of paper and a phone!
EG October 2012
EG October 2012
