If you are a candidate in a recruitment / search process with a professional search firm (executive, management or general staffing), you might be wondering exactly what a good search process is, how it will unfold, how long it will take and what you can expect from the search professional. Although I am a search professional who works on behalf of my clients, you as a candidate are equally as important and certainly have rights.First of all, just by letting your name stand in a competition puts you at risk especially if your current employer is somehow made aware of your intention to leave their firm. In other words, confidentiality in a search process is extremely important. Therefore, we will always ask for your personal authorization prior to releasing your name to the potential new employer. We will also be sure to request further authorization from you prior to contacting any of your references.
It is important that you too, keep your confidentiality with respect to your
participation in a search process. While many candidates have access to an
assistant, our preference is that you provide a private telephone and email
address where you can be contacted when necessary. Keep in mind that
confidentiality is also a concern for our corporate clients and therefore we
may not be able to release all the information you might desire at this time.
Applying for a position is as much about you and your likes / dislikes and
preferences as it is about the corporate client. During the initial steps in
the search process, we try to learn as much about you as we can. we would ask
for a summary of your work history, your interest in the position at hand and
what skills, expertise and experience you have to offer my client. On the
other hand, if I am permitted, I will provide you with information on my
client, the nature of the position, the compensation package and any other
information that is appropriate.
With respect to the time it takes to complete a search assignment, the best
that can be said is approximately 6-12 weeks and / or three months. National
search assignments as you can appreciate will take longer. In our practice, we
make every attempt to give you an honest appraisal of the match between your
skills and my client and I do our utmost to keep you posted on the progress of
your candidacy.Most search assignments, especially managerial or executive,
require several layers of interview process so that any decisions are well
thought out and measured. You can expect a telephone interview and one to two
face to face interviews prior to being presented to the client. Once a
decision has been made to move you forward, several other interview strategies
will be employed. This could include a panel interview, one to one interviews
or the request for candidates to make a presentation on some matter of concern
to the client. In being considerate of your own current job requirements, we
make every attempt to schedule interviews when it is convenient for all
parties.