What are the current trends and challenges in executive search?

Executive search firms need to step up their efforts in several key areas: Candidate Experience: Many qualified executives experience poor communication and "ghosting" during searches, which hurts company reputations and wastes time. Managing Client Expectations: Clients often have unrealistic expectations due to a lack of upfront market intelligence. Consultants need to educate clients about factors like talent availability and diversity realities. Enhanced Evaluation: Going beyond resumes, firms should conduct robust competency assessments and evaluate organizational fit to better serve both clients and candidates.

In order to excel in the Executive Search market, recruitment professionals should possess essential skills. This includes the ability to conduct comprehensive research and analysis, understand customer needs, industry context, and market trends. In addition, building and managing relationships is key to establishing trust with clients and candidates, managing expectations, and conducting effective negotiations throughout the Executive Search process. Communication and presentation skills are indispensable to convey clear and persuasive messages, highlighting the value of the executive search service and the suitability of candidates. Finally, effective time management is also crucial.

Challenge: finding top tier candidates who haven't already made a career move in the last three years. Too soon for most– at least the ones who did their due diligence and made a smart career move– to do so again.

AI is quite useful for supporting research ("Who is on the board of directors at X company" and similar requests) in the context of exec search. But the most important element of this field is something that only humans can do: building meaningful personal relationships with clients and candidates. Most desirable candidates for leadership roles are currently working full-time. Getting them to pick up the phone for any opportunity requires a real relationship built on mutual trust and respect.

AI will assist with conversations and vetting candidates at scale, shortening the time of talent delivery but I doubt that it will ever replace quality head hunters. Internet job boards have been around for nearly 30 years and for someone the make a statement that LinkedIn with make executive search irrelevant is a pretty shortsighted view. Job boards reach active candidates, not the passive candidate market.

A big trend I'm seeing: employers are looking to diversify leadership hiring outcomes. I am often approached by employers looking to hire their first leadership team member of color. That’s welcome, but also problematic. The conversation started because of an empty chair at the leadership table. But it needs to be a conversation about creating an employer culture of inclusion and belonging. So my work as an executive recruiter is increasingly intersecting with DEI consulting work. I’m finding opportunities to partner with DEI consultants on more holistic approaches and assignments that may span executive search, DEI consulting, and training.

People are center of Executive Search Business. Be it internal stakeholder or external. And to my understanding what compliments is the ever changing market dynamics, be it technology, geopolitical, industry, etc. How and why we work has dramatically changed post 2020. In advent of such fast moving world, Executive search has to be on it feet and tailor make it offerings all the stakeholders be it Clients, Partners, Candidates and employees.

As markets evolve rapidly, organizations seek executives with a proven track record in leveraging technology to drive growth and implement sustainable practices. Another challenge is the intensified competition for top talent. With companies worldwide vying for skilled leaders, identifying and attracting these individuals requires a strategic approach, combining deep industry insights with a thorough understanding of the candidate's motivations and career aspirations. Additionally, diversity and inclusion have become critical factors. Companies are expanding their search criteria to include a wider range of backgrounds and experiences, recognizing the value of diverse leadership in fostering innovation and resilience.

To do this, we employ a multifaceted approach that includes both quantitative and qualitative metrics. Quantitatively, we track key performance indicators such as retention rates, promotion rates, and productivity metrics before and after the implementation of learning initiatives. Qualitatively, we gather feedback from participants through surveys and interviews to assess their satisfaction, perceived skill development, and application of learning outcomes in their roles. By analyzing both quantitative data and qualitative feedback, we can accurately gauge the impact of executive learning and development initiatives on individual and organizational performance, allowing us to refine and optimize future programs accordingly.

Big news in the executive search market 📣 - the Federal Trade Commission issued its final ruling prohibiting all non-compete agreements at all levels. It’s more important than ever for firms to do all they can to retain top executive talent. Companies are now most interested in candidates that were once off-limits. They’re working with search firms to understand what they can do to be competitive, and onboard top talent with their industry expertise.

Executive search firms need to up their game. -The candidate experience requires improvement - too many qualified executives face lack of follow up or "ghosting" during searches, damaging brands and wasting time. -Unrealistic client expectations often stem from insufficient market intelligence provided upfront. Consultants must educate clients on realities like talent availability and diversity. -Evaluation too should delve deeper than resumes alone - robust competency assessments and organisational fit evaluations best serve clients and candidates. When applied wisely alongside human expertise, AI shows great potential to support enhancement across these areas and radically upgrade the entire executive search process.

We just had a panel discussion with exec search professionals, and the core skill they emphasized was building in-depth relationships with clients and candidates. AI will simplify and automate much of the admin stuff, hopefully freeing up more time for building stronger relationships.

Para se destacar no mercado de Executive Search, os profissionais de recrutamento devem possuir habilidades essenciais. Isso inclui a capacidade de realizar pesquisa e análise abrangentes, compreendendo as necessidades do cliente, o contexto da indústria e as tendências do mercado. Além disso, a construção e gestão de relacionamentos são fundamentais para estabelecer confiança com clientes e candidatos, gerenciar expectativas e conduzir negociações eficazes ao longo do processo de Executive Search. Habilidades de comunicação e apresentação são indispensáveis para transmitir mensagens claras e persuasivas, destacando o valor do serviço de executive search e a adequação dos candidatos. Por fim, também destaca-se a gestão de tempo.

A forma como um headhunter trata o seu candidato é reflexo direto da qualidade de seus serviços. Um profissional de recrutamento que pratica o "ghosting" ou que não se posiciona quando um candidato faz uma pergunta não consegue estabelecer uma rede bacana de relacionamentos e isso acaba deteriorando a imagem da empresa. Em uma empresa de executive search, em que nosso foco é encontrar as melhores pessoas, ter uma boa rede de relacionamentos é fundamental. Se você não cria esta rede, você não tem expansividade no seu negócio.

I had a mandate by one of my clients, a reputed law firm in San Francisco, California. They were looking for a Senior real estate Paralegal with 10 plus years of total experience with 5 years of managerial work . We have to stick to the guidelines and make sure that the candidates sourced have a rich and relevant 5 plus years of team managing as well as expected stakeholder management experience with similar nature and kind of commercial real estate experience. We need to maintain the pedigree of candidature shared in terms of the real estate brands and size of the clients that Paralegal has handled. He should be well versed or currently hands-on with the same software tools/CRM's/ERP's to come as more valuable resource to our client .

Communication and presentation skills are becoming more important as expectations rise. Executive search professionals must create more video content and customised marketing to attract talent than before to ensure they can attract talent in candidate-driven markets. It is no longer enough to rely on your existing network; you have to continually grow and engage with your audience to respond quickly to client searches.

The vision to find the right leader for your client. A good Leader has to have excellent listening skills. tenacity, creativity, knowledge of the industry and the ability to motivate people and make things happen. AQ noted American / Israeli VC one said "you bet on the Jockey not the Horse" In other words you have a great company and product...having the wrong leader is like having the wrong Jockey or even no Jockey and the Horse will go in the wrong direction (someone who can drive the company home!}|

'People' are the essence of what we do and why we do. TO succeed in the industry of executive search industry, one need to be genuinely be inquisitive about 'people'. Why people make choices, how they make it, how much emotions play a role in picking up the job assignments, etc. One of the core and foundational skills an executive search consultant needs to have is an understanding of behaviors and decision science. To top up is excellent people and relationship management skills. How one can quickly be able to sniff the problem and offer a rationale offerings to the clients and candidates.

core skills in apac is a myth. never anyone has a core skill an organisation would put their feet on the ground as must have, cause honestly the demand of everything business changes per country, per consumer, per demographic and really the trend too.

[bona fides: worked at Heidrick & Struggles, then LinkedIn, recently joined THL as a talent partner] The skillset of a great executive search consultant is a mix of strategy consulting and sales. Strategy is important in understanding where your client's business model is today and how the new hire will lead it to where it will go in the future. Great consultants develop market maps, competency matrices, and thoughtful executive scorecards. The Sales skillset comes in to play in actually developing the market. Hitting the phones, sourcing experienced executives in the network for referrals, leading thoughtful interviews, and closing top candidates. And then developing new clients. :)

This is a topic which I think rarely gets enough attention. With a career which spanned over 25 years in executive search I was always conscious of the need to adapt methodologies and move with our markets in learning and staying alert to new trends, opportunities and tools (however I freely admit I never thought online would be the success it became!). Diversity and inclusion is an area I feel professional recruiters have often been the ones who have educated clients on best practice and going forward ensuring the right environment and adjustments are in place for the new hire. Executive recruiters are business partners and when this is working effectively it's incredibly powerful in getting a great fit for both client and candidate.

In addition to core skills, executive search professionals need to develop emerging skills that are increasingly relevant in today's market. *Digital and Data Literacy Leveraging digital tools and data analytics is becoming essential to optimize the search process and generate actionable insights to enhance candidate sourcing, evaluation, and matching. *Diversity and Inclusion Advocacy Promoting diversity and inclusion is not only a social imperative but also a business necessity. Executive search professionals need to champion these values. *Adaptability and Resilience for professionals to cope with setbacks and uncertainties, maintaining focus and performance in a dynamic environment. *Continuous Learning and Development

O mercado mudou radicalmente nos últimos cinco anos, e em especial depois da pandemia. Essa mudança de cenário gera, evidentemente, uma mudançã nas competências técnicas e também comportamentais exigidas. Se antes quase nunca ligávamos uma câmera do notebook, hoje é praticamente impossível trabalha se não tivermos alguma mínima intimidade com a cãmera, por exemplo. Abaixo uma lista de competências que estão se tornando emergentes: 1) Conhecimento e uso prático de inteligência artificial no trabalho, 2) capacidade de comunicação assíncrona e multi-canal 3) Auto-organização de: tempo, arquivos, tarefas, projetos e etc - estamos equilibrando mais pratos hoje em dia.

[bona fides: worked at Heidrick & Struggles, then LinkedIn, recently joined THL as a talent partner] I've been using ChatGPT recently to build executive competency libraries and have been impressed with the quality of output so far. If the new data skill for executive search 10 years ago was "boolean operators," today the very newest skill is probably "prompt engineering."

One emerging skill which is increasingly becoming important is balancing speed with quality. As the market becomes more competitive, with many contingent recruiters fighting for a slice of the retained market, speed has become a differentiating factor in executive search. Leveraging digital and data tools has become imperative in order to maintain quality. As a freelance delivery consultant, I work with a variety of executive search partners, the newer established exec search firms are taking advantage of digital tools and have struck a good balance of delivering quality at speed, leaving the more established players behind.

An often overlooked factor is how to deal with Millennials and Gen Z executives especially in the wake of successful startups. Most executive search consultants are tenured with decades of experience but how do they adapt to the liking and tastes of Millennial CEO and C-Suite Executives? It's highly likely that the number of Millennials in key decision making roles will go up in the coming years. Executive search consultants need to be adaptive in acquiring skills needed to be successful among this emerging influential group.

Para prosperar no cenário atual e futuro do Executive Search, os profissionais devem não apenas dominar skills tradicionais, mas também abraçar competências emergentes. Destacam-se a alfabetização digital e de dados, capacitando a otimização do processo de busca e a extração de insights valiosos. Além disso, a adaptabilidade e resiliência destacam-se como pilares essenciais, permitindo aos profissionais prosperarem em um ambiente dinâmico e incerto. Ao acompanhar tendências, enfrentar desafios e aprimorar constantemente suas habilidades, os profissionais de executive search podem oferecer um valor significativo a clientes e candidatos, impulsionando tanto seu próprio crescimento quanto desenvolvimento profissional.

Digital skills are important in today’s market as they open up a wide range of opportunities. Continuously teaching oneself new skills is essential to stay relevant in the fast-paced digital world. Utilizing various digital tools can significantly enhance our efficiency and productivity!

Data literacy is now essential when analysing markets and identifying talent. Executive search professionals have to be excellent lateral thinkers who can profile and identify where your ideal talent will be - and which of these talents will find you a match.

Our exec search clients are now serious about advancing their advisory skills to be able to offer more than just search. With AI advancements, the core search process is becoming more and more commoditized, so offering in-depth advisory services tied together with the core search offering is becoming a much-have to differentiate effectively.