Executive Search Process: Timeline and Steps to Expect

January 20, 2022
January 20, 2022 Recruiterie

Successful businesses need excellent executives who can make innovative managerial decisions that move the company forward. Nevertheless, mastering the executive search process and finding the right candidate for the job is no easy feat. Hiring managers and in-house recruiters must carefully consider business goals when onboarding new executives and take their time when making those hiring decisions.

When tasked with hiring new executives, HR professionals should fully understand what this job entails. The executive search process could take up to 30-40 days and may end up costing the company thousands of dollars.

Streamlining the executive search process is possible, but rushing to hire an unqualified candidate must be avoided at all costs. Review these tips to understand the hiring timeline and the steps you will need to take before embarking upon a search.

5 Steps To Succeed In The Executive Search Process

Here are the five key steps to ensure that your executive search process is on the right track.

1. Understand the client’s goals, financial situation, and the role’s core functions.

Hiring managers tasked with onboarding a new executive must comprehensively understand a client to identify the right candidate for the job. Thus, the executive search process begins by considering the main goals of a client’s business. This includes identifying the primary needs of this business, assessing its company culture, and evaluating the status quo among existing employees.

Another factor that executive search firms must consider is financial limitations, such as the cost of recruitment and onboarding a new hire. The average cost-per-hire for a C-level employee in the U.S. is $14,936 as of 2021.

Finally, determine the core functions of the specific executive role that needs to be filled for this client. This will ensure that you know what to look for in the ideal candidate.

This is no easy task, which is why mission-driven companies like Recruiterie take extensive care during this stage of the executive search process to assess client needs before investing too much into any given candidate.

Thanks to nearly two decades of industry experience, Recruiterie understands that clients cannot be assisted until they are comprehensively understood. As a result, recruiting experts should focus on forging deep connections with a client company’s major stakeholders.

Only after the unique needs of the client are taken into consideration can the next step of the executive search process be successfully taken.

2. Craft a personalized search strategy.

A personalized executive search can only be conducted after the specific needs of a client are totally understood by the executive search firm.

Hiring managers must carefully consider the organizational responsibilities that a potential executive must competently manage for the client. By doing this, they become better equipped to locate ideal candidates in a personalized executive search solution.

To avoid haphazard hiring, the executive search process is tailored to filter out lackluster candidates who don’t have the capacity to meet the client’s needs. Recruiters consider industry regulations and market practices that a candidate must be updated on before beginning their search. Companies like Recruiterie only begin a search once a personalized search solution that combines the needs of a client with their business goals is created.

3. Begin the search.

Recruiting experts begin by searching for C-level individuals with a demonstrable history of successfully growing a company. The search team will thoroughly vet a candidate’s references to guarantee the authenticity of past accomplishments.

Some executive recruiters may use automated pre-screening tools or services to locate interesting candidates with preferred backgrounds. However, the human element should never be abandoned in the executive search process.

Experts at Recruiterie understand that relying on sources that yield a high percentage of quality candidates is an essential part of mastering the executive search process. Many searches succumb to the critical error of relying on shoddy sources of talent. Utilizing company websites, job fairs, trade publications, and social media networks can locate prospective candidates who can then be interviewed.

4. Interview prospective candidates.

Whether conducting an interview in-person, over the phone, or via real-time video calling, a personality assessment is important and necessary in the executive search process. Find a candidate who is culturally-aligned with a client’s existing workforce. This can be achieved only through meeting with the candidate face to face.

By clearly communicating client feedback to prospective hires, Recruiterie ensures that contract negotiations are streamlined and cost-effective. This step also guarantees that the new executive is ready to hit the ground running on their first day.

A new hire can finally be selected only after a cultivated list of professionals has been assembled and vetted.

5. Choose your new C-Level employee.

The executive search process culminates with a presentation of a list of ideal candidates to the client before a final selection is made.

Excellent search firms like Recruiterie don’t stop there. Clients continue to be assisted even after a final selection has been made. Recruiterie’s team guides clients through contract negotiations and informational briefs to guarantee that the new executive is up to speed on the client’s organizational culture. These extra steps ensure long-term client success and happiness.

How Long Does An Executive Search Process Take?

As each C-level search strategy is customized at Recruiterie, the length of the executive search process varies. No business is the same, but, generally speaking, it could take 30 to 40 days from the start of the company understanding process to the job offer.

The duration can be affected by a number of factors, including the availability of individuals who fit the requirements for the role, market competitiveness for the specific types of talent, scheduling hurdles, and the client’s own decision making challenges and internal vetting processes. The executive search process conforms to the kind of role to be filled and the industry itself, so there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

Expand Your Business With High-Quality C-Level Talent

Finding high-quality talent requires a partner with industry experience and an unparalleled record of success. Recruiterie establishes strong relationships with clients before the executive search process even begins to ensure that the right candidate is identified.

By assessing the personality and professional record of candidates, Recruiterie identifies top-of-the-line executives with impressive industry experience. By conducting an exhaustive search process that guarantees clients will only have to consider the best of the best, Recruiterie ensures the best possible executive hiring results.

Learn more about Recruiterie’s unique approach to the executive search process to ensure the recruitment of high-caliber talent. Contact Recruiterie today to fill your mission critical positions.

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