Executive Search, Executive Recruiting, Job Search, Retained Search, Contingency Search, Unbundled Search

OUR STANDARDS & REQUIREMENTS

Over the years, we have conducted many successful search assignments. In light of that, we have found that honesty, education, and communication with our clients is what breeds success.

We have found that the most successful search assignments come as a result of "being on the same page". Understanding the position requirements is essential and that is a given. However, the best success comes when the hiring managers are educated in the critical basic courtesies involved in the executive search process. We want our hiring managers to know that we are working hard on their behalf, but it is a two-way street. We know our clients desire to fill their position. However, it has been our experience in some cases that the hiring managers forget what it is like to be in the prospects place. It is to the clients advantage to consider the search process from the candidate's view as well.

We believe that a search firm is hired to assist the human resource managers or hiring managers in finding the best qualified candidates for a position. That being said, once the candidate is presented to and interviewed by the company, we feel that it is the company's responsibility to make a reasonable attempt to keep that candidate up to date on their status, either through their own efforts or by asking us to do that on their behalf.

We feel very strongly at Dunn Associates that the client is obligated to any prospective candidate to treat them as if they personally were conducting their own job search. In other words, "if this was my job search, how would I expect to be treated?" Too often, companies believe that they are not obligated to follow up with candidates whom they have personally interviewed or spoken with by phone. Too often clients do not feel that they have to let the recruiter know where a candidate stands and as a result, numerous follow up phone calls have to be made to console the waiting candidate. Some clients will keep a candidate waiting for over a month before making any type of decision. The best companies show a concern for the potential candidate understanding the ramifications of not doing so. The obvious reasons for doing so are many, but the main one is, candidates lose interest after delays in the recruiting process. With the competition for good candidates today, a delay can be very costly to the client.

We believe in preparing the candidate up front to know what the client's approximate time line is. If the candidate is prepared that there are special requirements, for example, the interviewing process is going to require psychological testing, or they are aware that the company wants to interview several candidates, and they are given a time frame, that shows respect for the potential candidate and will set him/her at ease. Plus the company will be building credibility and will be showing the candidate that employees are highly valued.

If the candidate is not kept informed, there are many negatives that can abound in these types of situations. A lack of interest shown on the client's part sends a poor signal to any prospective employee that the company really doesn't care about their people and it may not be such a great place to work.

In addition to our corporate client's reputation being tarnished, our reputation is at risk as well. We feel very strongly that it is unwise to leave a potential candidate "hanging" not only because it is the courteous and proper thing to keep them informed, but also taking into consideration that that individual being interviewed is most likely already employed and took the time to consider the opportunity. Their process has to be discreet and they cannot miss too many days of work. We just believe that timely follow up is a reasonable request and is only a matter of extending a common courtesy.

Also in the case of retained search, if the client is assigning a hiring manager to conduct the search, it is imperative that the hiring manager look at each candidate as though they have a "price" on their heads. This is especially critical when the hiring manager has little or no understanding of the executive recruiting process or if the company typically utilizes contingency search. There is a huge difference. The retained candidate costs you, the client, quite a bit of money. A contingency mentality, however, is one where the hiring manager has the attitude that they can take a candidate lightly because there will always be another one waiting in the wings. In today's recruiting climate and in many specific industries, that just isn't so.

We encourage understanding of the retained and hourly recruiting processes so as not to waste your hard earned corporate dollars and saving your company's fine reputation. I would also encourage hiring managers to understand that the market is not always "unlimited" and that each candidate can be worth their weight in gold. We all know that one negative from a candidate can spread like wildfire through any industry.

With all of this being said, we are very willing to spend time with any hiring manager to explain the process we use and to create a candidate follow up plan. We are always happy to assist our clients in keeping our candidates informed during the process.