Did you know that it is possible to be discovered for a highly desirable position that resonates with your ambitions and preferred company culture without necessarily going through your immediate network or a recruitment agency? Read on for all you need to know.
Many senior executives claim they are hired via the simple act of ‘word of mouth’ or that a recruitment firm found them, chatted to them and passed their details on to a potential employer.
Sure, both methods can work in your favour when you’re looking to make the leap from an adequate, well-paying position to one that is more up your alley and even better paying – but let’s first consider the best way to be discovered in the first place.
Director and co-founder of Executive Placements, Charles Edelstein, explains that some senior executives prefer not to have a presence on a job portal because they are nervous about the extent of its visibility. However, while senior executives are often sourced via word of mouth, he explains that the top executive search companies and/or recruiters use a variety of different channels to map out their markets – from internal databases and connections to social networks and referral systems. And you wouldn’t want to miss out on being discovered for a top-level position by not having a presence on their most perused online job boards.
Of interest is the fact that it is not necessarily the best candidate who gets the job, but the one who uses all the possible avenues out there to be discovered – and who is prepared to take the leap and deal with the interviewing process when approached. A job portal can therefore work in your favour in the following three ways:
First up, if you take the initiative to sign up on a portal that caters specifically to your level of expertise, there is way more chance your CV and portfolio will land up in the right hands. You want, and need, a specialised role at the type of firm where your unique area/s of skill will be appreciated and nurtured. An offer that will not take your career to the next level is definitely not going to make the cut.
Secondly, a job site that is worth its weight in gold will allow you to research a company that is hiring – culture, objectives and future goals – so that, when that firm potentially comes knocking on your door, you’re prepared with the requisite questions, answers and suggestions for any major headaches or stumbling blocks that they’re all up for solving, and this will impress them. While it is, of course, each candidate’s responsibility to research the company they are applying to by means of the advice of their head-hunter and/or executive search firm, omitting the job portal step can mean that part of the information you require is not made available to you.
And then, thirdly, in a recruitment landscape where you could apply for a position as one of several (even numerous!) different applicants, it pays to be listed – and noticed – on a reputable job portal where only senior executives who meet a tight set of criteria are accepted; and where their skills are highlighted as being the best in the business.
Once your CV is listed on a job portal, the head-hunters and recruiters whom you, ideally, wish to be dealing with – the reputable ones with a good name in the industry – will be able to search for you and find you; assuming you are not already part of their network.
When you’ve worked your way up the ranks, you deserve this level of confidentiality and appreciation for what you’re getting done where you’re currently based; and what you may potentially achieve when you make that picture-perfect move.
The moral of the story, enthuses Edelstein, is that you need all three of the aspects mentioned above in your corner – the glowing CV, the extensive network and the online portal where the job opportunities you want to hear about are advertised for the taking among a rather select crowd of highly qualified peers.
