The executive search industry is huge, still, a very few executives understand how search firms work. Executive recruiting firms don’t operate like traditional recruiting firms. These firms operate very differently than traditional recruiting firms. Recruiters or headhunters, as they are often referred, work strategically to find candidates for their clients. The process can take 6 months or years to find one suitable candidate.

Unlike traditional recruitment firms, where candidates are sourced from LinkedIn, Job Boards, and other new forms of social media, search firms reach out to candidates as most executives aren’t on social media.

How executive recruiting firms find candidates?

Most headhunters have several years of experience and during this period they have built their network. Recruiters utilize this network to seek candidates. They reach out to known people and seek references in case they may know someone. Further, they enquire the suitability of the candidate. For example, the may ask, “We’ve heard X is a great head of sales. What’s your opinion?”

This network is mostly built by attending conferences and seminars. After presentations, recruiters informally connect with volunteers, associates, and delegates at lunch or at after-hours and exchange business cards. All attendees come with stock of business cards, which they exchange with recruiters.

Linkedin Recruiters from Linkedin’s Talent Solution Program is another way for recruiters to find executives. This tool is relatively less known among them. The tool allows recruiters to view profiles of candidates without letting users know about them.

How should executives proceed?

Most executives think, they will reach out to a head hunter who will find them opportunities. However, that’s not the case. This certainly proves the prevailing lack of knowledge among individual executives. As executives are approached by recruiters like this, it is normal for them to think that search firms like this.

Reality? No. In fact, executives spend 6 months to years to find one good opportunity. Executives who use a combination of sources+ network+ executive search firm+ personal network find opportunity more quickly than those who rely simply on one avenue.

While connecting with a recruiter, remember that the recruiter’s job is not to find you a good opportunity, instead, it is to find a suitable candidate for their client. If you don’t match the requirements or experience required for the post, the recruiter will move to find another candidate.

So it is a good practice for executives to connect with recruiters throughout their career, when not actively looking for a position. Than recruiters become a part of a network instead of being strangers while reaching out to them.

In summary, executives should start building a relationship with recruiters in their career as early as possible. It will benefit in both ways—when a recruiter is looking for a candidate and when an executive actively starts looking for a new role.