Senior Management Recruitment: Essentials

Senior management recruitment is a highly specialised field.

When companies are recruiting for a senior management position, they are investing a significant amount of money and responsibility in one person. They need to ensure that the recruitment process produces a successful candidate who will be both capable of doing the job required, and who will add value to the company in the long-term.

For this reason, most companies outsource their senior management recruitment to specialist agencies. These agencies use their experience, expertise and network of contacts to find the best candidates for the role, and put them forward for interview by the company for final selection.

At its simplest, senior management recruitment is about matching a candidate’s skills, experience and qualifications to the requirements of the company. In practice, it’s not as straightforward as that, for several reasons:

Availability of candidates

When it comes to positions at senior management level, there are fewer appropriate candidates on the job market. This means that recruiters need to actively source talented individuals who have the capability to do the job. Often, recruiters have to locate and approach potential applicants who aren’t even looking for a job, in order to see if they would be interested in the senior position. Finding a set of good candidates who are all interested in the role and are willing to apply can take some time and a lot of research.

Interview and checking process

The investment required for senior management recruitment means that both companies and recruiters alike want to avoid making any mistakes when it comes to the veracity of applicant’s CVs and statements. This means that all the claims on the CV need to be checked, along with referee statements and current employment information. Interviews are, by necessity, longer and more in-depth than for more junior positions, and applicants are often called back for a second or even third interview in order to ensure that they have the qualities, commitment and experience required in order to perform to the highest levels. There are cv writing services available too to make getting work easier.

A senior management appointment can make the difference between the continued success and failure of a company, particularly if it is a small business. It is vital that the company or the executive recruitment agent does the recruitment essentials properly in order to ensure that they really do hire the best person for the job.