4 Differences Between Executive Searches and Recruitment

September 7, 2022
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Recruitment and executive headhunting aren’t what they used to be. At present, there are approximately 5 million more job openings than there are qualified candidates meaning that the Great Resignation is still very much upon us. If the job market’s growing demand for talent isn’t already making life difficult for recruiters, they’re now being confronted with an entirely new paradox in the job market – a fierce demand for talent (at every level) while the global economy appears to be tanking.

In other words, the war continues to be waged for the market’s best and brightest while many organizations are reigning in spending. It’s creating a job market that’s proving to be especially difficult when it comes to filling key leadership posts with the appropriate executive or C-level talent.

The dynamics of the “executive search” process are getting more attention as of late, and that has a lot to do with an interesting labor market statistic - Between now and 2030, 10,000 baby boomers will qualify for retirement with each passing day. That means the pressure on staffing agency recruiters, headhunters, and executive search firms to locate and hire the market’s next generation of leaders is only going to intensify.  

As more organizations are feeling the pressure to fill these leadership posts with the right talent, it’s worth exploring the distinctions that can be made between modern recruitment and an executive-level search.

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What Is an Executive Search?

Organizations are having conversations at the highest level to determine what obstacles stand in the way of their success – this is just part of their growth strategy. Once those obstacles are identified, they must then determine what skills are needed to overcome those obstacles. This is usually where the “executive search” enters the conversation. When the future of a company is at stake, organizations are likely to rely on the expertise of a skilled headhunter or executive search firm to locate and hire someone that has the precise skill set they need to move their company forward.

This is also where we find our first major distinction of an executive search; the most desirable C-level talent is often comfortably entrenched in an existing job and will likely need to be courted or persuaded into leaving for greener pastures.  

The stakes are very high when an organization is searching for its next generational “leader.” That’s one reason that organizations may choose to look past their own internal recruiters in favor of an external executive search firm with a verifiable history of landing executive-level talent. An organization’s existing HR team may be very talented in finding active job seekers using social media and posting to job boards but finding C-level talent requires a very deliberate and focused search effort.

A Look at the Executive Search Process

Perhaps the most profound distinction between professional recruitment and an executive search is where efforts are focused. Remember, an executive search is a strategy that tasks headhunters with finding top-tier, C-level talent such as a Chief Executive Officer or Vice President. Professional recruitment is a process that often attracts talent for multiple roles within an organization.  

In the executive search process, the headhunter is singularly focused on finding high-level talent that is often currently employed to fill a specific role. Like a big-game hunter that slowly tracks his or her prize, the headhunter is keenly focused on very specific candidates. In the case of recruitment, a large swath of potential candidates may be gathered by a recruiter to fill any number of positions that an organization may need to fill.

One: The Planning Process

The tremendous pressure on executive search firms to deliver a top candidate means the planning is quite different from traditional recruitment. One component of modern recruitment is that, historically, recruiters haven’t been as proactive in their approach when trying to attract specific talent to their organizations. While modern recruitment methods are greatly improved via the adoption of HR technologies like powerful applicant tracking systems (ATS) that serve to provide an optimum candidate experience that attracts better candidates, the modus operandi is still largely to promote vacant jobs using popular online job portals as well as posting open positions on popular social media sites. Recruiters rely on these resources to drive candidates to them while they expend minimal effort on outreach to specific candidates* – think of it as casting a wider net to scoop up as many talented candidates as possible.    

The planning behind an executive search includes a deliberate strategy on specifically where to look for high-quality candidates (who will most likely be employed) and then having a plan in place to persuasively disrupt the candidate’s career trajectory by accepting an offer with a new company.

(*This is slowly changing as new HR technologies are adopted, giving traditional recruiters tools with which they can reach out to job candidates on a personal level.)

Two: Technology’s Role

The executive search process has largely been the same for decades, but headhunting agencies that are embracing the latest digital innovations are the ones finding the best candidates in the shortest amount of time. To be clear, modern HR technologies benefit both the recruiting process and the executive search process by accelerating hiring timelines and providing more reliable assessment results.

Whereas recruiters primarily benefit by using an ATS system to effectively sort through thousands of resumes, headhunters benefit because these systems provide an enhanced candidate experience which can be tremendously effective in influencing a higher-level candidate. Remember, job candidates at every level will judge your company based on their application experience, and by having a powerful ATS system at the heart of their recruitment strategies, headhunters have confidence that their target candidate will have a good impression of the recruitment process.

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Three: The Search Process for Talent

Job portals play a huge role in recruitment, but not so much in the executive search. That process accounts for the fact that the best talent rarely spends time searching through job portals. The search process for an executive role is heavily dependent on the headhunter’s skills in perusing the market for the best talent and using techniques (and technologies) to entice them to leave what is usually a very good position.

Executive search strategies also administer a much deeper analysis of the marketplace than a traditional recruitment campaign might, and the search process will likely include specific organizations that are targeted because of the enhanced possibility of finding a candidate with a profile that’s most closely aligned with the needs of the hiring organization.

The search process at the executive level often establishes what companies that headhunters are not to approach because of competitive agreements, sensitive information, or simply because of client relationships.

Four: Utilization of Professional Network

Executive recruiters and headhunters know that 70% of the world’s employees will consider leaving their existing employer if it means advancing their career, and these professionals often have a wide array of contacts that penetrate deeply into many different industries and often at the highest levels.

After developing a comprehensive understanding of the hiring organization’s specific talent needs and what their culture is like, an executive search professional often taps into their network and database of potential leads and, in some cases, professionals that they’ve discussed earlier opportunities with, and they go directly after their target using a one-on-one strategy. In the recruitment scenario, HR professionals often find themselves culling through stacks of resumes from interested candidates. This is precisely why they refer to the latter of these two professionals as headhunters, as they literally go to the market to hunt down one specific professional.

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Conclusion

If you are looking to hire someone for a key post at your organization and the costs of hiring an executive search firm seem too steep, it’s worth pointing out that the organizations that are in the strongest position to compete for talent amidst our turbulent job market are the ones who’ve proactively invested in the modern innovations in HR technologies. At the core of every organization’s recruitment strategy should be an ATS system that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to automate many traditional processes. This gives valuable time back to recruiters so that they can focus their efforts on attracting the best C-level talent.

Just about every Fortune 500 company has an ATS system powering their recruitment efforts, while more than 60% of every large company relies on one. We’ve done the research for you, and the clear leader in modern recruitment software with the market’s most powerful and customizable ATS system is Manatal.

A trusted name in HR technologies, Manatal is a global leader in the design of powerful HR software solutions that are giving companies all over the world the edge they need to compete for the market’s best talent.

Using AI and machine learning technology, Manatal’s cloud-based ATS platform takes automation to an entirely new level and provides a candidate experience that is sure to appeal to the most tech-savvy job applicants.

To discover for yourself just how well Manatal’s platform can support your recruitment strategies, you can take advantage of the 14-day free trial the company is now offering to learn specifically how its recruitment software can augment your search for your next executive hire.

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Bill Twinning
Talent Resources & Development Director - Charoen Pokphand Group
Manatal is the best ATS we worked with. Simplicity, efficency and the latest technologies combined make it an indispensable tool for any large-scale HR team. Since its adoption, we've seen a huge increase across all our key recruitment metrics. To summarize. it is a must-have.
Ahmed Firdaus
Director - MRI Network, Executive Search Firm
I've been using Manatal for the past couple of months and the platform is excellent, user-friendly and it has helped me a lot in my recruitment process, operation and database management. I'm very happy with their great support. Whenever I ask something they come back to me within minutes.
Dina Demajo
Senior Talent Acquisition - Manpower Group
Manpower has been using Manatal and we couldn't be happier as a team with the services this platform has provided. The application is extremely user-friendly and very well equipped with all the useful functions one would required for successful recruitment. The support team is also excellent with very fast response time.
Edmund Yeo
Human Resources Manager - Oakwood
Manatal is a sophisticated, easy-to-use, mobile-friendly, and cloud-based applicant tracking system that helps companies achieve digitalization and seamless integration to Linkedin and other job boards. The team at Manatal is very supportive, helpful, prompt in their replies and we were pleased to see that the support they offer exceeded our expectations.
Maxime Ferreira
International Director - JB Hired
Manatal has been at the core of our agency's expansion. Using it has greatly improved and simplified our recruitment processes. Incredibly easy and intuitive to use, customizable to a tee, and offers top-tier live support. Our recruiters love it. A must-have for all recruitment agencies. Definitely recommend!
Ngoc-Thinh Tran
HR Manager, Talent Sourcing & Acquisition - Suntory PepsiCo Beverage
I am using Manatal for talent sourcing and it is the best platform ever. I am so impressed, the Manatal team did an excellent work. This is so much awesome, I am recommending the solution to all recruiters I know.
Bill Twinning
Talent Resources & Development Director - Charoen Pokphand Group
Manatal is the best ATS we worked with. Simplicity, efficency and the latest technologies combined make it an indispensable tool for any large-scale HR team. Since its adoption, we've seen a huge increase across all our key recruitment metrics. To summarize. it is a must-have.
Ahmed Firdaus
Director - MRINetwork, Executive Search Firm
I've been using Manatal for the past couple of months and the platform is excellent, user-friendly and it has helped me a lot in my recruitment process, operation and database management. I'm very happy with their great support. whenever I asked something they come back to me within minutes.
Dina Demajo
Senior Talent Acquisition - Manpower Group
Manpower has been using Manatal and we couldn't be happier as a team with the services this platform has provided. The application is extremely user-friendly and very well equipped with all the useful functions one would required for successful requirement. The support team is also excellent with very fast response time.
Kevin Martin
Human Resources Manager - Oakwood
Manatal is a sophisticated, easy-to-use, mobile-friendly, and cloud-based applicant tracking system that helps companies achieve digitalization and seamless integration to Linkedin and other job boards. The team at Manatal is very supportive, helpful, prompt in their replies and we were pleased to see that the support they offer exceeded our expectations.
Maxime Ferreira
International Director - JB Hired
Manatal has been at the core of our agency's expansion. Using it has greatly improved and simplified our recruitment processes. Incredibly easy and intuitive to use, customizable to a tee, and offers top-tier live support. Our recruiters love it. A must-have for all recruitment agencies. Definitely recommend!
Ngoc-Thinh Tran
HR Manager, Talent Sourcing & Acquisition - Suntory PepsiCo Beverage
I am using Manatal for talent sourcing and it is the best platform ever. I am so impressed, the Manatal team did an excellent work. This is so much awesome, I am recommending the solution to all recruiters I know.

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