In case you missed it, I've been inspired by the conversations I've had since launching my search firm a month before the pandemic. This is all about demystifying executive search, helping job seekers understand how it works, position themselves to win, and stay sane through all of it.
I’m at 11,791 words written in chapter form!
Authors talk in word count versus page count… I’m still getting used to it.
In other words (no pun intended!), so far I’ve written the first draft of the introduction and Chapters 1-3. I’ve also organized my interview notes into themes and 14 chapters that I’m excited about.
I took the long weekend to focus on writing, and I found myself thinking deeply about the relationships and dynamics between executive search firms and clients. I decided to start the book there, first explaining how and why things are happening in those relationships, because by inviting the job seeker into that room they can gain so much perspective.
There are different types of hiring managers out there. As I recently wrote about on LinkedIn, I’m lucky that I get to work with engaged hiring managers that treat recruiting as their number one priority. I decided to dive into how these dynamics are set up from day one, with either a relationship built on trust and honesty, or one based on setting false expectations. As I’ve grown up in my career I’ve had to learn this along the way. Our role as recruiters is to be talent advisors, but if things aren’t set up that way, lots of things happen.
For example, the strength of the relationship between the search consultant and the client will affect if a recruiter:
can put a candidate forward who isn’t a perfect fit on paper
gets timely, detailed feedback from the client
can push back on candidate feedback they don’t agree with
can recommend pivots in the search if a client has unreasonable expectations (skills, certain companies, location, title, compensation)
can help a candidate accelerate the process if they have another offer and prefer the position with this client
Hopefully by understanding how this works, job seekers will have the insight to have the right conversations, ask the right questions, and not think the worst -- that it's about them when it's actually not. I'm excited to see this unfold. I'll be tracking my progress on the table of contents below.
If you missed it, read about weeks 10-11 here.
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