Executive attitudes are changing- why are old dogs learning new tricks?

Find out why executives are leaving their comfort zones and becoming more confident applying online. Our experts in this field tell us how the execs are getting proactiveÖ

Justin Hobday, Director of Harvey Nash says ìMonster is already 13 years old and it is well known that todayís graduates are using websites as a matter of course to seek jobs. What is perhaps more surprising is how many senior executives are already comfortable utilising the web to seek a new role.î Rosalyn Rahme from Goldjobs.com believes that having lagged behind the mass market sector for years (mostly because there were few sites displaying senior opportunities), sees evidence that executives searching online for both jobs and networking is starting to catch up to the general online recruitment market at a rapid rate! She says: ìWord of mouth, surveys and the increasing use of search engines by senior executives (60K ) has shown that executives earning between 60K - 120K appear to use on-line as given! Following on from this fact I would say that the most noticeable change over the past 12 months has been the number of these executives earning between 80k and 120K who will comfortably place their CV on line ñ and not on just one exclusive Board. Many recruiters tell me they find the same Directors CV on Monster as on specialist executive sites.î

Maybe some recruiters feel online recruitment doesnít have the same cachet as being headhunted - however they cannot dispute that it gets results. John Wakeford, MD of the Hitchenor Wakeford Group, an executive search and selection company based in Leeds and Manchester, believes ìMany recruiters discourage it in order to perpetuate the ëcloak and daggerí myth of executive recruitment. However, when it is done professionally it works very well in terms of widening the net to attract top candidates. We promote all our searches online and have great success. We recently placed someone via the web for a position that failed to be filled for twelve months by another selection firm who were only using traditional media.î Felix Wetzel, Marketing Director of Jobsite agrees that online recruitment is becoming increasingly popular for the executive and senior management sector. He says: ìWhilst a number of candidates from this sector are still being headhunted they canít rely on this method alone if theyíre proactively looking for a new role. Jobsite have almost 300,000 candidates registered as looking for jobs in the Management/Executive sector, which is a 10% increase on last year.

To support the growing numbers of candidates searching for senior and executive jobs, online Jobsite have created a number of specialist sites. SeniorSalesJobs.co.uk was launched in August 2006 and boasts almost 6,500 senior vacancies including Sales Director and Area Management roles. In November of the same year Jobsite joined with international media group Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC to launch EuroMoneyiiJobs.com ñ a site for senior personnel in global finance markets with starting salaries of 60k. Jobsiteís parent company also realise the importance of the senior and executive sector and bought Top-Consultant.com, the number one UK recruitment site for management consultants in 2005. In July of this year they launched the niche site TopITConsultant which has vacancies for senior consultants in the IT industry.î

Benefits for jobseekers and advertisers

Justin Hobday says ìFor recruiters and candidates the benefits are clear. The shelf life of an advertisement on-line is significant compared to a newspaper. Candidates can browse websites at their leisure and many have elected to be made aware of new roles that are advertised according to relevant criteria. For a recruiter, there are now new channels to add to the traditional direct contact approach of executive search. The results come within hours.î John Wakeford also feels that: ìClients like the fact that business can be done in real time with no need to wait for ten days while things are processed. If a low response rate to a position is detected it can be quickly and cheaply changed. Candidates can use online tools to get a wider view of the market and compare jobs at the click of a mouse. Busy executives find it far easier to apply for jobs online too.î

Felix Wetzel agrees that time saving appeals: ìExecutive candidates tend to be out of the office and travelling regularly but with the increase of palm pads, they constantly have access to the web and their emails. Recent research shows that 80% of jobseekers look online before anywhere else, up from 66% in 2005. The online environment therefore is essential for executive recruiters to target these candidates. Online recruitment allows candidates to set up jobs-by-email where only relevant jobs targeted to their specific requirements are sent directly to their inbox. For candidates from the senior and executive sector it is crucial that they only receive jobs of the correct level and donít have their time wasted with unsuitable positions. Candidates can also save a CV, which can be made available for recruiters to search or can be stored meaning that application to vacancies becomes quicker and easier ñ both important considerations for senior candidates. Lastly, candidates can utilise the highly targeted search function on Jobsite which can sort vacancies by location, salary, job title, skills etc. and enables the candidate to find what theyíre looking for in minutes.î He says that the niche sites that Jobsite offer in the executive sector provide benefits to those candidates who prefer searching for their next role on a specialist site and can display tailored content for these candidates e.g. latest news in the executive sector.

Rosalyn Rahme highlights the advent of networking as a big plus: ìThe benefit of on line for senior executives is of course that they enable them to be pro-activeÖeither by placing their profile or most importantly (in my opinion!) looking online at a Job or networking site which often inspire executives into roles and opportunities (even PASSIVE ones!).

What has surprised you in the last year?

ìPerhaps what is most surprising is how some of the well publicised sites are less effective than some of those that are currently less knownî, says Justin Hobday. He continues: ìIn the early days of online executive websites, the best approach was to use a number of websites and confidentially advertise positions. Today, we are much more selective about which ones we use for different roles and highlighting specific aspects of the role and experience required attracts much more relevant responses. With greater access to different candidate communities, the role of a recruiter is becoming increasingly focussed on assessment of skills and getting even closer to clients to understand the role and requirement.î For John Wakeford, the biggest surprise has been the phenomenal response from top class international candidates for international roles. He says: ìItís clearly a more prevalent way to undertake search and selection outside the UK.î

What are you looking forward to?

John Wakeford also feels that we will see an explosion in the number of clients and candidates preferring new media tactics: ìIt saves clients a lot of time and money over traditional methods of advertising.î Justin Hobday has found attitudes vary. His company surveyed over 1000 senior executives earning between 70,000 and 300,000 pa about their attitudes towards online recruitment. He says: ìSome sectors, such as the investment banking community were dismissive about it. However, in the main, the utilisation was much greater than our expectations and it would take a brave person to gamble against its becoming even more popular over the next five years.î

Rosalyn Rahme says that ìThere are still companies who believe they can rely exclusively on their own websites ñ but they miss talent that could be ideal for some of their roles. For example, the M&A specialist for UBS could be ideal for a corporate ventures role at Vodafone but he/she is unlikely to go to the Vodafone website ñ the On-line Boards and networking sites biggest USP is that they INSPIRE the right executives for the job. They are fair, diverse and work towards a more efficient market for talent.

She believes that executive conduits (be it networking, recruitment or job boards) need more partners in consultancies and more directors of the FTSE 500 to change their habits of the past 20 years. She says: ìLooking for a new role, doing research or needing to find a new job forces executives ëon-lineí ñ the client counterpart however has no such catalyst to encourage change and therefore tend to rely on the same old methods they have been using for the past 20 years. This is slowly changing and my prediction of change for the next 12 months will be the increasing numbers of companies placing very senior roles on line.î

Felix Wetzel is looking to the next generation of execs to really see changes: ìThe average global age of a CEO is currently fifty five and as this generation retire the next wave of CEOís will be of the social networking age so sites such as LinkedIN, Facebook and MySpace may prove to play a role in their job hunting. New social networking sites are launching frequently and within the next couple of years there may be specialist sites aimed specifically at executive employees. Jobsite finds this area incredibly interesting and so far this year has launched a Job Match application on Facebook, partnered with FriendsReunitedJobs and formed an alliance with leading student community, The Student Room. Jobsite believe that as candidates find new ways of spending their time online they need to become more intelligent about how they reach them - this is especially true for passive candidates. Equally important is how people access the Web. Candidates, especially those in the senior and executive sector, are increasingly accessing the internet and emails in different ways, for example mobiles & PDAs. Jobsite spend considerable effort ensuring that their site and emails remain compatible with these methods.î

Some old-fashioned recruiters and execs may still feel that online recruitment doesnít have quite the same cachet as being headhunted- but with the proliferation of internet access and social networking sites, they can still feel part of an exclusive club; but one that anyone can join.

Taken from November 2007 edition of Online Recruitment Magazine.
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