My name is Mark Wayman, and for the last 11 years I have owned an Executive Recruiting firm focused on gaming and high tech. I'm a little unique from the perspective I only represent executives I know personally, or executives that are referred to me by my network. I've reviewed 20,000 resumes, represented 1,500 candidates and placed 600-plus. Compensation starts at $100,000, last year I placed eight executives north of a million dollars, and my average placement was $200,000.
One of the most common questions I get from both hiring companies and candidates is, "Why should I use an Executive Recruiter?" GREAT question! There is a Recruiter on every corner. I would love to tell you they are all lovely people. They are not. That stated, there are very valid reasons to partner with an Executive Recruiter. One disclaimer -- keep in mind that Executive Recruiters get people for jobs, not jobs for people.
Value Proposition for the Hiring Company
Why would you spend money on an Executive Recruiter? Well, there are two things I know for certain. First, the person you want to hire is not going to apply online. Second, if you hire the wrong person and they leave in six months, THAT is expensive. Outlined below are several benefits to using an Executive Recruiter. I would love to take credit for these, however most of them were provided by my clients.
- Hire the Best People the First Time -- Want the best person for the job? Either identify someone in your professional network (a great idea!) or engage an Executive Recruiter. I don't care how many HR people tell you, "We got this." They do not. They don't have the connections; they don't have the access. Again, I'm talking about 100,000-plus executives. They are all gainfully employed, not applying for online jobs, and not taking cold calls from an HR person. For the record, there are some top notch HR executives, however most are overwhelmed with personnel issues and not equipped to do executive search. There are just not enough hours in the day. So I'll say it again -- ACCESS. Executive Recruiters have access to the best executives on the planet.
Value Proposition for the Candidate
Keep in mind that at $100,000-plus, 90 percent of all jobs come from your professional network or an Executive Recruiter. Applying online is a 1 percent proposition. For every senior level job, there are 500 applicants. Only one can be selected. Top executives never, ever apply online. Here is the value proposition for working with an Executive Recruiter.
- The BEST Jobs -- Plain and simple. Anyone that tells you otherwise is wrong. For this reason alone, if you are at a senior level, you should have relationships with two or three Executive Recruiters. Most of the jobs they work on are not posted. Companies keep them off the radar. Maybe the company wants to make discrete changes or the incumbent has not been fired yet. Most of the best jobs are never posted.