Our first step is to listen and learn. We meet with you and your executive team to talk about your company needs and what makes the position attractive to top caliber candidates.

We discuss in depth how you expect the new executive to contribute to your success, what skills, experience and core competencies they’ll need, and what compensation will satisfy the right person. We ask about, and listen attentively to learn, your company’s culture and business objectives

After we have developed a clear picture of your needs and expectations, we’ll write a profile custom-tailored to describe the job and the ideal candidate.

Develop the Strategy

We devise the search strategy by merging what we’ve learned from you with our industry knowledge and expertise. The strategy has two major objectives. The first is to determine where the best prospects are now. The second is to decide how to present your company’s opportunity so it grabs and holds candidates’ interest right from the start.

We then confirm our target areas and direction with you, and begin by gauging the initial market response. If need be, we quickly adjust our sites and refocus the search.

Identify and Evaluate

Through intelligent networking and exhaustive research, we develop a broad database of prospective candidates. We call our industry contacts, scour competitors and other targeted companies and comb the internet and other external databases. The result is a strong list of the best prospects.

Next, we talk to all of them. We build interest in your opportunity from the beginning. Initial impressions can be critical, so we contact all prospects directly including referrals and “cold calls.” Because of our market knowledge and industry expertise, we often turn a candidate’s initial indifference into significant interest.

Finally, after we review the backgrounds of all the prospects, the best qualified are chosen and meetings are set up. We then objectively evaluate each candidate, assessing whether they can do the job, judging whether they will fit in and testing whether their interest is sincere. We provide you with full profile and background information on the top candidates.

Interview Candidates

After you decide which of the top candidates you want to meet, our staff will work with you to schedule interviews, arrange travel and manage the details of the meetings.

We’ll team with you to devise a strategy for interviewing that presents your opportunity persuasively. After your interviews we debrief you and the candidates. Once again taking time to be sure we are on target and to solidify candidates’ interest.

Check References and Verify Credentials

As early as possible, we verify credentials and contact references. Whenever possible, we utilize our industry contacts who talk “off the record.” We learn a lot from these contacts, as well as from closely questioning former employers and colleagues, and report it all to you. We encourage your participation in the process. What you learn can help guide you hiring decision, as well as provide you information so that you are better able to manage the candidate once they are onboard.

Choose the Best Candidate

We have been talking to each other about the candidates throughout the search. Whether it takes a single conversation with a candidate or many, this is the time a final decision is made. Our job is to facilitate the process by getting all the information out on the table. We review what you think of the candidate, what the candidate thinks of you, what the references said, and our opinion. We manage the process and aid your decision.

Make the Deal Happen

This is the most critical stage of the entire search. Our first step here is to help you understand what it will take to close a deal with the candidate you want. We may talk once, or several times, to work out every element of a solid offer that you and the candidate feel good about. Sometimes this stage goes very smoothly, and others it requires some real soul-searching and compromise.

Our mission is to ensure that your top candidate accepts your offer. Once the offer is presented we’re all “on call” until the deal is closed. We are the “go between” who manages the nuts and bolts of the negotiation while coaxing you and the candidate to a final agreement.

Support the Transition

We stay in contact with you and the executive you hire supporting the transition and address any issues or concerns. We do what ever is necessary to ensure the candidates success and your satisfaction.