Clive Green from Kellergreen consulting is our next Headhunter and executive recruiting specialist, sharing some significant details for our executive job seekers for senior level positions. We get you insights from real executive recruiters and headhunters in Kent to Munich allowing us all to learn and hear their voice.
Management jobs usually tend to have candidates who have a large experience in their own fields and specialized areas, usually with 10-15 years worth of strong expertise, but we still see that there is a significant need to share these headhunter insights with our candidate groups.
The key reason being: after 10 years of experience in director jobs, it is possible that we question our own selves when we decide to apply afresh. Hopefully, these insights will be helpful to you all!
10 insights about the job application process from your Headhunter
Which questions should a candidate always be ready for?
A lot of emphasis in the past few years is put on candidates being ready for more obscure questions design to test creativity, but I find candidates sometime don’t prepare for the basics and you need to have these ready to really sound credible.
- What salary and package do you require?
- Why have you made the career moves you have?
- How far are you prepared to travel and would you consider relocation in the future?
- Your motivations for a new role?
What is the one thing you particularly look for in a resume?
The one thing I look for in a resume is I try and see if I can I understand who the person is and what they do instantly from it. A CV needs to tell a story and answer questions before they have even been raised and a good CV does this without you having to think about it.
A CV can never show you if the person has the right personality, but it is there in the first instance to show you have the hard skills and profile for the role.
What are the key characteristics for a senior-position today?
For a senior position today there is an increasing emphasis on combining technical knowledge with a commercial aspect. It is that combination between understanding the technical side be it finance, IT or technical engineering and also the commercial impact.
Previously the CFO might have been there for to ensure compliance and reporting data, now they are expected to add commercial insight and act as much more of a business partner within the company. As companies become more integrated globally they often look at a senior position as being a global one. They want to hire someone who has an adaptable skill set and also is capable to doing the role wherever it might be located in the globe.
For me a candidate is an immediate reject in an interview if …
There are very few things in the world that would be an immediate interview reject, but if there is something that raises questions about someone’s honesty it is very difficult to consider that candidate further.
Over the past 10 years there has been a huge growth in places where your profile and CV can be found. This means there could be multiple versions of your CV or profile available on social media and on CV databases.
If there is any discrepancy that can’t be explained then as a professional headhunter you would not be able to represent that person to your client.
At 40, am I still interesting for a headhunter?
Of course! This is an excellent age and this is where you can really start to see the results of laying the foundations of your career. It is an age where you have often gained the skills necessary.
I recruit internationally and it is interesting to see the rate of career progression is quite different worldwide. In some regions it is common to be a CFO in your 30’s in other regions it can happen much later in life, so whatever your age you will be interesting to a headhunter.
What makes a headhunter ‚successful‘?
A good memory certainly helps! The role is about building relationships and making the connections between people. If you can see not only the obvious connections, but also the subtle connections between candidate and client then you can be successful as a headhunter.
Although our job is often seen as being reactive, I also like to take a proactive approach to generate opportunities for candidates. You are offering clients an individual who can add real value to their business and in that situation you are adding real value to both parties.
What is the one thing candidates should watch out for in their first headhunter contact?
Headhunters need to assess hard skills and make sure they match the basic requirements for the role in the first contact. There is always a list of criteria that needs to be filled for a candidate to make the initial selection and you need to be able to clearly demonstrate you have those skills. Make sure you have properly prepared and it is definitely worth spending some time remembering all the skills you have forgotten!
What do headhunters pay attention to, in terms of a candidate’s appearance?
There is obviously a need for a candidate to be presentable, but the main thing is to ensure they will fit in culturally with the role you are proposing them for. We work with a major US brand and if a candidate turns up in a suit that is probably going to be the end of the interview! If a candidate does dress a certain way it is important to notice how they would normally approach a meeting and advise them accordingly.
Which questions should a candidate never ask?
There are quite a few questions a candidate should never ask a client, but to a recruiter no questions are ever off topic. During an interview you should be careful to understand what the client is looking for and to ensure your questions fit that.
For instance from an early age people are taught to ask about the promotion opportunities, sometimes that is not what the client is looking for in a candidate and it raises questions if you will stay in the role.
How should a potential candidate respond when they receive a call from a headhunter at their current workplace?
If you can take the call, it’s always best to do so if you can. Time is always critical, and you never want to miss out on the opportunity. If it is not possible I would make sure you take their detail and arrange a time later in the day.
If you are pressed for time just say so and that way the headhunter can provide you with the basic information and you can quickly understand if there will be some further interest.
Hopefully this headhunter series will allow our candidates and senior management jobs’ seekers insights into the way the headhunters are analyzing their applications. We wish you well for all your dream positions!
About Kellergreen and Clive:
Based in London, Kellergreen are a specialist global search consultancy that execute expatriate and repatriate hires across a wide-variety of markets specializing in the key sector areas of Automotive, retail, consumer-goods, TMT and extractive energy sectors. As a result of their extensive experience in international markets, they have access to a significant talent pool of top tier professionals, who are available both locally, as well as on an expatriate basis. Clive is a Director of KellerGreen and an international search specialist. Clive has developed a career specifically within international markets. Working with leading firms globally, Clive has extensive networks especially within the CIS and Africa across the natural resources and Big 4 sectors. By utilising his extensive network of globally mobile talent, Clive has successfully completed numerous high level search assignments placing CFOs, GM’s COOs and Partners into world leading firms.
