Executive recruiting is a highly targeted process involving top-notch talent that your company needs for its leadership. Because there are so few qualified candidates, the recruiting process is markedly different from recruiting for other positions. Using these best practices for executive recruiting will ensure that your company is in the best possible position to attract and retain the top talent it needs for the executive leadership that will usher it into the future. Be Candidate-Centered For executive candidates, your company may be just one of several opportunities they might be considering for their next career move. Expecting candidates to jump through the usual hoops is only asking for a difficult experience that is unlikely to result in a successful hire. It is likely that your company needs to make a good impression on the candidate more than the candidate needs to make a favorable impression on you, so pull out all the stops to be professional, personable, and accommodating if you want a candidate to stick around long enough to accept a job offer. Another way to be candidate-centered is to engage in career pathing before the interview. Talk to the candidate about his or her career path so far, and try to figure out what might appeal to the candidate as a next step. Listen closely to the information they are willing to offer. If you can find out what is most important to a particular candidate, it may help you put together a salary and benefits package that will attract the candidate to your company above other possibilities. Patience with candidates as they take time to consider your offer will also work in your favor; pressuring or trying to convince an executive candidate to make a quick decision is likely to backfire. Supercharging Your Executive Search Process With Thrive TRM – Harness the power of your search firm’s collective intelligence by getting talent data out of spreadsheets and into one unified resource. Show Continued Interest in the Executive Candidate Keeping in frequent touch with candidates as the interview process unfolds is a good way to remind them of your company’s interest as well as make the process more painless. You do not want to be a nuisance, but you do want to give some reminders of your interest so they do not lose interest in your company or the position. At the same time, you want to make the process as painless as possible for the candidate so that the hassle factor does not become a discouragement or an obstacle for the executive in joining your company. Even after you decide not to hire particular candidates, you can show continued interest in them by offering constructive feedback that will help them with their professional development going forward. Giving feedback is rare enough that it will also help your company stand out from the competition, improving your reputation and employer brand. Thrive TRM streamlines the hiring process, tracking each candidate contact so the whole hiring team stays on the same page. Thrive TRM’s real-time reporting and collaboration features allow you to invite hiring managers and key executives to view by-the-minute updates, review robust compensation data, and prioritize candidates. Ready to supercharge your executive search process? Schedule a demo of Thrive TRM to accelerate your time-to-hire and win more searches.