Executive attitudes are changing- why are old dogs learning new tricks – on-line job applications increase in popularity. – with partial thanks to Online Recruitment magazine

Recent developments in recruitment methods used by Candidates

Executives are leaving their comfort zones and becoming more confident applying online. Experts in this field tell us how the execs are getting proactive… Justin Hobday, Director of Harvey Nash says “Monster is already 13 years old and it is well known that today’s 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.” 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: “Word 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 – and not on just one exclusive Board. Many recruiters tell me they find the same Directors CV on Monster as on specialist executive sites.” Maybe some recruiters feel online recruitment doesn’t 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 “Many recruiters discourage it in order to perpetuate the ‘cloak and dagger’ 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.” Felix Wetzel, Marketing Director of Jobsite agrees that online recruitment is becoming increasingly popular for the executive and senior management sector. He says: “Whilst a number of candidates from this sector are still being headhunted they can’t rely on this method alone if they’re 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 – a site for senior personnel in global finance markets with starting salaries of £60k. Jobsite’s 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.” Tom Booth adds “In parallel, 999tom.com Limited was launched in October 2005 and now boasts in excess of 2,500 registered candidates and over 100 employers. 999tom.com Limited is a specialist motor industry recruitment website and it is to such niche web recruiters that senior executives have flocked over the last couple of years. Niche recruitment can make candidates rightfully appear big fish in a small pond, whereas Monster and other generalists become unwieldy both for candidates and employers”. Benefits for jobseekers and advertisers Justin Hobday says “For 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.” John Wakeford also feels that: “Clients 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.” Tom Booth adds – fully interactive recruitments sites such as 999tom.com Limited, enjoy the speed and freedom of the medium with the added advantage of speed of communications. The 999tom.com site not only creates on-line cv’s but has instant back office capability to contact candidates speedily through both email and sms”. Felix Wetzel agrees that time saving appeals: “Executive 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 don’t 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 – 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 they’re looking for in minutes.” 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. Tom Booth adds “with 999tom.com, whilst operating only in automotive sectors, has the added advantage that candidates can access their cv at any time and align the presentation with any particular role for which they may be being considered. Because the employer views cv’s on line, any such improvements and additions on the part of the candidate are picked up by the employer right up to the point at which they log on to review”. Rosalyn Rahme highlights the advent of networking as a big plus: “The benefit of on line for senior executives is of course that they enable them to be pro-active…either 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!). Tom Booth adds “999tom.com also majors on referral thereby multiplying the candidate database and creating a feeling of inclusivity amongst the members”. What has surprised you in the last year? “Perhaps what is most surprising is how some of the well publicised sites are less effective than some of those that are currently less known”, says Justin Hobday. He continues: “In 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.” For John Wakeford, the biggest surprise has been the phenomenal response from top class international candidates for international roles. He says: “It’s clearly a more prevalent way to undertake search and selection outside the UK.” Tom Booth adds “999tom.com utilises high level numeracy and literacy benchmarking as part of the candidate assessment – across 2500 candidates, these scores clearly indicate individual performance characteristics compared to the norm – they should never however be taken in isolation or used as an interview filter”. 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: “It saves clients a lot of time and money over traditional methods of advertising.” 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: “Some 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.” Rosalyn Rahme says that “There are still companies who believe they can rely exclusively on their own websites – 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 – 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: “Looking for a new role, doing research or needing to find a new job forces executives ‘on-line’ – 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.” Felix Wetzel is looking to the next generation of execs to really see changes: “The average global age of a CEO is currently fifty five and as this generation retire the next wave of CEO’s 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.” Some old-fashioned recruiters and execs may still feel that online recruitment doesn’t 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. Tom Booth closes with “At the end of the day, whatever clients and candidates believe – time is money and placements will take the victory slot when they are accurate, timely and lasting; internet lubricates this process, at speed, like no other”.