Turning to an executive search company to identify, to check and to interview high-profile candidates for top jobs has been, is and probably will be the best and most efficient way to find suitable talent for key positions. Executive recruiting companies can handle every process of the recruitment process in a way that is more efficient than the methods used in the recruitment departments in most companies, but the high number of recruitment agencies on the market make it difficult for organizations to find the executive search firm that meets their requirements. To make the process of finding the best recruiter easier, here are some of the traits that only the best executive search firms possess.

best executive search firms

In-Depth Knowledge of Your Industry Segment

Every industry segment requires a different recruitment approach, which also means that one of the most important qualities of top recruiters is their wide range of in-depth knowledge about the organizations in a specific industry, of their needs, of their direction of development as well as of their problem areas.

Excellent Reputation

Bad news travels faster than good news, so if there is any complaint against the headhunter firm you are considering, you will surely learn about it easily. Look for a headhunter firm with stellar performance, but also be reasonable when you assess the severity of a complaint – while no company can please every client, you definitely need a recruiter company that gets lots of positive reviews and is respected and appreciated by the companies in your niche.

Searching for Active and Passive Candidates as well

Active candidates are people who are actively seeking for a new job, either because they are currently unemployed or because they would like to try themselves in a new company, while passive candidates are people who are happily employed and not currently looking for new challenges, but potentially open for new opportunities. The best executive recruiters maintain large databases with both types of candidates, which will help you choose from a much larger pool of talents.

Excellent Communication and Listening Skills

Any type of recruiting process is all about communication, so an executive recruiting consultant needs to be able to communicate ideas in a convincing way as well as to listen to their clients and candidates, to their opinions, needs and requirements. For you, as a client, open communication and trustworthiness should be among the top criteria when you evaluate recruiters.

A Detail-oriented Approach

A good executive recruiter is able to process large volumes of information very quickly and they also need to be able to screen long texts to find any discrepancies and mistakes at a glance. That kind of trained and meticulous eye is important to spot any issues in the resumes submitted by candidates, such as long gaps between employments or gaps in the candidate’s education history. A detail-oriented attitude is essential during the background checks performed by recruiters to verify candidate credentials – any kind of conflicting information needs to be detected and taken into consideration when determining credibility and that process is often tedious.