Focus on People, Not Firms, When It Comes to Executive Search

I need to start reaching out to executive search firms.

As an executive and career coach who once worked at a top 20 executive search firm, I hear some version of this statement almost every week. I used to think the same thing ​​when I was building a career in Fortune 500 companies. I thought I needed to ‘get in touch with the executive search firms.’

It’s a misguided approach. And it could be damaging your career. 

If the potential for damage has caught your attention, I explain why that might be the case in my free email mini-course. Check it out.

In this post, I’ll be focusing on a better approach. It starts with an understanding that executive search firms aren’t monolithic. Planning to get in touch with an executive search firm, however well-intentioned, isn’t a very efficient or effective way to pursue career advancement.

Executive search firms are made up of people. And it’s the attention of specific people in specific firms that you’ll need to capture.

Executive search firms typically have practice areas

Executive search firms come in a wide range of sizes, from what are essentially single-person operations to larger organizations with hundreds or even thousands of employees. 

Smaller or boutique search firms may have a fairly narrow focus. For example, a firm like The Connective Good in Boston specializes in marketing leadership roles, specifically emphasizing digital strategy and marketing technology, analytics and research. A medium-sized firm like Isaacson, Miller, where I worked as a Senior Associate, may focus on an entire sector. In this case, it’s mission-driven organizations. And there are larger firms like Egon Zehnder, Russell Reynolds, Spencer Stuart, and Korn Ferry that are highly diversified.

Within the medium to larger-sized firms, you’ll typically find practice areas, which may function like smaller or boutique firms within the larger organization. As an example, a practice area in a medium or larger firm could have a focus like chief marketing officers in publicly traded companies.

Each practice area will likely have a partner and a team of associates

Practice areas in executive search firms are typically run by a partner supported by a number of associates and administrative staff. The associates may be a shared resource in the firm, or they could be dedicated specifically to that practice area.

When I was a Senior Associate at Isaacson, Miller, I worked in the institutional advancement practice. We typically hired chief development officers and their staff, heads of alumni relations, and other related roles. Our searches were for clients throughout the United States, and sometimes beyond. I only worked on those searches and not the other types of searches the firm might have had, like university presidents or executive directors for advocacy organizations.

Your goal should be to get to know the people in the practice area relevant to you

It’s important to understand which practice area of a firm your desired roles fall into, and then who specifically is in that practice area working on the searches for those roles. 

You’ll want to be top of mind with those people. 

When I worked at Isaacson, Miller and was pulling together a networking strategy for a new search, often one of the first steps was to pitch the search to colleagues who also worked in my practice area. Without referencing our firm’s database or doing any other research, my colleagues would often be able to help me come up with a shortlist of perhaps 10 to 20 people that I could call in order to get the ball rolling on my search. 

It’s important to understand which practice area of a firm your desired roles fall into, and then who specifically is in that practice area working on the searches for those roles. You’ll want to be top of mind with those people. 

Obviously, there’s an advantage to being top of mind in a situation like that. You might be one of the first people contacted for a new role in your industry and functional area.

So how do you figure out who the right people are so that you can be at the top of their minds?

Try the following three approaches:

1. Think back to times recruiters have been in touch to pitch or discuss searches in your industry and functional area. Who were they? Do you remember their names? Do you remember which firms they were working for?
2. Ask friends and colleagues in your industry and functional area if they’ve been contacted by recruiters. They likely have. Again, what were the recruiters' names? Which firms were they from? This is an especially good way to learn about smaller firms that might be highly specialized.
3. Do a little research online. Try doing a Google search for ‘executive search firm’ and your desired role and/or industry.  Visit the websites of the medium and larger-sized firms. Korn Ferry, for example, has an easy-to-use search function that readily delivers their key players working on marketing roles in consumer products in North America. 

Once you know who the right people are, you’ll need to get on their radar screens. If you don’t already know them reasonably well and can’t lightly ping them to raise your profile, then the best way to get their attention is through an introduction. 

I’ll be writing about the best way to do that next week.

Conclusion

When you’re feeling the urge to get in touch with executive search firms, it’s time to reframe the task. 

Your goal should be to capture the attention of people, specifically executive search partners and their associates who are focused on filling the types of roles you’re targeting. That way, you’re top of mind when they start networking for a search that you could potentially be a candidate for.

As is usually the case in life, it’s better to focus on people and relationships than it is to focus on things, or in this case executive search firms.