Getting Hired as an Executive Is a Different Game

Getting Hired as an Executive Is a Different GameGetting Hired as an Executive Is a Different GameIts a very broken ordnungsprinzip at the senior management level as far as Im concerned.Even amidst the frenzied gossiping of local college girls and honking traffic of Northwest Washington DC, the calm demeanor of George Zarubin couldnt hide the frustration. It welches lunchtime at a local Mexican restaurant as we sat down to talk about his 7 month process of finding a new executive position at a nonprofit. Zarubin and I had spoken before about what it welches like working with recruitment organizations (often called headhunters at this level), but I had no idea about the process of being hired to run something like a foundation.Having recently run the $400 million endowment of The America for Bulgaria Foundation and now working as the Executive Director of The AHA Foundation, Zarubin has built a career running internationally focused non-profits around the world. Hes bedrngnis the type of person who would need to spend too much time finding a job. And yet, despite the fact that an entire industry of headhunting companies exist to hire people like Zarubin for these positions, he sees that process as deeply flawed.The executive hiring game has more playersWhen you see the job youre not referred directly to the company, youre referred to the headhunters. And the headhunters dont really want to be looking through a bunch of resumes that have been sent to them.One of the first things that becomes clear listening to Zarubin is the number of players involved in executive hiring. You have the three basic players you, the headhunters, and the company youre trying to get hired by. But actually, the latter two can be much more complex.The system is even more broken because usually its a board thats hiring a headhunting firm, and the board compromises and agrees on a job description, tells the headhunters what they want, and the headhunter doesnt want to go outside those bou ndaries And usually, any kind of criteria thats set by compromise is imperfect in itself usually looking for somebody youre not going to find.But the problems ultimately go beyond that culture of compromise.Related articlesHow hiring a CEO is the same as hiring anyone elseWe are hiring a Head of Marketing in DublinHow we killed our HR departmentHeadhunters are all about networksAt the senior level, either youre in the network or youre not, you either know the recruiter or you dont but theyre not interested in getting to know you Its a fascinating study in imperfect supply and demand. Theres no real good mechanism that links the one with the other.Zarubin explained that in this sense, headhunting firms are very conservative in how they handle their networks. Because they only tend to hire from within those networks, theres plenty of supply in the form of good candidates who simply arent considered. Incredibly, the issue of restrictive networks doesnt just exist for headhunting firms as a whole, it also exists within those firms.The big headhunting firms may not even be sharing information within their own networks, among their own colleagues, and across offices. So the London partner might not know what the Washington partner knows in terms of a person who might be suitable for a placement.The result is that its up to those getting hired as well as people working within the headhunting firms to tackle the system.You have to break that cycle And I bet certain headhunters, if theyre honest, would love to be able to break into all their other colleagues networks and see who it is they have.But even if theres nothing Zarubin can do to affect how headhunters operate, there are steps hes learned to take to be more effective within this entire process.Proactivity is key to getting hired as an executiveZarubin obviously had a lot to say about the system hes witnessed and worked within for most of his professional career, but I was also interested in discussing what les sons hes learned along the way. Those lessons start with being proactive.When I see something on LinkedIn and I see it on a platform of a recruiter, then I try to figure out if I know any of those recruiters. I actually call them to alert them to the fact that Im sending my resume in. You have to be incredibly proactive, a lot more so than you would think.So just because there was a headhunting firm working to find a new executive director for the AHA foundation didnt mean Zarubin could wait to be found and approached about the position. He had to take the first steps.Getting hired for positions that are never announcedMost senior management jobs, like president or CEO never get announced. Theyre all done in secret. Both of my last two senior executive, non-profit positions identified me through my networks and these positions were for jobs that were not posted anywhere.Getting hired for such a job might seem daunting, but Zarubin has a clear strategy which has worked for him.At som e point, I just sent out a message to a whole bunch of the headhunters I was talking to saying I know sometimes you have jobs that arent externally posted. If anything looks like it has a bit of an international flair and suits my qualifications, let me know. Next thing I know, I get a call saying would you consider this non-profit job? I wrote back and said it sounds very intriguing, tell me more. That started a process I would never have gotten into had I not already been in the recruiting process, meeting these recruiters continuing to write to them, keeping my foot in the door and saying Im here and Im looking.Once again, it boils down to building relationships with recruiters and always being proactive. However, Zarubin also cautions that this doesnt mean you can neglect building and maintaining relationships with board members either.There are times when a board can become frustrated with a search process and begin reaching out themselves. Thats where having those relationship s can really make a difference.Ultimately, Zarubins reflection on the entire process was straightforward.Its a very very complicated, imperfect, and competitive process at the senior, non-profit and international development management level it seems to be a very different game. But, its also extremely rewarding when you find the right fit.