If you are seeking a directorship, how do you set yourself up for success when you approach a headhunter or executive search firm? And what should chairs know before they engage a firm to look for the ideal board candidate?
Across more than three decades as a business and financial services leader, Libby Roy has had considerable experience dealing with search firms — both as a candidate seeking executive roles and as a boss looking to hire. In transitioning from the C-suite to building a non-executive director portfolio, she knows the value they can add.
“When I was MD at PayPal (Australia and New Zealand), I used a search firm to hire directors for the company,” says Roy. “As a director, executive search firms are a very important part of your network when you’re looking for board roles. But they’re just one part of the equation within your network.”
The latter is key. Roy’s calendar is now filled with a combination of non-executive directorships, executive coaching and some advisory and consultancy work. She notes that working as an executive, a single role fills 100 per cent of your time. By contrast, a portfolio career has multiple parts, which can stop and start, making networking all the more crucial.
“It’s important executive search firms know who you are and what your value proposition is if something comes up,” says Roy. “You can’t just rely on knowing a couple of executive search firms — you need to be known by a range of search firms, because you don’t know who is going to get the mandate for a particular role. Because you’re looking for a variety of roles, you need to network a lot more broadly.”
Find a good fit
Mark O’Connor agrees that networking underpins director searches, whether from the candidate or the boardroom side. O’Connor launched boutique search firm Perceptor in 1999, with a core business of executive appointments that has recently experienced growth in the non-executive space. He says the process of recruiting for boards varies little from executive searches.
“Our job is to be well networked with the candidate side of the market and the corporate board side. So when there’s a need, we can put the two together, hopefully with a good fit. Then everyone’s happy and away they go.”
The process is straightforward. A candidate comes to Perceptor seeking to be on their radar for board opportunities. Their CV is reviewed and, if they’re deemed a good fit for Perceptor’s client list, they’ll meet O’Connor’s team to discuss their experience and ambition.
“We’ll understand more about what their brief is, their criteria for the board opportunities they’re interested in and where they think they can add value. Then we’ll say to them, ‘You’re in the Perceptor network now, we’re here as a resource to help.’”
Next steps
When a brief lands at Perceptor for a board vacancy, if the two seem be a good fit, the candidate is contacted and their interest confirmed. “We’ll build a shortlist of candidates who we think are relevant and then take them through the interview process,” says O’Connor.
Where they sit in their non-executive career can dictate how the candidate approaches the process. “At the beginning, they can be very flexible, because they want to build a portfolio. Then towards the end they’re flexible again, because they’re in the giving-back mode.
“In the middle, with headhunters like me calling them with different opportunities, they can be a bit more selective and narrow in their criteria.”
Go wide
At odds with a standard business approach in competitive markets, O’Connor tells candidates to speak to multiple search firms, not just his. This is one of three channels he recommends, along with reaching out to industry bodies like the AICD — or others relevant to the person’s profession — and tapping into their own network.
“From the board or chair side, they would be thinking about the market in the same way,” he says. “They would have a number of different executive search firms they might partner with, depending on what they’re looking for. Plus, they would have their own network and the board’s network.”
Industry bodies and other channels can also provide opportunities to meet some interesting and relevant people.
Roy says good recruiters ensure candidates understand the scope of the role, know what is important in trying to secure it and provide appropriate, objective feedback throughout the interview process. The ideal for candidates is to build a board reputation to complement their previous executive standing, which comes back to networking.
“Then you have a situation where the recruitment firm says, ‘Here’s a candidate we think is appropriate.’ The members of the board who are evaluating the short list can say, ‘Yes, we’ve heard of them, they have a strong reputation.’”
Get among the people
Search firms play their networking part. Perceptor recently hosted an “AI without the Hype” event attended by C-suite executives and NEDs across all industries. Roy was there, tapping into and continually expanding her network.
“Recruiters are part of your network — not just in terms of them knowing you, but also helping you to build your network beyond that,” she says. “It’s why I say to people, you can’t just have a relationship with the top three search firms. You need a relationship with a broad number of firms. Because they may get a mandate that’s perfect for you — where you would like to make a difference. You want them to call you!”
The AICD holds regular events to connect directors with boards seeking new members. See the AICD events page to find out when the next event near you will be held.
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