Harper Hewes Executive Search Blog : Hire, Get Hired & Manage Your Career

An Executive Recruiter’s Guide to Hiring Top Talent Step 5: Evaluation

Debbie Harper — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 19:30:41 +0000

TRUST BUT VERIFY During the interviewing phase of the search project we’re gathering lots of information about the individual candidates. Regardless of the interview methodology employed, we’re digging into prior experiences, posing situational challenges, trying to ferret out motivations and aspirations. We’re assessing hard and soft skills, and making judgments on future potential and cultural […]

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An Executive Recruiter’s Guide to Hiring Top Talent Step 4: Interviewing

Debbie Harper — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:45:44 +0000

The interview process is one of mutual due diligence. The analogy to dating is completely overused, but so apropos. Like dating, an interview is one of the few situations where we’re selling and buying at the same time. Companies are selling the candidate on the benefits of working for them while they’re assessing the viability […]

An Executive Recruiter’s Guide to Hiring Top Talent Step 3: Recruiting

Debbie Harper — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:00:35 +0000

In the “Sourcing” post we talked about the “WHO” – creating a list of active and passive candidates who are prospects for our search. Now we’ll talk about the “HOW.” For this post we’re using a narrow definition of recruiting – converting prospects into candidates – rather than the generic definition that refers to the […]

An Executive Recruiter’s Guide to Hiring Top Talent Step 2: Sourcing

Debbie Harper — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:00:53 +0000

Come out, come out wherever you are! We’ve defined what we’re looking for…now the fun starts! We get to go find them! We all want to hire the best person for the job. There’s a catch, though. At any point in time, and depending on whose statistics you’re reading, 10-20% of the workforce is actively pursuing new jobs. […]

An Executive Recruiter’s Guide to Hiring Top Talent Step 1: Definition

Debbie Harper — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:00:23 +0000

“If you don’t know what you’re looking for how will you know when you’ve found it?” The ultimate success of a project can be traced to preparation and planning. In this post we’ll define three crucial aspects that lay the groundwork of a successful search project. The Job: Defining Successful Performance The Flow: Detailing the […]

An Executive Recruiter’s Guide to Hiring Top Talent

Debbie Harper — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:30:09 +0000

You can teach a turkey to climb a tree… But wouldn’t you rather start with a squirrel? Looking for Top Talent? It isn’t magic, it isn’t luck and it isn’t happenstance. Check out my recruiter’s guide… In business today we’re pushed to perform faster, better and more effectively. Hiring top talent is no different. We’re […]

Have You Thanked Your Mentor Lately?

Debbie Harper — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:59:08 +0000

Thanksgiving is less than two short weeks away. For many of us Thanksgiving marks the start of the “year end crunch.” Yearly and quarterly numbers have to be met. Business plans completed. Budgets finalized. Staffing plans approved. Next year’s kick off coordinated. New hires onboarded so they can hit the ground running in 2012. Add […]

Are You Ready to Compete?

Debbie Harper — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:20:32 +0000

Dice.com saw a 35% increase in first quarter. eFinancialCareers was up 48%. Monster reported a 25% increase in bookings across all industries. What does this influx of job postings mean to you? It’s classic supply vs. demand. For the past several years companies could afford to be ultra choosy, often subjecting candidates to long and […]

Hiring Mistakes – Vetting the Candidate

Debbie Harper — Wed, 04 May 2011 14:53:32 +0000

“But he was such a good fit on paper!” How many times have you heard that description of a failed hire? Unfortunately, the paper is only part of the story. It’s the person behind the paper that matters. The answers to three key questions will most often determine the success of a hire. CAN they […]

The Rise of the Written Interview

Debbie Harper — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:10:27 +0000

You thought you were done writing essays when you graduated from school, didn’t you? Think again. More and more frequently our clients are requesting writing samples from all candidates, not just those being considered for a formal communications role.