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Return of the Headhunters

March 31, 2011 

After steep declines in recent years, executive recruiting is continuing to pick up. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you are contacted by a search firm.

By Stephenie Overman, contributor

FORTUNE -- If you make six figures a year, or reasonably hope to move into that league, dust off your resume. Headhunters are calling again.

Senior executive recruiting has had a dramatic resurgence. Following a precipitous 32.5% decline in 2009, the industry grew by an average of 28.5% in 2010 and is on track to do well in 2011, according to the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC).

Retained search firms -- executive search firms that companies hire to recruit candidates -- are looking for "senior executive talent, people on the fast track," says Peter M. Felix, AESC president. "It's unlikely a firm will be searching [to fill a position] below $150,000 base salary or the equivalent. If you're earning less than $100,000, retained search is not for you."

It's worth remembering that a retained search firm represents the company, not the job candidate, and is paid regardless of the outcome of the search. So-called contingency firms often represent individuals seeking placement and are paid for whatever placements they make.

"It's not well understood," Felix says. "Many executives come to search firms, expecting us to be an employment agency. Absolutely not. There are firms who represent candidates, but not retained search firms." These retained search firms are the gatekeepers to 60,000 to 70,000 senior-level jobs worldwide every year, he adds. More

Tags: Careers, Employment, Employment agency, Executive search, Recruiter, Search Firms

Executive hiring forecast for 2011
January, 2011

by Anonymous

There are many reasons to have an optimistic outlook for executive hiring in 2011, including the momentum that slowly built up over the past year after a sluggish 2009.

2011 is shaping up to be a good year for executive hiring. An improving business climate, a loosening of VC investment, and a hint that the public markets are reopening are all cause for optimism.

Executive search firms are seeing concrete evidence of the improving economy. At a recent meeting of New England executive search consultants, the vast majority of us reported a strong uptick in business starting last summer. The two publicly-held search firms, KornFerry and Heidrick & Struggles, have also reported robust growth.

While most executive search consultants expect a strong 2011, we don’t have a great track record when it comes to predictions. Many, myself included, thought 2009 would show gradual improvement. We were wrong. This time, however, there is a lot of data to support our optimism. Here are some examples:

A January 1 article in the Wall Street Journal titled Big Firms Poised to Spend Again points to strong balance sheets, record cash reserves and renewed optimism that have many companies planning to dramatically increase investment in 2011. Some of those investments will be in people. Cummings, for example, plans to add 2,500 US employees in 2011, a big increase from the current 14,800.

After two years of cutbacks, companies are again hiring internal recruiters. The WSJ reported on December 19 that job postings with recruiter in the title increased 20 percent from June 2010 to November 2010. The article also cites a survey by CLC Recruiting that showed about half of companies plan to increase their recruiting staffs in the next six months, a stark contrast to the 6 percent that were planning growth at the same time last year.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outsourcing company, reported that 2010 job cuts fell to the lowest level since 1997. It’s reasonable to infer that many companies have cut to the bone, and will need to hire to handle even modest increases in demand.

ADP’s December National Employment Report showed very strong growth in private employment across all major industries, a continuation of accelerating gains in employment since September.

There are still many risks. After a harrowing and long recession, companies will proceed with caution. But despite the downsides, the momentum in employment is now undeniable.

What does this mean for companies and their executives? If improvement in executive hiring continues as expected, companies will face growing competition for the best talent. In addition, executives will have more options, and retention will become a major problem as top performers find new opportunities where they can realize their potential.

Fifteen Years of Avondale Search International, Inc
It is hard to believe, but our search firm has been in existence fourteen years already. We will be commemorating our 15th anniversary next spring and will be inviting you to celebrate with us!  Stay tuned for details.

New Offices
Since last year, we moved our offices into the Quadrant office park, conveniently located at the intersection of I95 and JTB.  The highlights of our new offices has certainly been the addition of Lisa Gufford, Manager, and Shelby Restall overseeing administration.  The new board room has been essential for hosting visiting clients, corporate strategy sessions, executive interviews and more.  The coffee and lunch room never receive complaints either!