RECRUITMENT

Executive search or recruitment: how to choose for your role.

The method follows the role: how much its decisions weigh, how rare the skill is, and who has to be approached directly for you to know who is out there.

THE HUMX TEAM
~3 MIN READ

The two are not opposing methods. Both can use direct search in the market, both can include structured assessment. What differs is the depth of the assignment: how much of the market map is built before the first conversations, how far the verification goes, and how tight the confidentiality framework is.

Five criteria that decide the method

Take your role and answer row by row. There are no points to add up; if your answers sit in the right-hand column, the assignment needs more depth.

CRITERION STANDARD PROCESS IN-DEPTH ASSIGNMENT

Responsibility of the role Decisions within limits already set. Decisions that change the direction of a function or of the company.

Rarity of the skill Several people have the experience required. The combination required can be hard to find; the relevant people are identified by name.

Access to candidates Some of them respond to adverts. They may not be actively looking for a role; the conversation starts if someone approaches them.

Confidentiality The role can be advertised publicly. The position is filled, internally sensitive, or tied to a change not yet announced.

Ability to decide The decision-maker is clear and available for interviews. The decision is made by a group; written criteria and an agreed timeline are needed.

The last row is worth clarifying from the outset. An in-depth assignment with a decision that keeps being postponed produces the same standstill as an advert with no replies, only more expensively.

What the briefing has to contain

Whatever the method, the opening conversation covers five things: the results expected in the first year; the real autonomy, meaning what the person can decide alone and from what amount approval is needed; the working relationships, who they align with weekly; remuneration, location and hours; who makes the final decision.

A point left unclear can change the criteria during the search and can require some conversations to be repeated.

What to ask your partner

Who is the consultant in charge and who actually does the market research?

Which companies can they not approach, because of other assignments or existing agreements?

What does reporting look like: what you receive, how often and in what form?

How is the assessment done and what is put in writing about each candidate?

Which contractual terms cover confidentiality, payment and restarting the search?

The guide published by AESC on choosing an executive search firm points in the same direction: clarify the assignment before starting, establish who the consultant actually working on the project is, and set the confidentiality framework in writing.

Two roles, two methods: an illustrative example

First case: a manufacturing company is looking for an operations director to open a second site. The assignment includes investment decisions, building a new team and a direct relationship with the shareholders. The people who have already done this are few and may not be actively looking for a role. Here an in-depth assignment makes sense: a market map, direct approach, written assessment, confidentiality until the end.

Second case: the same company is looking for a process engineer, with clear criteria and several suitable people in the area. A standard process, with direct search where needed, is enough. The method is not chosen by the job title, but by the answers in those five rows.

Both situations are hypothetical. We use them to show the reasoning, not as project references.

The one-page document, before the conversation

Write on a single page: the role and the results expected in the first year, the limits of autonomy, the four or five criteria that can be observed, remuneration and hours, the decision-maker and the interview timeline. This is the document you bring to any conversation, whatever the method.

With this document, providers can argue for the method they propose and offers can be compared on the same basis. Without it, the conversation moves to price and the offers are no longer comparable.

Let's discuss the assignment.

We go through the five criteria together and settle the method. See how we work on Executive Search and what to compare in an offer in the article on the cost of recruitment.

Let's discuss the assignment →