We pride ourselves in a “new economy” approach to search, encouraging our clients to custom design their search process and our services to their particular needs and strategically identifying ways that our assistance in the short term can enhance our clients’ knowledge and organizational capacity over a much longer period.  Our systematic approach to the work is detailed below.

The Tailored Search:

Each search process is custom fit to our clients’ needs.  Most of our clients request some or all of the following services:

Creating, Editing, or Commenting on a Position Description:  Our position descriptions tend to be several pages in length and are written after exhaustive consultation with staff, management and other stakeholders.  The position description should contain both the skills and experiences needed for the role, but must also paint a picture of the future of the position and the organization that will engage candidates’ thoughts and encourage them to explore their potential future in the role.  A good position description can be used not only as a tool to attract candidates, but also as a means to assess the new hire’s performance 12-18 months into his or her tenure.  Alternatively, we can comment on an existing position description or edit it to make it better as necessary.

Research, Networking, Sourcing, and Advertising:  Our team hails from the non-profit and academic sectors and understands and respects the limits of your budget.  To that end, we painstakingly research and recommend only the most strategic and cost-effective advertising vehicles; unlimited and under-researched outreach only yields a larger number of unqualified candidates.  Our suggestions will be most often websites, listservs, magazines and journals that we have had success with in the past, or which come highly recommended from those we know and trust.  We try to take advantage of free opportunities whenever we can.  We will always focus our outreach in ways aimed at achieving a diverse pool of candidates.  In addition, we carefully and meticulously comb sources and tap our networks for the contact information of the hundreds of individuals in relevant organizations and positions to ensure that the position description is put into their hands.  This work most typically breaks down to at least 30-40 hours of research and outreach and 40-50 hours of person-to-person networking.

Screening of Candidates:  We scrutinize candidates through a three-tiered process of resume screening, telephone assessment and in-person interviewing, when available.  While we look for candidates who meet all selection criteria, we often find that candidates present outstanding achievement on one criterion that clearly outweighs non-achievement on another.  Because of this, our search committee presentations will detail the strengths and, just as importantly, the weaknesses in each of the recommended candidates.  Where cost-prohibitive, we will not interview all candidates in person, but rather rely on more detailed preliminary reference checks and longer, more substantive telephone interviews.

Arranging Search Committee Meetings and Logistics:  To alleviate burying an already overburdened staff with more paperwork, our team will put together streamlined briefing materials, and see that they are delivered in a timely manner to each search committee member.  In addition, we will arrange finalist interviews, allowing you to focus on the candidates and not the logistics.

Completing a Series of Thorough Reference Checks on Finalists:  A common mistake organizations make is hiring a person for his or her interview skills and not his or her professional record.  While we spend about two hours interviewing each candidate, we will spend over twelve hours on reference checks for finalists.  Telephone reference checks are typically done with peers, supervisors and subordinates, as well as with individuals not on a candidate’s reference list.  We will also perform preliminary references and public screens on candidates throughout the process as needed.

Preparation of Training Materials:  We will create tailored materials for your search committee to use throughout the process.  These materials will allow your search committee and staff to ask smarter questions and better judge candidate and reference responses allowing knowledge and capacity to remain within your organization in the future. 

Negotiation of an Offer:  As needed, we will offer guidance and support throughout the negotiation and acceptance stage of the search.