As a Retained Executive Search Consultant, creating final expectations with the candidate you are attempting to close the deal with is very important. Let’s say you are in the 7th inning of trying to close a candidate on a company opportunity. What do the next 2 innings look like?
One example is a top candidate has already interviewed with many members of your client company. At this point they most likely have interviewed with 3-6 people and there is a clear cut understanding that an offer will most likely be happening in the near future.
As an Executive Search Firm Consultant you must give the candidate a sense of what will happen next. For example, how long will it take to obtain final references and background checks? Once that happens, how long before a final written offer will occur?
Why is creating a timeline so important at this point in the process? 1) The candidate may be looking at other opportunities and you want them to know that the company is very serious in making a deal. They might be willing to shut down their other opportunities if they know an offer will occur soon. 2) The candidate needs to feel confident in a credible process that they can count on as they had invested significant time and energy in this same process. They do not want to feel that all this effort will be for naught. You do not want to create frustration for them in the 7th inning of the process.
The bottom line is that you can exhibit great leadership as a Retained Executive Search Firm professional by creating a fairly accurate understanding and expectation of timing with the last remaining steps. This will keep the search on track and a successful hiring will most likely occur.
