It is always the little details that make or break a successful executive search outcome that results in the hire of a top candidate for clients.
There are certain points along the process that the executive search professional has to have an intuitive feel to insure success and take communicative action. One of those points are when you are ready to present top candidates to your client at the resume book presentation step.
It is crucial at that point to let great candidates know the status of where they stand and where the process is going next.
Below is an example of an email we sent to a great candidate who is competing for the valued position:
Hi Tim,
I hope you are very well.
Just to reemphasize my point on 4/1, I do think you are a leading candidate for the COO position.
I look forward to discussing your background with my client on 4/8 at 11am Pacific Time. You should hear from me right after that meeting about interviewing with them. We will set up an interview time that is mutually convenient after I hear results from this meeting.
Please stay very interested Tim!
If you keep your candidates in the loop during this process step, this will add a feeling of security and have them understand that you are a transparent executive search professional they can trust. It also keeps them “warm” on the opportunity (as opposed to going “stale” and deciding they don’t have much of a chance in the competitive interview process).
That transparent trust that you build will be hugely beneficial when negotiating the offer elements later in the process.
