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This is a well written and timely commentary on why startups should be engaging a headhunter versus leaving talent acquisition up to the luck of the draw of their network or their VC’s network. We are seeing more venture capital backed startups and we are also continuing to get search assignments that fall into the “starting over” category noted in paragraph 12 of this article. From our side of the desk, it pretty much looks like the old adage regarding the wisdom (or lack thereof) of someone who would step over a dime to pick up a nickel. Read and let us know what you think…
The unemployment rate in America is hovering around 9%. But if you are a competent engineer, sales executive, online marketer or general manager in Silicon Valley, NYC, Boston, or other startup hotspots, the unemployment rate is 0%.
The talent market has gotten as competitive and aggressive as I have ever seen in the last 20 years. CNN recently reported that 40% of the 130,000 job openings in Silicon Valley are for software engineers. Senior executives have never been harder to secure. That’s why, even though it flies in the face of conventional wisdom, I’m advocating that all my portfolio companies hire recruiters when they are trying to fill senior or key positions. Immediately.
Typically, when a young company gets financing and begins to hire, they seek to leverage the network of the founding team and their investors. This network provides some valuable leads and perhaps a few hires. Leveraging existing networks has greater benefits than simply cost savings and convenience. Teams that have worked together in the past simpy are well-positioned to out-execute those that haven’t due to their common history, language and relationships.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/hire-a-recruiternow-2011-4
The art of influencing is critical more than ever these days. As organizations shift focus and structure, influence is the tool that gets us the results we’re looking for. No longer can we simply depend on position power to get things done. We also have to depend on personal power. And personal power is expressed through influence.
In the 2010 Global IBM CEO Study recently published, 1541 CEOs were asked what would be the top leadership qualities required to succeed in the next five years. Represented were 60 countries across 33 industries. The four primary findings were:
Employee compensation can be a leverage point in retaining employees, and when global economies are down and budgets are tight, managers sometimes wonder how they can leverage compensation best. The following points are some guidelines that were shared with us by the leader of a modestly growing industrial firm:
Old school thought includes the belief that the boss is always right. Maybe this tendency came from the military. Maybe it came from organizations such as churches. Possibly it even came from the family unit itself with the father as the patriarch or patron whom can do no wrong. Regardless of where this tendency came from, I’m going to challenge it today. And I’m going to challenge it on the premise that we all make mistakes. No one is infallible and we all have “blind spots”. Another key point is that things change over time. People change. Generations change. When I was in college, we didn’t have laptops or cell phones. The only way to communicate with a computer was to put cards into it and hope you didn’t switch just two in a stack of 300. No feedback, no spell check, just an error message. Times have changed. Another premise I’ll use today is that through time people get smarter. They not only learn from mistakes of their elders, but they also have access to much more information than before. Today’s generation doesn’t even know what a Dewey Decimal system is. They can within seconds find information on just about anything without having to leave the house. 
Deep down, employees want to be appreciated. Showing them your appreciation is easier and less expensive than it may seem.
It’s in our nature to look for someone or something to blame when things go wrong. Yes, we’ve all been there and done that. Maybe it’s about self preservation. It could be because we watched our role models do the same thing as we grew up and we’re just following their example. Stepping into the workplace, we saw more of the same. Nevertheless, I believe a change in how we do things is in order. Call it a cultural change or call it a behavioral change. Either is ok. But for sure, it’s time to turn the page on the Blame Game.
Executive Search Consultants (or headhunters or recruiters – as we are also known) spend their days dialoguing with people (prospective candidates for hire) who represent prospective solutions to client problems. These conversations give us rich insight into companies, the people who lead them, and how they react to and resolve problems. While each search consultant has their own litany of observations from these conversations, this blog post is the culmination of observations from some of our consultant’s conversations with leaders about career satisfaction and attainment of personal and professional goals.
Another reason employees remain loyal to organizations is the level of personal development and opportunity available to them. 
