Retained Search Firms
The retained search process begins when the search consultant visits the client's organization for a site survey. During this phase, the consultant interviews the organization's executives to develop a candidate profile, the client's wish list. The consultant also secures information for prospective candidates such as community background, annual reports, and job description. In addition, the consultant establishes a compensation range for the position, plans the search schedule, sets target dates, and most importantly, gains a sense of the organization's dynamics and management style. Because of the amount of work that goes into this exhaustive and customized process, you can see why employers are usually very serious about filling a position when they engage a retained search firm.
After finding out just what the employer wants, the consultants identify qualified candidates by networking with potential candidates and centers of influence in the health care profession such as state hospital associations and graduate programs in health services administration. Through advertising and direct mail, consultants seek out executives to be candidates or to offer referrals to other executives. Retainer firms maintain extensive files; about 30 percent of the candidates come from those files. Having your resume on file with a search firm is a smart thing to do in your job search.
When you receive a call from a retained search consultant, you will hear a brief description about the opportunity as well as the specifications for the candidate, such as years of experience, educational background, and specific technical skills. If a strong match emerges between your background and the opportunity, the consultant will request your resume. He or she then checks references and verifies degrees and certifications.
If you seem particularly well suited for the position, the consultant will schedule an interview. During this initial screening process, the consultant is trying to produce three to five strong candidates who meet the client's needs. Expect to receive ongoing feedback on your standing in the search process. Be forthright about asking questions and generous in supplying information about yourself, including your special needs for making a move. Honesty and some healthy self-interest on your part will make sure that you are not wasting your time.
If you change your mind about the position and decide that you really do not want to actively pursue it, extend the courtesy of dropping out early. It is best for everyone involved: you, the client, the consultant, and the other candidates. If you coyly wait until the last minute to withdraw from this competitive process, you may not get a second chance with the retained search firm because valuable time has been spent on your candidacy.
Usually six to eight weeks into the engagement, assuming you and the consultant share a mutual interest in placing you in the position, the consultant will send candidate reports of you and the other finalists to the client, including references and interview notes.
The client will then decide to interview the finalists or request additional candidates. If you make it to this stage, you can now prepare for the interview confident that the position matches your goals and that going to the interview will be worth your time. The retained search approach offers several advantages:
- Before meeting the client personally, you are introduced through a comprehensive and objective information package. Your candidacy is given a fair chance, and even if the client decides on someone else, the consultant can offer you information, such as perceived weaknesses, that will only help you in future interviews.
- If you are selected to interview with the client, the search consultant sticks with you through the process of the first and second interviews, community tours, and compensation negotiations.
- If you are hired, a retained search firm also usually offers a one-year guarantee of your success. In other words, if you choose to leave or are terminated within a year, the search firm will conduct another search at no charge to the client. However cynical that may seem, it adds a boost to your move, because the client is assured of satisfaction.
- Through retained search, you receive an expert recommendation for a high-level position, but preclude the chance of being presented for several positions at once or having a recruiter "campaign" for you. The endorsement and exclusivity of the retained search protects your credibility.
When you send your resume to a retained search firm, be sure that you send a copy to the head of each office that the firm may have or to the individual who specializes in health care. As with other steps in your job search, such attention to detail speeds up the process. You will usually receive some sort of acknowledgment after you make the initial contact; however, it may be some time before you receive a promising response. Do not allow the elapsed time to discourage you. Keep in mind that retained firms work on fewer searches, so your activity with any one firm may be limited. But when activity does occur, it will usually be meaningful and substantial.
Contingency Firms
Contingency firms can give you lots of exposure and their approach usually works well for junior, middle-level, and unemployed executives. If you are a senior-level health care administrator, the contingency method can still work if the listing is legitimate and if it offers an excellent opportunity with an organization that you would not have contacted on your own. Contingency firms sometimes have "exclusives" with a client, but typically they do not. Therefore, be careful about granting them permission to use your resume.
Why the caginess about granting permission? And how do you go about handling this tricky matter? Many contingency firms have several offices nationwide. Your background may end up in a data base system that broadcasts your availability all over the country, which could be very positive or very negative, depending on your individual situation. Your resume might even end up on your boss's desk. Be sure you know where your resume is going. Be sure to define in writing the limits of your resume distribution.
Contingency search differs from retained search because the contingency firms do not have exclusive contracts with, or expenses paid by, the client. Under this system, site surveys, extensive candidate screening, and follow-through are uncommon. This approach is not less efficient or effective than a retained search; it is just different.
When a contingency firm calls you, you can expect a brief description without an exact identification of the position. The contingency recruiter needs to protect the listing from candidates who may try to approach the employer directly and from competing agencies.
Once the contingency recruiter has your resume, you will receive as much information as possible under the circumstances. You probably will need to research the employer on your own and evaluate whether your qualifications and aspirations fit the opportunity. Contingency recruiters tend to send your resume out to as many employers as possible.
The recruiter may want to help market your candidacy. Although this may produce numerous interview leads, invest your time judiciously and pursue only the strong opportunities. Contingency recruiters are enthusiastic advocates. It is your job to look after your interests and to avoid being cajoled into interviewing for a position that does not suit you. If you find a listing that interests you, keep in mind that you may be on your own during the interview process and the final negotiations.
