Having been in this industry for the entirety of my professional life, I have come to realize that I may have come a long way. From being the youngest executive search consultant in my first real job to leading a team of recruiters in a multinational setup, and back to being an individual contributor, I have made some realizations and gained some significant learnings along the way.
Trust the process. In executive search, one thing is for sure, there are no shortcuts. We deal with senior-level candidates, who have been experts in their respective fields for quite some time. Finding, tapping, and actually engaging them do not happen overnight. We will have to perform our own due diligence and research in order to properly present opportunities to these high-level candidates.
You will have to leverage your network. As we go through our careers in this field, we will absolutely come across candidates who will become an integral part of our professional lives. I have learned that the people you meet along the way, somehow, have their own purpose in your journey as a recruiter. Build your network and use it—either to engage them as candidates, consult with them regarding issues you might need advice on, or tap them as potential clients. One thing is for sure, your network is always going to come in handy, use it wisely.
You become well-rounded if you do things the right way. The biggest advantage of being in a recruitment firm, and in executive search at that, is that we become exposed to the different industries and the best practices implemented in each space. By dealing with these candidates, we capture the latest news, gain some major learnings, and put ourselves in a situation where we can almost say we know what’s happening everywhere. It keeps us grounded and makes us well-rounded recruiters, who are able to provide sound consultative services to other candidates or clients who are eager to know more about other industries.
I have been lucky to be in the field I enjoy the most. I believe this has truly been my purpose in life: to offer opportunities for progress and development in my candidates’ lives and consultative advice to my client organizations when it comes to talent sourcing and building. I may have come a long way, but I know that learning should always be a continuous process and a never-ending cycle. And as I continue my journey in executive search with John Clements Consultants, Inc., I am absolutely convinced that I will keep on growing, quenching my thirst for new knowledge, and satisfying my hunger for personal and professional development.
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