The Executive candidate experience is killing your company brand

Don’t insult this crime fighter with your executive candidate experience

Executive Candidate Experience

The Executive Candidate Experience really matters. I recently wrote HERE that one Nasty way to get VIP eyeballs on your credentials is to send your resume and cover letter to two specific positions within the company you are interested in. Of course, these positions are NOT in HR.

The first is the head of the department you are interested in. If you are interested in a marketing position, then send your packet to the VP of Marketing and/or the CMO.  This way, you bypass the gatekeeper in HR. They may or may not know how to recognize an industry-specific skill set.  The chances are very high that the decision maker will look at your resume. They can skip HR and call you directly if they like what they see. Either way, you just got your name “on the list.”

The CEO

The CEO doesn’t have time to deal with every Tom, Dick, and Jane that applied. They will have their assistant forward the resume and cover letter to HR. HR doesn’t know if this is a stranger off the street or a nephew of the CEO. They will usually treat your documentation with kid gloves. Only a fool would throw a resume hot from the CEO’s office in the pile with every other Johnny applicant.

Well, my theory was just shot to shit over the weekend. I have a friend who is a C-level candidate and just went through a bitter executive candidate experience. Of course, being in marketing, she is super connected. In a small town like Seattle, she is not someone you want to piss on your brand (don’t worry, she is a professional).

She did everything right

She heard about a position and leveraged her network to find a connection. Because she is a woman of influence and style, her network delivered. An introduction was made directly to the CEO of the hiring company. The CEO quickly responded to our candidate and explained that the resume would be forwarded to the VP of HR.  (Just like Nasty Clockwork).  Our applicant is following up with the HR VP. She is told that her documents have been passed to the recruiter in charge of hiring for marketing. Shortly afterward, our applicant receives a standard email rejection letter.

Thank you for your interest in position X.   

Based on a review of your resume and/or responses to a screening questionnaire . . . . , we have decided to pursue other candidates who more closely meet our criteria for this position.
Your profile remains in our database . . .blah blah blah. . . 

Please remember that you can log in to view your status on the positions you have applied to, set up search agents, and review/apply for additional openings at www.Acme.com/careers

Why the standard response is wrong

I use all the above standard language regularly. For several reasons, the exception to this rule is when I am recruiting for a VP or C-level candidate:

1. We work in a large metropolitan-sized city. By network standards, this town is small, and everyone knows everyone. Every candidate’s experience matters, but the executive candidate’s experience really matters. Especially for a Chief Marketing Officer.
2. VP’s and C levels have the most experience. These candidates have the largest influence, and of course, they have the largest networks. This makes sense because after doing something for 15-20 years, you would also have some expertise. I don’t want to piss off this level of influence.
3. These openings are not positions that everyone and their dog will apply for.  There are not 100’s of candidates.  At this level, candidates only apply for positions that closely match their background and career goals.  As much as we would like to think we all follow this philosophy, we don’t.  How many of us have applied for a position with the “what the hell do I have to lose attitude”? This doesn’t happen at this level because these folks have reputations and personal brands to protect.
4. At this level, candidates are usually industry-focused. They are not applying to be the VP of Marketing in pharma one week and retail the next. They have figured out what size company, what industry, and what type of CEO they like to report to.

They know their sweet spot, and more importantly, their colleagues work in the same sweet spot.

The Geneva Convention states that Officers will be treated differently than the enlisted ranks. I absolutely treat executives differently. Whether they are grey hairs in a suit or are wearing shorts and flip-flops. These people have influence, they have a voice, and they have networks. Face it, we all treat these VIPs a little differently.

Whether the company received ten applicants or 50, I don’t think sending an auto-response is the way to decline these folks.  A quick phone call is much more professional. I won’t leave a message; I will leave my phone number for a callback.  

“Suzy VP, I just wanted to reach out and let you know that we did receive your resume. First, thank you for your interest in our company. As you can imagine, we have received interest from several other applicants. At this point, we are moving ahead with a few candidates whose backgrounds more closely match our needs. We appreciate your interest in Acme Publishing. I’d love to hear about what you are looking for, and if I hear about anything. . . ”

Flattery

You can always go the flattery route and tell them they are “too senior for the role.” Everyone wants to report back to their circle of influence and explain they were too senior. (More PR for your position and just an old-fashioned Nasty move)

Most of these candidates WILL call back. If they are smart (they didn’t get to this level because they are dummies), they will do the following:

Engage with the recruiter and ask to learn more about the position. They may know someone who will be a better fit.

With bullet point 4 above in mind, I am interested in this engagement. Yes, I want that call. These candidates are affiliated with various associations and professional groups. Our final hire will likely come from among the candidates we have declined, either through their LinkedIn profiles or personal networks. Of course, I will let the candidate know that I will keep my radar up for positions that more closely match their career goals. I will even throw in a bottle of Blue Label if the referral is ultimately hired. (For those of you who are negative Nellies out there wondering about retained search, I can take that cost out of the retained recruiters’ fee.)  You scratch my back, I will scratch yours. Everyone wins.

This is what I do. Don’t worry, most consider me a mannequin sitting on some comedian’s lap.

Back to our Heroine Crime Fighters executive candidate experience, because of the way she was treated as a crime. . .

The result

We have a candidate who leveraged their network to get to the CEO. Because there is an unwritten Geneva code among C-levels, she heard back from the CEO

• The last thing our crime fighter is expecting is an auto-responder email. Regarding position number MVP 2445, please don’t call us; we will call you.
• Our crime fighter doesn’t want to report back to the guy who made the introduction to the CEO. She doesn’t want to say, “I heard back from Acme; I got a generic email declination.” This isn’t very comfortable for everyone. Bad JuJu, bad PR.
• The next job available that is a fit will result in a pass from this candidate. A bitter taste remains from this experience. This is an executive candidate experience to be remembered.
• As the recruiter for the position, I look forward to building the company’s network (and my network). I want to reach these influential allies.

I may be old school, but picking up the phone and extending a little professional courtesy goes a long way.

See you at the after party,

HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone who is good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

If you feel this post is valuable, please subscribe here. I promise no spam,