Recently, we celebrated Independence Day, so I feel inspired to write about American Heroes. But not the kind of heroes you might be thinking of. If you are currently employed as an Executive Recruiter, Executive Search Consultant, Headhunter, or whatever you prefer calling yourself, I am writing about you. Instantly, I can conjure up three reasons [...]
American Heroism in the 21st Century
July 19th, 2010
How Did You Get That Job, Anyway?
May 5th, 2010
Every once in a while I get frustrated at the lack of respect and attention in our profession. After all, the perspective that a third-party recruiter has regarding our national employment picture is unique. Headhunters, immersed in the world of jobs, interact with both the supply (candidate pool) and demand (employers) sides of the hiring equation [...]
How Many Parties Does It Take to Score?
April 20th, 2010
No, not that kind of party, and no, not that kind of scoring either. I am talking about placements! No, no, no, not that kind of placement!! – I’m talking about headhunting. What? Never mind… Isn’t it interesting that we “executive recruiters” are often referred to as “3rd party “? In reality, we are the fourth, and [...]
The Art and Soul of Hiring Professional Sales Talent
November 3rd, 2009
The interviewing and evaluating of sales professionals is a lot like raking leaves on a windy day in early November. If you insist on trying to get every leaf into the bag, or uncover every last candidate in the available talent pool and scrutinize all of their credentials, the process will overwhelm you. A process that can [...]
Highlights from Fordyce Forum #3
June 17th, 2009
As an attendee of all three “forums,†I feel that I am a well-qualified candidate to comment on the goings-on of this year’s recent event at The M Resort in Las Vegas. To begin with, who says there is nothing good about a “bad economy?†Hogwash! The past year’s financial downturn is, in part, responsible for the [...]
from the The Fordyce Letter archives
The Unheralded Value of Candidate Preparedness
August 1st, 2007
Logic dictates that, as executive search professionals, we should spend most of our time reading, writing, and thinking about being of service to the almighty client. However, we must not forget about educating the other ingredient, and the increasingly valuable half of our placement recipe, the candidate. To this day I have well-intentioned clients providing [...]
In the marketplace I serve, my search and placement firm has the good fortune of recruiting for several smaller (less than 200 employees), fast-growth companies that are adopting a policy of consensus interviewing. The goals of the CEO’s instituting these policies are to reduce the amount of personal time he/she must invest in each [...]
Once again, one of the “Golden Rules” in our business regarding the principles of a “Class A search assignment” has proven to be gospel. In my twenty-fifth year of headhunting I have become vigilant about qualifying the searches I will and won’t spend my ultra-valuable, only-thing-I’ve-got-control-of, straight-commission time on. However, every now and then I [...]
A few years ago, when this business of search and placement was simpler and easier, most of my clients would say “why not” when considering the hire of a strong IT sales pro that I had referred to them. After all, they had an open head count, they were selling products left and right, [...]
As I complete my twenty-second year in the business of executive recruitment I pause to give thanks and focus on the future with unbridled enthusiasm and optimism. Why am I so psyched? Because I’m a part of the most meaningful, impactful profession on the planet and am surrounded by such wonderful colleagues.I thank [...]
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