WHEN A JOB POSTING ISN’T ENOUGH: THE CASE FOR EXECUTIVE SEARCH - **A Labor Day Weekend Perspective from Career Solutions**
A Labor Day Weekend Perspective from Career Solutions
As we head into Labor Day Weekend, it is an appropriate time to think about the people who build companies—and, particularly, the handful of leadership decisions that can fundamentally change where a company goes next. Yesterday, I received a call from the CEO of an industrial company that acquired an out-of-state competitor last year. The acquisition essentially tripled the company’s operating capacity and gross revenue. It also created an entirely new leadership challenge. Historically, the business has generated EBITDA margins exceeding 20%. Today, profitability is under pressure as the organization “digests” tremendous strategic growth. The CEO isn’t looking simply to fill a vacancy. He has a vision for a Lean Transformation of the combined organization, and he needs an executive capable of turning that vision into operating reality. The person must understand Lean theory and disciplines at a sophisticated level—but also be willing to walk onto a manufacturing floor, work directly with line employees, teach, listen, build credibility and create buy-in. That combination of strategic intellect, demonstrated transformation experience and hands-on leadership is very different from a list of qualifications on a job description.
This is precisely where recruiting and Executive Search become two very different activities. We could write a job description, advertise it across the internet and ask an internal recruiter to begin screening applicants. My estimate is that perhaps 90% of the resulting candidates wouldn’t be close to what this CEO actually has in mind. The problem isn’t finding people. The problem is identifying the very small population of executives who have encountered the right business situations, operated in the right environments, produced comparable results and possess the personal aptitude to lead this particular transformation. Career Solutions therefore begins by going beyond technical skills and behavioral characteristics. We work backward from the desired business outcome: What must this executive accomplish? Where would someone have learned to do it? What companies have created executives with those experiences? What evidence demonstrates that a candidate has actually led—not merely participated in—the kind of change our client needs? Then the market gets progressively smaller. Instead of casting a bigger net, we are trying to identify a series of carefully aimed rifle shots. It is science and process, but after more than three decades in Executive Search, I believe there is still an important element of creativity involved in figuring out where that person might be hiding—and why he or she might listen to us. This philosophy closely resembles the distinction made by leadership advisory firm ghSMART: define the mission, outcomes and competencies for the executive before beginning the hiring process. Spencer Stuart likewise describes senior executive assessment as examining not only business and functional expertise but leadership ability, character, motivation, cultural fit and the capacity to grow and change with the position.
SOMETIMES THE “CANDIDATE” IS AN ENTIRE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Executive Search can become even more strategic. Career Solutions and CSG Professional Services were recently engaged by a senior-level Lift Out team that presents an unusual opportunity for the right organization: rather than hiring one executive, an acquiring company could effectively add an operating business unit by recruiting an established leadership team, its capabilities, relationships and potential revenue. We have executed this strategy before. In past assignments, Career Solutions has been retained to enter an out-of-state market, identify a market-leading executive, recruit that person with the opportunity to become Market President, and then strategically identify, recruit and supplement the team around that leader. That’s not “posting a job.” It is using talent strategy as a competitive weapon. It can provide a company with a faster way into a new geography, capability or market than attempting to build everything organically. And sometimes our greatest value actually occurs before a client knows it has a search. We may identify an unusually valuable executive, leadership team or Lift Out opportunity and bring it confidentially to a CEO or executive team. The conversation isn’t, “Do you have an opening?” It is: “If you could add this capability, this leader or this team to your organization, what could you do with it?” The best Executive Search firms increasingly approach leadership through this strategic lens. Heidrick & Struggles describes leadership decisions around transformation in terms of defining the mandate, aligning the organization and securing the talent required to execute it. Spencer Stuart similarly connects leadership selection directly to business strategy and the organization’s future success profile.
BEFORE YOU WRITE THE JOB DESCRIPTION, HAVE THE CONVERSATION
As CEOs, CFOs, Presidents and HR leaders return from Labor Day Weekend and begin the final four months of 2026, there will inevitably be leadership positions to fill. Some should absolutely be handled internally. Some can be advertised and successfully filled from the available candidate market. But the positions capable of changing the trajectory of the organization deserve a different question: Who would we hire if we weren’t limited to the people currently looking for jobs? That is where Executive Search begins. Career Solutions has been identifying, assessing and recruiting executives since 1995. Our role isn’t simply to produce résumés. It is to understand the business objective, translate that objective into an executive profile, identify where those people are likely to exist, and then confidentially create a reason for accomplished executives—often people who aren’t looking for another job—to have a conversation. If your organization is contemplating a transformation, acquisition integration, succession, geographic expansion, new business unit, Lift Out—or simply a leadership position where getting the right person matters disproportionately—perhaps the first step isn’t writing the job description. Perhaps it’s a conversation.
Steve Fero
Career Solutions | CSG Professional Services
Executive Search • Leadership Recruitment • Lift Outs
Executive Search Since 1995
Further Reading on Executive Leadership & Selection
• Heidrick & Struggles — Executive Search & Transformation Leadership
• Spencer Stuart — Executive Search: Assessing the Complete Executive
• ghSMART — The Who Method: Define Success Before You Hire
CAREER SOLUTIONS | EXECUTIVE SEARCH SINCE 1995
CareerSolutionsIndy.com | Connect with Steve Fero on LinkedIn
Confidential executive search and talent representation.
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