Going above and beyond...

We are continually reprimanding you IT Directors and insisting upon hard, documented evidence illustrating how you have added real business value through the use of IT. All too often our request is met with the withering look which says: “Come on then Mr Headhunter, show us how you add value, bung a few CVs to your client, hope one of them sticks and take a nice fat fee – job done!”

 

Naturally this is not the case but never has it been more important for us to demonstrate our worth.

 

Who has ever heard of a headhunter doing something for free? We just did…and it’s not the first time either. What we have started to do, in addition to search, for favoured clients (even tempered clients who pay their bills on time!) is support their internal promotions and development process by interviewing candidates for internal moves and applying the same rigorous standards we would in the market place.

 

Why would we undertake such altruistic behaviour?  It takes time, money and can be distracting from fee paying work. The answer however is refreshingly simple.

 

We get to know our clients better, we can calibrate candidates on our paid searches so much more closely to the company norm and we come into contact with most of our clients leadership group. If we do a good job, and believe me we try very hard, then maybe we will win more searches. In any event it’s a nice thing to do and a small break from the madness of the everyday work!

 

We all have to prove our worth and going above and beyond what is expected is now the new normal, whatever you do!