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Candidates in some sectors need a little coercing Interview with…
Candidates in some sectors need a little coercing
Interview with Nigel Parslow, UK Managing Director, Executive Search, Harvey Nash plc
………….?1
The appeal lies in the development of long-term relationships with clients, where they embrace youin their strategic thinking and confidence, combined with the accolades received from candidates insecuring great appointments for them. As in all walks of life, it is great to be remembered, respectedand seen as contributing to clients’ objectives and candidates’ lives
…………..?2
The best are those candidates who get a role through me and progress rapidly in the clientorganization over several years. Two examples: a UK marketing manager progressed to Sales andMarketing Director and then on to running one of the client’s global businesses; and amanufacturing director of a German-owned food services organization progressed over nine years tobecome the UK Managing Director and ultimately to managing its EMEA-region organisation, withmore than 4,000 employees
…………..?3
Modem social and business media offer an excellent means of communication to wide groups ofprospective candidates, and to an extent it has commoditised aspects of finding candidates. The bestsearch is achieved through applying the principles of management consultancy within the searchindustry. This can only be done by dialogue and exchange
…………..?4
It’s all in the preparation. The researcher or the search consultant should have researched the targetthoroughly, assessing expertise and how the vacancy would be viewed by this candidate. There is nopoint in targeting a candidate for a role which takes their career backwards or doesn’t play to theirexpertise
…………..?5
The search industry has evolved at a different pace in different countries. In the US, it is mature, andcandidates work hard to be on the radar of search consultants and are very responsive to calls. Othergeographies are less so. Even in the UK, there are some functions and sectors that need morecoercing in accepting a call, such as engineering and parts of the industrial sector
…………..?6
The industry is based on trust and there are no ‘tricks’. Successful recruitment is based on workingclosely with the candidate and the client to ensure that the courtship is managed in a timely fashionwith absolute openness and integrity.
Activity 4: Read through the whole interview and match each of these questions (a-f) to theparagraph (1-6) that answers it.
a) Are executives in some sectors more receptive to calls than others?
b) How do you approach the big phone call when headhunting someone?
c) How do you persuade reluctant movers to take a post?
d) How do you see your job?
e) What is the most effective mode of communication?
f) What was your best placement?
Activity 5: Look at the headline of the article. Which two questions (a-f) in Exercise 1 does itmost closely relate to?
Activity 6: Find expressions in paragraph 1 that mean the following.
a) attraction
b) dealings with people
c) different professions, etc.
d) goals
e) jobs
f) obtaining
g) praise
h) warmly accept
Activity 7: Decide whether these statements about paragraphs 2 and 3 are true or false, or theinformation is not given.
a) The best placements are the ones where the candidate goes on to be promoted quickly by therecruiting organisation.
b) The first example of a satisfying placement was of a British executive.
c) The second example of this relates to a German executive.
d) The manager in the second example ended up in the US.
e) Headhunting is still a sophisticated activity that only highly trained people can do.
f) Nigel Parslow uses the same ideas as other management consultants.
g) He tries to impose his ideas on his clients.
Activity 9: In paragraphs 5 and 6, find …
a) a four-word expression originally referring to aircraft or shipping, used here to talk aboutawareness of someone.
b) a three-word name (includingthe)for the activity of headhunters.
c) a noun used in the plural, whose singular form is the name of a subject taught in schools.
d) a noun that can refer to a physical area, used here to talk about a particular business activity.
e) a plural noun referring to situations where someone is cheated or fooled.
f) a noun that usually refers to the period before a couple are married.
g) a noun referring to honesty.
h) a noun referring to not hiding things.
