Executive Search
Executive Search
Executive search, also known as direct search, is a recruitment method used for c-level positions or the company’s top management searches. Unlike traditional direct search, executive search can include several optional stages, such as long lists, preliminary tasks, and/or psychological assessments. Executive search is always a customized process tailored to the client’s needs.
Executive search is an efficient and targeted recruitment method that helps organizations find and attract top-level leaders. This process combines expertise, industry knowledge, extensive networks, and thorough candidate evaluation to ensure that each of our clients finds the most suitable leader for their needs.
Executive Search with Years of Experience
Executive search is a specialized recruitment service focused on recruiting top management and key personnel. The goal is to find leaders with the right experience, skills, and strategic vision to meet the organization’s needs and objectives.
The right leader can be a decisive factor in a company’s success, and the direct search process ensures that you find the best possible talent for your specific needs.
Let us help you find your next leader – together, we will build a success story.
Our Executive Search Process
- Needs Assessment: We understand your company’s needs and define together the key criteria expected from the future leader. This phase also includes internalizing the organizational culture and strategy to find a key person for future success.
- Candidate Identification: We leverage our extensive network, industry databases, and direct contacts to find potential candidates. Executive search is not limited to active job seekers but also targets those who are not actively looking for a new job.
- Pre-selection and Evaluation: We conduct a thorough pre-selection and evaluation based on the jointly defined candidate profile. We ensure the client company’s employer reputation and attractiveness factors are clarified for suitable candidates for further discussions.
- Interview: The most suitable candidates are interviewed. This phase includes interviews and, if necessary, psychological assessments. We evaluate not only the candidates’ professional skills but also their personality and motivation.
- Presentation and Decision Making: We present only the best candidates to the company, those who meet the predefined criteria. We support the client in decision making and negotiations, ensuring that the chosen candidate is committed to the company in the long term.
- Onboarding and Follow-up: We help the new leader adapt to the organization and ensure that the initial phase goes as smoothly as possible. We follow the new leader’s progress and offer support if needed.
Personal Assessments – Part of the Executive Search Process
As part of the executive search process, we optionally conduct personal assessments for final candidates. We recommend suitability assessments to minimize recruitment risks and to support leadership. We utilize the assessment methods of our partner Aon for evaluating middle management and specialists. Aon’s assessment solutions provide organizations and employees with a way to make better decisions about employees through diverse evaluations of hard and soft skills. Aon’s talent assessments are reliable, efficient, and based on research-driven psychometric evaluations.
Our internal assessment partner at SAM Headhunting also conducts more extensive management assessments. These include a variety of methods, ranging from capacity and personality tests to in-depth interviews and business cases, which can be selected to fit the company and the specific roles. These psychometric assessments are based on the Big 5 theory and are reliable, widely used by many international organizations. The diverse methods provide substantial additional information about the candidate to support recruitment decisions. In the personal assessment process, the client, the executive search consultant, and the candidate all gain valuable additional insights into the candidate’s profile. Feedback discussions for both the candidate and the client are conducted professionally and empathetically, emphasizing strengths and respecting individual differences, always adhering to the requirements of the role.
Personal assessments can also be conducted for individual employees for internal career paths or talent programs within companies, as well as for entire groups to evaluate the group’s collective profile, performance, or strengths.
”We have now completed projects with SAM and definitely want to continue our collaboration. The projects have been high-quality and well-managed, resulting in successful recruitments. Compared to previous assignments, SAM stood out with their speed and excellent communication. Overall, we are extremely satisfied. SAM has impressively challenged the headhunting field. I have been very positively surprised by how closely and yet qualitatively the headhunting and recruitment process can be managed – we have hired very suitable candidates after SAM’s 6-week process. I did not believe this was possible, but it truly was!”
Taija Lehtola
Vice President Human Resources
Sitowise Oy