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may also participate in industry associations which can be utilized to generate candidate ideas.
In this informal networking process, the goal is primarily one of obtaining recommendations from people whose opinions on other matters have been valued in the past. The assumption - and it is most often correct - is that those individuals would be careful to refer only someone whom they believed to be very competent and met the expectations of the executive making the inquiry. There is a high comfort level knowing that the person making the referral can "stand behind" the person being recommended. This does not mean that the potential employing organization should not be very careful in its evaluation of this candidate, but there is often an exceptionally high degree of positive predisposition attached to such referrals. In fact. it is probable that the same candidate would be evaluated more sternly if originated through a neutral referral source.
This networking approach has the advantages of being quickly accessed, trustworthy from a confidentiality standpoint, and having no significant associated costs. Its disadvantage is that the number of people sourced is relatively small and unscientific. This can lead to a situation in which the best prospective candidate may never be identified or hired.
Executive Search
The use of retained executive search can significantly expand upon the employing executive's personal network without jeopardizing the confidentially of the recruiting effort. The search firm has the unique ability to contact many executives in competing organizations, industry associations, supplier organizations and others. This is accomplished through a planned research and identification program which significantly improves the chances that the best qualified candidates will be considered.
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