|
particularly to prepare the appropriate reference questions about a prospective recruiter.
Rapport and its Importance
A recruiterís ability to establish rapport is one of the cornerstones of effective executive search consulting. Trust must be immediately established with client and candidate alike if the process is to be ultimately effective.
When selecting a search consultant, the most obvious "gut" measure is the recruiter's ability to make you feel comfortable, appearing in person to be professional and fully at ease. If a recruiter does not interact in an open, honest and forthright manner initially, you should look for someone else. The reason is simply -- you are not going to fully trust someone with an important executive recruiting project if they cannot relate openly to you at a peer level. This ability is critical for another reason -- good rapport is mandatory for quality interviews. Full and honest responses are not forthcoming from a candidate who is suspicious or uncomfortable with the interviewer.
But using rapport as the only guideline when selecting a search consultant can be a problem. Being able to establish good rapport does not indicate, by itself, that the consultant will be an effective interviewer or that the results of the recruitment will be positive. Building rapport just happens to be one of the few factors which is immediately observable by the potential buyer. Use your sense of the recruiter's ability to establish rapport as a hurdle factor, not as the only factor, in your decision.
Listening
Good listening skills are highly correlated with success in all forms of consulting, and executive search is clearly one where those skills are paramount. They are particularly crucial to
|
|
