Most Important Skills for an Executive Recruiter at a Top Executive Search Firm
David, an executive recruiter at a top firm, highlights the importance of "high energy" and a "willingness to connect with clients," drawing from their sales background. Success also hinges on strong time management skills to juggle multiple searches simultaneously, and "a level of professional candor" when interacting with high-level executives.
Communication, Time Management, Sales, Executive Networking, Professionalism
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
David Xie
Executive Recruiter / Executive Search Associate
Forbes Top 5 Executive Search Firm
University of California, Santa Barbara - 2017
NA
International Relations & Affairs
Recruitment, HR & Related Professional Services
Sales and Client Management
Honors Student, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. High energy and an outgoing persona are important for interacting with clients.
2. Strong time management skills are crucial for juggling multiple searches simultaneously.
3. Professionalism and candor are necessary when interacting with high-level executives
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like peers?
The skills that come to mind obviously include having a nice, outgoing persona, which I think can help. But also, just being someone who enjoys interacting with clients is important. So, having high energy definitely helps.
Coming from sales myself before this also made a huge difference. Your willingness to connect with clients and people in general is a huge piece and a skillset that can be helpful for this role.
I also think there's a huge time management piece. Sometimes you can have anywhere from 10 to 15 searches all going on at the same time. You need to be able to manage each search depending on its stage and how many people are in the pipeline. Each person within the pipeline could be at different points. So, a lot of time management skillset is required for this.
Then, certainly a level of professional candor. This job offers access to some of the most senior executives in the world, like CEOs and CFOs of Fortune 500 companies. You have to bring a certain level of game to the table.
It can feel daunting at times, but you have to learn to trust yourself. If you believe in the process, are willing to work hard, and use your brain, there's a lot of common sense and intelligence to this game. You will certainly succeed. Those are the skills that I think are definitely required to succeed in this kind of world.