A C-Suite Revenue Search That Reminded Me Why I Love This Job

Over the weekend I closed a search that's a perfect example of why, after 22 years, I still love what I do.

I first met the candidate at an event I hosted a few years ago with about 20 attendees.

Lesson One: Host and go to events, meet people, press the flesh.

After the event we gathered feedback from attendees. One person gave detailed, pretty critical feedback. It was hard to hear, and I did not agree with all of the points, but I genuinely appreciated him giving it.

Lesson Two: Seek out feedback (also a theme I'll explore in my next post)

A little over a year later, in the weeks before the public launch of Bullingstone Associates, I contacted him for advice and feedback on my vision for my new business. I did not know him very well, especially compared to others I was speaking with, but I really wanted to hear from him because of the feedback a year earlier. I wasn't able to reach him and did not hear back from him. I know why now, he was swamped with work and having a hard time, it wasn't personal.

Lesson Three: Give good feedback when asked, it makes you memorable (see headline photo)

Back in the summer I started a project and again I approached him for help and this time he said he would be able to.

Lesson Four: Be persistent, I wasn't going to let one tumbleweed experience stop me from pursuing this relationship.

We spent an hour or two together, and I was able to demonstrate there was a bit more about me than some guy who had hosted a not very good event.

A few months later I sent him a follow up email and got a bounceback. He had left the company. I sent a LinkedIn message asking after him, had a brief exchange and invited him for a lunch.

Lesson Five: See lesson one.

At lunch we spoke openly about what had not worked in his last role, and how he was at a crossroads in his career, certain environments he wanted to avoid and what his motivations were. They were pretty niche if I'm honest, I knew I was not likely to have many suitable opportunities for him.

Lesson Six: Candidates: Be direct about what gets you out of bed. Hedging doesn't stick in the mind.

Two months on, and a client I had been working with told me about a new role they were taking on and the leadership appointments they would need to make. They took the time to tell me what the overall challenge was, not just the job descriptions, and the plan of what to hire. I knew that person I had met for lunch would be great for the challenge they faced. But they did not fit the job description. We discussed it and the client said they would come back to me.

Lesson Seven: Hirers: give your search partner the big picture, not just the job description. If you don't trust them enough to do that, find a new search partner.

A few days later the client thanked me for my ideas but said they were sticking with their original hiring plan. I pushed back, pretty hard. I give clients my opinions, but very rarely do I push hard if I am not winning. I pushed pretty hard for them to meet this one person. They know I don't do that very often, and out of trust they agreed to meet him.

Lesson Eight: Save your pushing for when you believe it, and then push hard.

The rest of the process went the way this story is clearly going…contract signed over the weekend.

Most searches are smooth sailing, and that's great. But when you know there's no way that company finds that candidate, and no way that candidate finds that role, without you doing your job well - that's a bigger buzz.