I’m an executive recruiter AMA

[MyCatsRuleTheHouse]

Mostly in the third and public sector spaces.

We generally work on Chief Executive and non-executive board roles (Chair of Board and Trustee/Non-Executive Director), but also Exec Directors and some Heads of.

Bumping in case anyone was interested today. Clearly I’m the most boring AMA

I find this interesting, don't worry! I think I assumed that people would be headhunted for those jobs, rather than apply for them. I'm just trying to imagine their CV!

I’m really interested into moving into Ned work, what would you suggest as a route in?
I have had a look around, and I am struggling to find a path in.

What is 'third sector' please?

The third sector is charities/not for profit organisations

What are your thoughts on the conflict between executive pay i the third sector?

It is one of my main drivers for my not contributing to charities.

Being a NED is something that is interesting - how do you get to become one? And does it pay anything/well?

I think I assumed that people would be headhunted for those jobs, rather than apply for them.

The OP is the headhunter.

HollowTalk all third and public sector appointments have to be publically advertised by law, so every search I do where I am targeting people there is also an advert running. So people will apply via search and via the advert, they all end up in the same pot at the end but the advantage of targeted search is the appointment reaches people who might be perfect but haven’t spotted the advert. It ensures the ground is covers.

Brilliant people also often need to be convinced they are right for something - women particularly can be over cautious. I almost end up a bit of a therapist at times. At a senior level talking through the logistics of perhaps moving across the country or taking on responsibility for an entire organisation also benefit from a more personal touch than just answering an ad

What's the best job you've seen someone placed in where they didn't have a degree?

HuckfromScandal what’s your background? Charities are often highly complex organisions with lots of risk, they need incredibly competant people on the board and it can be very competing even in pro-bono roles. I’d suggest starting in smaller organisations and building up. People at the top of their exec careers will always be top of the list for NEDs.

*competive

Limpopobongo it is a contentious issue but in my experience the pay of all execs is very closely correlated to the size/income of an organisation and is a fair market rate. I know people get frustrated at the thought of a charity chief exec earning maybe £120,000 when that’s so far above the average pay, but when you’re managing an organisation of £20m a year, thousands of staff and a high level of risk (as is the case in many charities working with children/vulnerable people) what do you think would be fair pay?

Take for example the biggest children’s charities, they’re running statutory services for local authorities, they’re running fostering services, sexual exploitation services... This highly complex and needs very careful management and a high level of skill and experience. If you’re the chief executive of an organisation like that employing thousands of people, you will have needed to built up a lot of experience to get to that point to get it right and best serve the charity’s service users.

We live in a society where the more rarified the skill set, the higher the pay, and the skill set required to run a major charity is certainly rare. We need the very best people for these jobs, and the pay should reflect the level of risk and responsibility. This is why when something goes reallt wrong at the bottom level (like Oxfam), it’s the charity bosses that lose their job, because the buck ends with them. If it goes wrong it can go really wrong, the best management will mean the best management of your money. This goes beyond the top bods, proper management and structures and HR processes are important the whole way through. Personally I want organisations I give my money to be really well run, this includes having the best people on the exec and non-exec teams.

But as I started with, the pay almost always tallies to the income of the charity. A charity bringing in £4m doesn’t pay the same as one bringing in £200m.

Yes I am a headhunter. It’s the term I usually use, but recruiter seems more well known. Generally I would use headhunter for the top end jobs, and recruiter for the lower levels

Cheeseislife I must admit I can’t remember every CV, but the ones that stand out would be Directors in children’s charities who started as non-degree educated social workers or children’s workers who’ve moved up, usually through children’s services in local authorities and then moved into charities. I would consider someone’s educational background less in a charity appointment than I would in a government/public sector appointment (which I also do, though to a lesser extent)

BIWI 99% of charities aren’t allowed to pay their trustees by law, so only expenses are paid. This is largely to make sure the board will be unbiased, they’re the only ones holding the Chief Executive to account.

The NHS pays a small amount to their boards, a few thousand a year.

Private sector boards, such as in FTSE/listed companies can earn a huge amount, often beyond the £100k mark.

The bar for all these jobs is set high, they all require highly experienced and competent people. Usually people will have been executive directors themselves. Often people combine some paid roles and some pro-bono roles in a portfolio of NED rolesX

What do need to do to develop myself from officer level up to senior officer level/director level?

I've been in LA for 12years now & am currently at team leader/middle management level. I've just gone back after maternity leave so I'm feeling really motivated at the moment!!

I worked many moons ago for a headhunting company specialising in roles that required a MSc or PhD, and was continually disappointed by how many people used unprofessional sounding email addresses on their CV (pretend example [email protected]). Does this happen at the level/industries you're looking at?

Also, the amount of men who claimed to coach an under 7s football team as a hobby was remarkable. They think we don't know that just means they take their kid to the park!

calamariqueen the more broad your experience the better, so taking on a bigger team, more strategic responsibility, will all work in your favour. Talk to those above you about how they can support your devopment and don’t be shy about asking for more responsibility. In my experience this is often what separates men and women at this level, men are more likely to push themselves forward and go for more jobs, women seem more nervous and less likely to back themselves. Don’t be afraid to apply for jobs at the next level up, you won’t get them all but it’s all good experience and if you’re doing the right things you’ll get there

SheShreds it’s rare to see an email that isn’t pretty much someone’s regular name or there abouts to be fair, the odd one I do see generally makes me smile and I’ll usually ask about it in a jokey way. Though if I’m honest I would slightly judge someone who wasn’t using a ‘grown-up’ email, as I think it reflects how you’re choosing to express yourself to the world. It wouldn’t make a lasting impact on its own though.

I’m not sure I’ve seen many who say they coach teams to be fair, but I do see a generational difference between those who list their families on their CVs and those who don’t

Do you cover the whole of the UK at your firm @MyCatsRuleTheHouse or just England? Thanks!

Do you always do an online search of any people you are considering recruiting?
Do you find lots of dodgy pics, skeletons etc?

TheMendedDrum the whole of the UK, and for some searches (like in academia) internationally as well. We want the best person, doesn’t matter where they are. But I’m conscious when calling people that the location of the job will usually be a factor. Relocating is a big deal, and job in London (that’s easy to travel to from most places) is generally easier to fill than one in the midlands for example. For non-London based searches we generally end up having to look more closely in the local area, though we always start by calling everyone we think might be interesting regardles of their location. We also often don’t know where people live anyway.

CucumberAnaMint yes we always Google candidates. We don’t often find anything dodgy to be honest, more often if it’s negative it will be something like they’ve been very vocal politically in a way that might be difficult, or might have left a previous job in a scandal. At this level the ‘media test’ is very important, you don’t want something untoward coming out at the point an organsion announces who they’ve hired.

Interesting! Can I ask how blunt you might be with a potential candidate? If they had no chance at a role would you tell them?

Also, how do you find potential candidates? Just who you have on your books or through LinkedIn searches or similar?