Candidates Corner
RSI Working with Executive Search Recruiters
I. Confidentiality
When you become an executive search candidate with Reaction Search International Executive Search Firm, you place yourself at a certain amount of risk with your current employer. Consequently, you are entitled to the utmost confidentiality from both the RSI Executive Search Firm Team and prospective employers.
To safeguard your confidentiality, our Executive Search Recruiters will:
- Obtain your authorization before submitting your name, resume, or any other information to a prospective employer.
- Upon your request, our Executive Search Recruiters will contact you directly, disclosing information to no one other than yourself at your current employer.
- Reaction Search will not contact references without your advance permission.
- Our recruitment specialists will not discuss your potential candidacy with anyone outside RSI Executive Search Firm, and we will ensure that all employees of the firm abide by these provisions.
- Our team will also notify prospective employers about the necessity to safeguard our confidentiality extended to our executive candidates.
It is important to remember that you do not become an executive search candidate until an RSI Executive Search Recruiter has conducted an initial evaluation of your suitability for a particular position and you have expressed an interest in continuing with the executive search process.
If either of these two criteria is missing, you cannot be considered a candidate for a potential position.
However, even if the position for which you are being contacted about is not right for you at the present time, you may still benefit from a consultation with RSI Executive Search Recruiter. Our professional team of recruiters can provide prospective candidates with the most accurate and up-to-date information on desired skills and experiences in your field.
Candidates not selected in connection with one search may well be selected during another.
II. Full Disclosure
In order to make the right decision for you, all candidates need to know as much as possible about the position and the prospective employer.
This ultimately requires full and open disclosure regarding:
- The nature and job requirements of the position.
- The compensation package.
- Whether relocation is required.
- Pertinent information regarding the employer.
Before Reaction Search divulges confidential information about openings at potential employers, initial conversations between our recruitment specialists and potential candidates are conducted to evaluate the needs and goals of each executive candidate.
Only after a match between a candidate and a potential candidate is identified, will our recruitment specialist provide information about an employer. Even then, there are times when certain information about the employer must remain confidential until the later stages of the recruitment process.
The RSI Executive Search Recruiter will also divulge to prospective candidates whether the employer has retained RSI specifically to manage their staffing needs. Retained Executive Search Recruiters work under an exclusive contract with the client organization, and thus have established a long-term relationship with the client.
If the Recruiter fails to notify you of this important fact, please don’t hesitate to bring it up.
III. Timely Communication
The completion of an executive search assignment can often take several months, with many steps between the initial contact and the ultimate hiring of a successful candidate.
Once you become an active candidate with Reaction Search Executive Search Firm, one of our Executive Search Recruiters will communicate with you in a timely manner during each and every step of the process. This means proactively updating you on the progress of the job search, as well as responding to any inquiries initiated by you.
IV. Feedback
Based on our understanding of the position and the employer’s needs, the RSI Executive Search Recruiter will provide you with an honest appraisal of how your skills and talents measure against the position from both a potential strengths and weaknesses perspective.
If at any point in the process the employer decides not to proceed with your candidacy, the Recruiter will provide as complete an explanation as possible regarding their decision.
V. Professional Treatment
RSI Executive Search Recruiters are expected to comply with all of the employment laws that apply to regular hiring practices. In addition, they will demonstrate a high level of professionalism with each and every candidate throughout the job search.
Professional treatment means that the search Recruiter:
- Has a clear understanding of the position and the prospective employer’s expectations.
- Conducts an organized, well thought-out interview.
- Shows up on time and is prepared for all appointments.
- Demonstrates in-depth knowledge of the job market and prospective employers.
- Answers all your questions in an honest and forthright manner, and is able to provide custom resume preparation and interview tips.
VI. Providing adequate throughout the process
As an RSI Executive Search candidate, you are entitled to know what to expect from our search process. For example, what is the anticipated time frame for the first round of interviews? If you make the first cut, what happens next?
RSI Executive Search Recruiters will readily volunteer this information. In particular, be prepared at any stage in the proceedings to ask:
- How long will the placement process take?
- Who do I have to meet with before a client makes a decision?
- What time frame is the employer working on?
- What is the next step in the process?
VII. Respect for your time and position
RSI Executive Search Recruiters understand your current position demands your full time and attention. When scheduling appointments and interviews, both your RSI Executive Search Recruiter and the prospective employer will demonstrate the utmost respect for your time, your position, and your responsibilities to your current employer.
VIII. Consistency between the search firm and our clients
RSI Executive Search Recruiters and prospective employers will do their best to maintain a consistent level of communication in the information present to all of our candidates. Keep in mind, however, that while the Executive Search Recruiter represents the prospective employer, they do not have control over the client’s communication with you during the interview process.
If the information provided to you by the RSI Executive Search Recruiter contradicts that provided by an employer, please ask for clarification.
IX. Avoiding undue pressure
The best executive search placements occur when a candidate has the time to make a measured, well thought-out decision to enhance their career. For this reason, your RSI Executive Search Recruiter will never try to rush your decision or put undue pressure on you to accept an offer.
However, your RSI Executive Search Recruiter will keep you informed of any deadlines imposed by the prospective employer, and the potential implications for not making a decision prior to those deadlines.
X. A trusted relationship
Our RSI Executive Search Recruiters will conduct themselves in a manner befitting these guiding principles, allowing candidates to develop an open and trusting relationship with RSI throughout the job search.
Conversely, if for any reason you do not feel you can trust your RSI Executive Search Recruiter or the prospective employer, you would be well served to withdraw from the process.
Keep in mind that the best Executive Search Recruiters strive for more than just filling a position for their client; they want to help you make the best decision for you, your family, and your career.
Concluding the search
If a prospective employer decides to make an offer, candidates arrive at one of the most important stages of the search process: the negotiation of your employment agreement.
This can involve highly sensitive issues in which your RSI Executive Search Recruiter can play the crucial role of intermediary to ensure open and effective communication between the employer and the candidate.
Use this “honest broker” channel of communication to candidly express any concerns or special requirements that you may have relating to terms and conditions during the negotiation.
When the search process is completed and you have signed on the dotted line, your RSI Executive Search Recruiters will stay in touch with you for 3 to 6 months to make sure that your transition into the new position is a success.
Please contact your RSI Executive Search Recruiter with any concerns you may have in your new position. We may well be able to help sort out problems, and provide a diplomatic intervention with your new employer. It’s worth noting, however, that RSI Executive Search Recruiters are not professional coaches, and thus their role in this area may be limited.
If your candidacy does not result in securing a position for you, your RSI Executive Search Recruiter will keep you in their pool of candidates for future assignments. He or she may contact you from time to time to maintain a relationship and keep you apprised of any upcoming assignments.
The Executive Search Recruiter may also use you as a resource to help identify candidates for in other areas. If you have developed a good relationship with your RSI Executive Search Recruiter, you may want to take your own steps to maintain the relationship as well.
Regardless of the outcome of the search, your RSI Executive Search Recruiter may not use your name or the results of the search as testimonials without your express permission.
Putting your best foot forward
The executive search process is not a one-way street.
Although you have a right to expect courteous, professional treatment from your RSI Executive Search Recruiter and any prospective employers at all times, there are a number of things you can do to facilitate the process and advance your standing:
- Be honest. Under no circumstances should you inflate your resume, misrepresent your work history, or “hold some cards back.” Also, be genuine about your interest (or lack of) in a position. Complete and accurate disclosure by the candidate is an essential component of the search process.
- Be flexible. Make every effort to fit appointments and interviews into your schedule.
- Educate yourself. Exercise due diligence in your research on both the search firm and any prospective employers.
- Have realistic expectations. Understand that the search process takes time, and that you will be one of several qualified candidates.
- Negotiate in good faith. As a professional courtesy, please don’t lead RSI Executive Search Recruiters to believe you are negotiating only with them if you are considering offers from more than one organization.
Above all, please don’t think you have a “done deal” just because you develop a close relationship with your RSI Executive Search Recruiter. Remember that the Recruiter’s job is to present several qualified candidates to prospective employers, and it is the employer who makes the final decision.
