Why It Pays to Meet Great People – Even When You’re Not Hiring

By Tim Dare, Mosaic Search & Selection

One of the advantages of having a long-term relationship with an executive search consultant is that the conversation doesn’t have to begin with a vacancy.

Sometimes, I meet an exceptional individual and immediately think of a particular client.

There may be no open role. The person may appear more senior than you would normally consider, or perhaps their experience doesn’t fit neatly into your existing organisational structure.

My advice? Have the conversation anyway.

Great people don’t always appear at the right time

Executive hiring rarely happens according to a convenient timetable.

The person who could make a significant difference to your business may become available six months before you expected to recruit. Equally, you may meet someone whose experience prompts you to think differently about the role you thought you would eventually need.

Waiting until a vacancy exists can mean missing the opportunity to build a relationship with someone exceptional.

An informal meeting carries no obligation. It simply gives both sides an opportunity to get to know one another.

And sometimes those conversations lead somewhere unexpected.

Look beyond “overqualified” or “under qualified”

It can be tempting to dismiss an introduction because someone appears too senior, too junior or simply different from the profile you would normally recruit.

But job titles don’t always tell the whole story.

Someone who looks overqualified on paper may be looking for a different challenge, greater autonomy, a change of environment or the opportunity to work within a smaller organisation where they can have more impact.

Equally, someone who initially appears a little under qualified may have the potential, ambition and transferable experience to grow quickly into a more substantial role.

That is why we believe the conversation is often worth having before making assumptions about fit.

Why has your headhunter suggested them?

This is perhaps the most important question.

If I introduce someone to a client when there isn’t an obvious vacancy, there is a reason.

As a collaborative executive search partner, I take the time to understand our clients: their businesses, leadership teams, culture, ambitions and the challenges they may face in the future.

So when I say, “I think you should meet this person,” it isn’t simply because I have a good candidate looking for a job.

It is because something about that individual’s experience, capabilities or potential has made me think specifically of your organisation.

I believe they could add value.

And because our reputation depends upon the quality of the introductions we make, I have no interest in wasting anyone’s time.

A conversation today can become an appointment tomorrow

Not every introduction will result in an immediate hire – nor should it.

The value may simply be in establishing a relationship.

Circumstances change. Businesses grow, people move on, strategies evolve and new opportunities emerge. Someone you meet today may become exactly the person you need further down the line.

Occasionally, the conversation can have an even more immediate impact. Meeting an exceptional individual can make a business realise that there is an opportunity they hadn’t previously considered.

Instead of asking:

“Do we have a vacancy for this person?”

it can be more useful to ask:

“Could this person add something valuable to our business?”

Those are two very different questions.

Executive search should be proactive, not just reactive

Traditional recruitment often begins when a vacancy needs filling.

Good executive search relationships go much further.

Your search partner should understand your organisation well enough to recognise people who could strengthen it – sometimes before you have identified the need yourself.

That might mean introducing a potential future leader, someone who brings expertise you don’t currently have, a possible successor to a key individual, or simply an impressive person worth having in your network.

At Mosaic Search & Selection, we see this as part of being a genuine search partner.

We don’t expect our clients to meet everyone we speak to. Far from it. But if we proactively suggest that you meet someone, it is because we genuinely believe there is a reason the two of you should talk.

There may not be a vacancy today. There may never be one. But when a trusted headhunter who understands your business says, “I think you should meet this person,” it can be worth making time for a coffee.

Because sometimes the best appointments begin with a conversation rather than a job description.