Executive Search Tips For Reaching Out To A Top Headhunting Company In Germany

Before approaching these Top Headhunting companies in Germany, it is best to formulate an approach with which you will reach out to them. Executive search consultants can be your key allies in helping you find a perfect job opportunity. But before you go out there knocking on every potential door, do your research beforehand so that you do not end up wasting your and the firm’s time. Below are the few tips to keep in mind before reaching out to the executive search companies:

Ref Links ::: Executive Search Tips For Reaching Out To A Top Headhunting Company In Germany

Seven Habits You Should Avoid While In Workplace

“You have to have a work ethic, and you have to be educated in what you're doing. You have to take it seriously. It doesn't mean that everything you do has to be serious. But you've got to have the tools.” - Jakob Dylan

The ladder to success has many steps. With each step of climbing up the ladder, you need different things. At some step, it could be a recruitment agency in germany to help you move to a  better role or at another step it could be your pure hard work, but all along one thing that remains constant is being professional and following a work ethic while at work. However, the idea of what is termed as professional has changed largely over the years. The augmentation of social media and emails have made the communication more relaxed and casual but still some habits never look good no matter what time period you are working in.

As helpful guide from one one of the top Recruitment Agencies in Germany, here is a list of top 7 habits that you should absolutely avoid while at workplace:

1)** Mixing personal life into your professional time. Everyone knows you have a life outside of work which is equally important to you, so the occasional chat with your family member or friend is tolerable but rambling on the phone for hours discussing about how life is going in every tiny detail is overdoing it and needs to be avoided. Still, if it is something completely unavoidable, you can always go outside and take a call from some place where you are not bothering your colleagues.

2)** Catching up on social media is something that we all do, but doing that in the middle of a working day is something you should avoid. This might be difficult to do but doing something that is not relevant to your company in your billing hours is against professional ethics.

3)** Not being punctual is another habit that needs to be avoided. This is the old school work ethic where if you are expected to be in the office at 9, you should be there. However a bit relaxed now, a few minutes late is tolerable but that few minutes should not be a pattern and should never elongate to hours.

4)** Whining. It is not cute and definitely not professional. Everyone needs to vent their feelings once in a while but that does not mean you can overdo it. If you are facing issues at the workplace, talk to your manager and look for genuine ways to resolve them rather than going to every single soul and cribbing about it.

 

5)** Playing games/wasting time on your phone. This needs to be a caution especially in the first few months after joining as the work pressure is less and it is always tempting to pass your time on the phone. But doing this sends a really bad message to the people around you about your personality. Besides, it can get you fired.

6)** Calling in “sick.” Now, what do we mean by this is, if you are sick, remain sick and make it look real. Many people take impromptu sick leaves but don’t call in sick and then post an instagram picture with your friends. If you are sick, either ask a day off or go to work and come back early if you could not stay for long.

7)** Being invisible. In other words, not responding to emails or phone calls or texts or any other mode of communication. The most important rule of being professional is being available. This does not mean you need to be available 24*7 but atleast set a particular window for you to reply to your emails. It could be 3 working hours or 2 or 1 depending on the severity and importance of the email. But always respond quickly in order to avoid stalling someone else’s work because of you.

Best Practices For Needs Assessment In Executive Search

Needs Assessment is one of the basic starting points in the executive search process. The process of Needs Assessment not only confirms that the hire for a particular executive job is needed but it also determines how this hire would be beneficial for the organization in the long run. Needs Assessment is very important as it prevents unnecessary hiring. Once your hiring is justified, it also helps in defining the type of candidate that is needed.

Being the Top Executive Search Agency in Germany, or at least one of them, the one thing we always stress before carrying out an executive search for any company is their Needs Assessment for the particular search. It not only helps us in understanding their requirement but it also helps in laying out a better recruitment plan before the executive search.

Basic Parts of a Needs Assessment for Executive Search

In order to lay down a needs assessment plan for your executive search, the first thing you need to do is list down the current skills of your organization and try to look for the performance gaps that might require an executive position. Doing this would help you determine whether you need an executive or not. This can be done for any position be it a brand new one or the existing one. You can also use this analysis to identify new opportunities and the same can be addressed as well during the ongoing hiring process.

Once you have sufficient reason for the job, lay out a job description based on the needs you listed down. At this stage, you may be tempted to copy from the past executive job description but as we discussed earlier, with time, the requirements from even an existing post may change and hence writing down a fresh job description might be a good idea. As all the top headhunting companies in Germany make use of this job description in their executive search, making sure that it lays down your requirements clearly can ensure an effective and speedy recruitment process.

 

Executive hiring is very important so spend some time determining exactly what experience and skills you are looking for. Also rewriting the job description gives leaders an opportunity to run a SWOT analysis on their previous job descriptions as well as the candidates that were hired on the basis of that description.

Once you have the job description, it is imperative to determine the urgency of filling the position as it will have an impact on the manner in which the hiring process would be carried out. Here, the recruitment agency comes into play and is especially helpful when it is a high-urgency hiring situation.

Benefits of a Needs Assessment

Working on Needs Assessment might take a little bit of time, but in the long run, it will result in a more focused, less time consuming executive search. It could save you thousands as the more time it takes to find the perfect match, the more expensive your executive search will be. Also hiring the right person in less time would mean more productivity as well as more achievements in terms of organization’s goals.

 

Needs Assessment leads to a faster hiring process, as finding the right person takes less time when the needs are properly identified. Also, once the needs are clear in advance, the screening of candidates becomes faster and the shortlisting of candidates happens faster.

Lastly, needs assessment not only helps in the hiring process, but the ongoing analysis helps in identifying potential gaps which can be worked upon in order to ensure better productivity in the organization.

6 Ideas To Promote A Job Opening

A Guide By One Of The Best Recruitment Agency In Germany

Relying on career building websites to fill the job openings in your company is not a bad thing. Many companies are doing this but is it enough? Well! The answer is no. Most of the employers nowadays use digital job boards in order to advertise their job openings. The problem with this method is that with thousands of other listings being posted alongside yours, there is no sure way to know whether your ad is being seen by the potential employees.

In such scenarios, the biggest dilemma is how to bring quality candidates to the interview table. Due to such hindrances, many companies are going for Recruitment Agencies in Germany which is a tension free, cost effective and faster way of getting the best person for the job. Apart from this, there are a lot of things which you can do to land the perfect candidate.

 

1. Set Up Referrals. This is one of the best ways to get to the best in the market. There is a good chance, that your existing employees have excellent industry contacts which you can take advantage of. You can invite your employees to join your recruitment drive by asking them to submit the referrals for particular job profiles with bonuses attached to the successful hiring of referred candidates. It is seen that the internal recommendations from employees make the best leads and are most likely to get converted.

2. Do a Little Research Of Your Own. Nothing in this world comes easy unless you go for a Recruitment Agency in Germany and let them do the job for you. In other cases, posting a job opening in the social media is not enough. Rather than waiting for resumes to come to you, take initiative and target the kind of people on social media and networking websites which you think would be perfect for your job profile.

 

3. Post A Video. Judging companies based on the text ads alone is as difficult as sifting through thousands of resumes to find the candidates that sound most promising. As they say, a picture is worth thousand words and a video is worth thousand pictures. Posting a small promotional video not only showcases your company but gives the candidates a fair idea about your business and culture of the organization.

4. Hold An Open House. This could be done if you own a small company. Having an open house means inviting the local candidates to come and have a talk with you and your team in a casual environment. This could help you save a lot of time which you might spend on reading the resumes and would make it easy for you to spot on the better performing and more engaging people. You can then take it further with these shortlisted candidates.

 

5. Attend Industry Conferences. These are one of the best places to have a casual talk with potential employees or to simply spot potential talent on the basis of their conduct and the way they are taking part in the discussion. You can find promising candidates here.

6. Revisit Your Rejection List. There must be a lot of candidates. who left your company on good terms or those who were almost hired but could not join. Revisiting these can fast track your hiring as you do not have to get to know these candidates from scratch. You have wanted them in past and hence it would take you less time to choose a potential candidate from this list.

5 Things Recruiters Should Not Say To The Candidates

A guide by one of the best Headhunters in Germany

Of all the recruitment articles, one sees, there is a great deal of discussion around do’s and don’ts for the candidate. But there is another important dimension that should not be neglected. As one of the top Headhunters in Germany, we have learnt a great deal regarding what a recruiter should avoid saying to the candidate in an interview.

As someone who has worked in German Recruiting agencies for a long time, we know that  we are all human and are hence as likely to utter something silly as the candidate. So, here are the top 5 things which any recruiter should absolutely avoid saying in an interview:

1. “Which Celebrity Would Be Best Suited To Play You In A Movie?”

There could other questions like “In a fight, who do you think would win, a bear or a shark?” It is a humble request to all the recruiters, please do not ask such questions of the candidate. We 100 percent support all the fun and originality you want to bring in the interview, but such obscure questions are nothing short of toe-curling.

Such questions do not help in ascertaining anything valid about the candidate’s ability to think and react in a particular business situation. It does not reveal anything worth knowing about their personality. There are a lot of other means to help you find out whether a candidate is a cultural fit or not.

2. “We’re Looking For A Ninja.”

You might as well be looking for a rockstar as well. Let’s be honest. You are recruiting for an entry level retail job but use this phrase only if you are planning to embarrass your candidate.  Try to step into his shoes and imagine what you would reply to such phrase, “Oh yes sir, I sure am a ninja and would not only do my job but also entertain your clients with some A class ninja stunts.” Injecting a certain level of personality into the interview is fine but not to an extent that it gets ridiculous.

3. “I Wanted To Reach Out To You.”

This in particular has fast become the recruitment phrase de jour. This in short is a synonym for ‘contact’. But the problem with this phrase is that, it makes the candidate feel that he is in some destitute position from where he needs to be rescued. A word of advice here, ‘Abandon this phrase.’ I am sure, you can come up with something better than this.

4. “My Client Implies Business So There Is No Time To Waste.”

This phrase is as pushy as it is harsh. It is someone’s career we are talking about. Being in a hurry may help you save a bit time in your recruitment process but if you really want the market’s best talent, you need to be patient. Treat your candidates like stars. Do not urge them to take any decision in haste.

5. “Do You Have Experience With ASP.NET?”

It is more or less like asking someone, do you know C hashtag. Always gain enough knowledge around the skill set of the candidate and also the skills you are recruiting for. For this you do not need to be an expert in the field but you should know enough to have an intelligent and healthy discussion with the candidate. This would not only help you understand candidate’s strength in the skill you are looking for but will also make him excited to work with you in future.

Headhunting In Germany Discussion Some Legal Frontier And Perils

The German labour market has had a shortage of skilled workers in recent years and this has led to a lot of employers to utilize professional  'headhunters' that appoint or recruit future top executives. Let us understand the headhunting of Germany in this article and analyze some legal boundaries and risks for recruiting or headhunting professionals in the German workplace.

German Employment Law Overview

As a general guideline, according to German law, headhunters and in-house recruiters can poach employees. This is considered a very crucial part of free competition. It is generally not accepted for headhunters to make personal visits to the existing employer's business place or premises.

Detailed View Of The Law

With respect to telephone calls at the workplace, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has actually established and also confirmed the below guidelines in the recent few years:

A headhunter or recruiter from any small or big Top Executive Search Agency Germany is allowed under German law to make initial contact through telephone if he or she:

1. Concisely introduces herself or himself at the start of the call

2. Elaborates on the purpose of the call

3. Cross checks with the employee if he or she is in fact interested in the contact

4. If the above needs are fulfilled, the headhunter might continue with the call and also describe the details of the position briefly

5. Any further contact needs to be outside of the workplace

What Is Considered Illegal In Headhunting In Germany?

Any recruitment call which goes beyond the above is illegal per German law. This means it would be illegal to ask about details of the CV during this initial call or other information regarding the candidate’s potential career ambitions. Moreover, it should also be noted that any particular call that is made either to the employee's landline at work or to the employee's mobile phone that exceeds a 'few minutes' will bear evidence that the call is effectively illegal.

Apart from all these elaborate details, calls that are made by the headhunter to the employee's personal mobile phone (even if during working hours) are far less critical because they do not use the facilities that the employer has put in place. On the other hand, the legality of recruiting or headhunting in Germany through business e-mail has not actually been considered by the German courts. Also, legal assumptions or individual perceptions regarding this area are practically non-existent.

Important Points For Headhunters

The headhunter should refrain from sending an email along with a link to the detailed information regarding the relevant position to the business email of a candidate. Though it is a common perception that an email is far less intrusive than a telephone call, it has not been clarified by German courts whether this is acceptable or not. Besides, it is simply not good form to do this since it is unknown to the headhunter in Germany whether the email account of the candidate is perhaps being read by someone else within the organization or not.

Personal Email or messages through social media will not give rise to any legal risks for recruiting or headhunting. This is because it will not have any effect on the employer's IT system. If you are not using a local German headhunter (who is familiar with these rules of course), it is advisable for employers to educate their headhunters and make sure they abide by the law guidelines if they are recruiting in Germany.

Recruitment Trends In Germany

Entering and forging further into foreign markets is surely a step worth considering especially developing and evolving the business. However, there are massive barriers a business has to overcome to happily enter a brand new niche, domain or market. In order to find highly skilled staff which is one of the biggest challenges let's understand the top 5 trends that companies must be aware of regarding recruiting or headhunters Germany.

Recruiting Technologies

It does seem that the trend of digitalisation is unstoppable but there are video-based job interview technologies that are now emerging and becoming far more popular over the past couple of years. Mobile recruitment solutions are also evolving and are very much on the rise since the year 2014.

There are also many Challenges that recruiters face nowadays. Every second recruiter is concerned with finding suitable candidates and placing candidates in a timely manner. About every third recruiter complains about their extreme pressure and workload along with the struggle to find an apt balance between operational recruitment tasks and project management.

 

Active Sourcing & Social Media Recruiting

Post a dip in the year 2015, active sourcing has now turned out to be a commonly utilized recruitment strategy that people use.

When it comes to the digital concept of social media recruitment platforms there are no surprises in the recruitment market trends. Platforms like Instagram, SnapChat, Pinterest and Whatsapp are live in the shadow of the huge players in the market.

 

There are now various channels that communicate about vacancies. The corporate career and job websites have come at the top of these channels and are being used to post communicate vacancies that are followed by social media business platforms. These also include recruitment events like the federal employment agency and various job fairs. On the other hand, print media, HR consultancies and various other external manpower sourcing providers have become important in communicating with clients and posting job vacancies on varied portals

 

Future Investments

In which domains do German recruiters plan to invest more money? Almost every second company is planning to invest further in social media business platforms to attract candidates and hire new employees. The companies also emphasized investment into employee referral programmes, job fairs and social media platforms.

 

Recruiting Tools in Executive Search Germany

Candidates actually consider employee referral programmes as crucial and a very efficient tool in the entire end to end recruitment process. This very much aligns with the new trend of companies who are ardently willing to invest into such innovative new age programmes. Video recruitment tools are found to be the least helpful by many job candidates. This fact is also indicated by various findings from recruitment trend studies in Germany. Lastly, it is crucial to have a culture test right in place because it is the second highest ranking recruiting tool which candidates will find extremely useful.

 

What We Learn

1.  Candidate Experience and Active Sourcing has developed to be a very relevant topic in the entire recruiting business in Germany.

2.  Employer Brand has obtained significance in the most recent years and also imposes tons of challenge or restrictions to the recruiters in Germany as compared to hiring professionally experienced workforces.

3. Social Media Recruiting trend has seen to be dipping low in the year 2015. However, through the entire year of 2017it has regained the traction and strives hard to make a comeback.

4. Since 2013, the existence of applicant management systems is being steadily growing and the employee referral programmes will continue to obtain importance since the year 2014 as well.