The death of the little black book

Once upon a time, and not that long ago, an executive recruitment consultant was defined by the quality and extent of their network. If you wanted to be the top CFO recruiter, for instance, you had to have the telephone numbers of as many CFOs as possible. This was both so you could see if they were interested in roles themselves and to ask them for referrals to people who might be.

But times have changed. Today, the names of the majority of CFOs (to keep with the example) are available online, be it on company websites, in the press or, of course, on resources such as LinkedIn. More than that, courtesy of channels such as LinkedIn InMails, it’s possible to contact someone without knowing their telephone number or even their email address. The days of the little black book are over.

The other thing that’s maybe not quite over but seems to be heading that way is referrals. Maybe it’s because social media means we know of lots of people but actually know very few these days, which has created a reluctance or even an inability to make recommendations. Maybe it’s a by-product of GDPR and increased data and privacy awareness. Maybe it’s because it’s just not that necessary any more.

So what does now define an executive recruitment consultant? It’s two things: firstly, the ability to navigate all the information and resources that are available in a manner that identifies the very best people for a role, and secondly it’s being able to engage with these people in a persuasive, professional manner that distinguishes oneself from the mass of messages executives receive from recruiters every day.

Executive search has changed, of that I have no doubt. What I doubt is how many recruitment consultancies and in-house talent teams realise it.

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