The use of technology in executive search has only added to the mystique of how executive search consultants seem to be able to produce hard to find candidates for hard to fill jobs.

As we have written about before, the executive search and recruitment industry have often heard the death knell sounded with the launch of every cut through technology. One reason that the predictions of the doomsayers have never come to fruition is that the industry is typically an early adopter of technology.

There is lots of competition from technology providers to win business from executive search and recruitment firms. This keeps the technology at the cutting-edge with high quality solutions. When an executive search consultant suggests that they can find anyone, anywhere if they exist it is likely to be largely true. The "purple unicorns" sought by organisations may only be thoroughbred horses to the executive search consultant.

However, there is one other reason that executive search practitioners continue to flourish even in challenging economic times.

Once the thoroughbred is found, we need to ensure that they can run the race. In general recruitment, quite often the CV, backed up by examples of results and achievements is enough to secure a middle manager their next assignment.

It is the sophisticated interview techniques of executive search consultants that allows them to thrive and sometimes may lead to challenging conversations with hiring managers. Most executive search consultants have been senior managers themselves. So, in addition to well structured, deep dive interview questions around broader human and leadership competencies that go beyond the technical skills of the role, there is often many years of leadership experience and well-honed BS radars.

What may seem like a very casual conversation to the candidate from the friendly and confident executive search consultant is often a deeper exploration of values, beliefs, biases, emotional and rational responses. These are not designed to trap the candidate but rather to bring out the best qualities and the X Factor that makes them suitable for a particular challenge. The intention of the executive search consultant is that by the time the candidate meets the hiring organisation there is a high level of confidence that they will be well regarded, well liked and trusted from a very early stage.

It also means that hiring organisations may need to be a little more patient, read reports that are a little longer and take time to understand a qualified interpretation of psychometric assessment to feel the same level of confidence. Here, the executive search consultant is not trying to sell a candidate into a role, not trying to compare one candidate with another but rather, to articulate the less obvious attributes that the hiring organisation identified at the beginning of the assignment.

While executive search may be seen as being at a premium price end of the entire talent acquisition spectrum, there is actually much less pressure on pricing because of the additional insights that these consultants bring.