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hidden vacancies

Hidden Vacancies

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“I get offered positions that I don’t see anywhere on the internet, the so-called hidden vacancies,” says a Retail Director. He finds it a struggle to find vacant positions on his own. He has a busy job. In addition to his daily duties, which include managing 13 employees combined with the desire to leave, he gets stuck scouring the internet.

Hidden vacancies
With the fact that there are hidden vacancies, he touches upon an important point. Many jobs are not (always) listed on the internet as vacant positions. These vacant positions are put “on the market” in a different way, such as through:

  1. Own network (usually that of the Managing Director) of key persons within the organization
  2. Specialist recruiters who do not post them online
  3. Network of Private Equity firms that have an interest in a profile
  4. Within the sector through a professional association and/or network

How do you ensure you get your hands on these “hidden” vacant positions?
You can do this by engaging a “broker” who has connections at many companies at the relevant levels and knows exactly where you can and want to take the next step. Bureau Boeren Executive Search is a broker that takes over the service of scouting for “vacant positions” from you.

Proactive approach
Bureau Boeren can actively bring your profile and CV to the attention of organizations you have indicated in writing that you wish to be brought to their attention. Targeted finding, in other words, for hidden vacancies.

For someone currently engaged in a busy job, this requires a time investment. Bureau Boeren has a structured, efficient, and effective method for actively approaching the market. The result of this method is that they provide suggestions for placing your profile and CV with a potential holder of a hidden vacancy.

Thanks to the targeted approach and broad view of the market, the active approach and guidance provided by Bureau Boeren open a path that can give your career journey an extra boost.

Apply
If you would like to know more about this active method of tracking down hidden vacancies, please let us know via this contact link.

Eleven years in Recruitment

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Everything is relative, especially in this time of war, oppression and legal inequality of minorities in many (developed) parts of this planet. With Eleven years in recruitment and experience in being self-employed , I am getting to know myself better.

My experiences/lessons are:

  1. Stay true to yourself
    With the start in Recruitment & Selection I discover a conviction to manage this drastic career “turn”. The confidence has been tested with many months without income.  Many rejections of potential customers, a lot of pitches and loneliness. By staying true to myself this careerchange feels like the best path to follow.
  2. Perseverance
    My “entrepreneurship” is characterized by a certain stubbornness that is followed by perseverance. Without adapting the path to the clear objectives. My objective is making a living of matching cusotmers with candidates. Knowing why you want to achieve something. The “how” is therefore flexible. Keeping the mindset on the “why” enlightens the path.  support from your loved ones
  3. Support from “loved ones”
    In all phases of these past eleven years I could count on the support of my life partner. She is very important in this. We took into account scenarios that forced us to sell the house. The request for help was answered with support. I learnt to ask for help. Being able to ask for help and count on “loved ones” is of great importance in my eleven years.
  4. Discipline
    I want to keep to the promisses I make. Both candidates and customers can rely on my expertise in FMCG. Working in a disciplined way with professionals in my team makes all the efforts worthwhile.
  5. and Trust of customers and candidates
    Trying to get grip in this VUCA* world asks for discipline and vision. As an entrepreneur of services, it is essential to continue to be able to convert built-up trust into value. Over the years, I can grow from “ticking the boxes” to “trusted advisor” with a “local to local” to “local to Europe” reach.

Conclusion:
The business remains a personal/human interest profession. Eleven years in recruitment provides me with a journey i really enjoy with my heart and mind.

Happy Summertime!

Embrace differences_2

Embracing Differences

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In an attempt to create a marketing plan for our Executive Search firm, we come to a conclusion that embracing our differences is the core of our success.

As partners in Europe, we are all born with characteristics, qualities that we carry into our careers. The careers we take shape us in different ways of thinking and doing. We can use these differences to our advantage.

embrace differences

Assuming that our “prospects” do business from a business and personal perspective, it is precisely the personal component that can make the difference. There are many agencies in executive search in The Netherlands and Europe. We all do (hopefully) business with customers. The lifecycle of a customer-agency defines the following statistics; Thirty percent of clients are latently dissatisfied with the agency* they work with, and within 5-7 years a client leaves an agency* even if the collaboration is still fine.

What matters in the strategy of positioning as an executive agency to prospects is, in addition to the standard qualities you must possess, to offer a stage to the differences of the partners who are involved in your agency. Not only the partners, but also the back-office/recruiters involved. We can still strengthen and improve this.

Why is this personal profiling so important?
Because the agency’s choice for an important component depends on a favorable-or-magic click factor. And this factor is born from the vulnerability or transparency of the partner and the ideas that the partner has about the world/business/humanity.

Within the frameworks that you tend to create to emphasize uniformity in structure and appearance, it is vital to embrace and even emphasize individual differences.

Interested in a personal meetup with us? Send us an e-mail info@bureauboeren.nl

 

 

 

*I cannot confirm these statements based on research, these are personal observations

recruit for attitude

Recruit for attitude, train for knowledge

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In a conversation with a Retail Executive who has travelled all over the world, an important theme emerged: “Recruit for Attitude, Train for Knowledge.” This theme is not only relevant for a service-oriented role in hospitality—where “customer friendliness” or “hospitality” should be a natural disposition—but also for an Executive involved in the reorientation of a business strategy (such as downsizing). In both cases, a professional, honest, and transparent attitude must come naturally.

Why do we ask for 10 years of experience?
We often deal with managers who prefer to hire a copy of themselves. This increases the risk of revisiting well-trodden paths in search of a false sense of security and stability.
From a specific business perspective (e.g., fresh cut flower cultivation), I can understand wanting to hire someone with experience in the fresh flower trade for business purposes.

Matrix as an intake support
In my practice, I use a “matrix” that includes both attitude-related and experience/knowledge-related elements. When both HR and the line manager independently complete the same matrix, I often discover differences in emphasis between the two areas. I make this a topic of discussion and ask them to jointly determine the five most important “Must-Haves.” In 99% of cases, these are attitude-driven elements, such as:

  1. Demonstrating leadership during a reorganization (where 400 people have to be let go)
  2. Being result-oriented
  3. A challenging mindset that brings improvements aligned with business goals
  4. Being change-oriented and acting as a “change agent”

Intake is essential
To find the most suitable match and to bring about real change or improvement within your organization, the principle of “Recruit for Attitude, Train for Knowledge” is certainly applicable.
To me, that means conducting a thorough intake. For the organization, it also means ensuring the newly hired individual is not left to fend for themselves.

Interested in the Matrices we made of a lot of roles in FMCG? Send us an e-mail to info@bureauboeren.nl

International Women's Day

International Women’s Day

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The International Women’s Day recognizes the struggle of women worldwide and  to express solidarity.
This day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women globally. The day  also marks  a call to action to accelerate the progress of gender equality.

Women with impact.
I struggle finding examples of women who stand out for me personally. Spontaneously Angela Merkel and the New Zealand Prime Minister during COVID came to mind. It is appalling that it is so hard to come with examples of women. Off course I relate to my mother as a woman with significance and meaning in my life.

On second thought Mrs Obama and Christine Lagarde comes to mind. It still is hard to recognize the dominance of male actors in my context of influence.

From my professional point of view a lot of women in FMCG/Food/Retail come to my mind.  What I find in knowing those women/impact players is the way how they generally speaking underestimate their capabilities. I recommend them to be more outspoken.

Why is this important?
It is my belief that an equal number of women and men exist with impact in the world. It seems that the male dominance is more triggered than the female ones. This could mark for me an unconscious pattern to gender inequality.


What do I do?
In my Executive Search practice I make sure that I actively search for the best possible fit, without being specific in gender, age or other denomination. I actively find woman candidates and interview them within the FMCG/Food/Retail in Europe on C-level. I am actively working on extending my network with women impact players and I am happy to meet a lot of them.

What can improve in my practices to drive women to the short-list?
The way the intake with the customer is designed and the formulation of the job description should be more gender neutral. I reckon this process could help in improving the application of a bigger part by women.

Which Women do you have in mind related to this International Woman’s Day?

Onboarding vereist aandacht

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Met het verleiden van kandidaten voor een nieuwe werkomgeving is het werk niet gedaan. Juist in deze tijd waarin de vraag naar passende mensen groter is dan het aanbod, kun je niet om aandacht voor de onboarding heen. Ik loop er zelf tegenaan in onderstaande geval; Intake Ondanks een gedegen intake bij de opdrachtgever én […]

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