Looking for a new executive opportunity comes with a whole host of pressures. Whether it be family, mortgages, or lifestyle, going for any substantial time on the bench can incur challenges above and beyond your career. Keeping in mind we all have a personal brand, the journey between roles often needs lots of hand-holding.
It’s surprising, actually quite shocking, that more care isn’t being taken to better support executives at this time.
This is the takeaway of search firm Miller Leith, which, based on the feedback from executives who have navigated the executive search process, has found some significant gaps.
“The notion of changing roles has a whole list of anxiety-related emotional connections to it,” Miller Leith Managing Partner Stephen Borg said.
“And our view is that those considerations are not being taken seriously for executives because they’re seen as bullet-proof. That they’re at the top end, they know what they’re doing, they don’t need help with those issues.”
Borg said Miller Leith has seen a hugely elitist approach to these executives by search firms – failing to schedule appointments, lack of feedback, as well as a lack of preparation being given to support the interview process – and that those executives are beginning to become very disgruntled.
So, to give a better, more personal touch to its search process, Miller Leith created a segment of its business that exists solely to actively support executives across Australia as they search for their next opportunity: Miller Leith Career Services.
Miller Leith Career Services provides support to executives via a range of tools and programs to navigate them through their search, by creating narratives, supporting documentation and creating a network for these executives to prosper “be at the right place at the right time.”
“This is a standalone division of our business that has been entirely set up to best prepare executives going through this period of their career,” Borg said.
“This is what I believe search firms should be doing – giving back a service to these executives, who often are very lost because throughout their executive career they’ve been tapped on the shoulder for their next opportunity, and now suddenly find themselves in a competitive environment without the tools to succeed.”
Having support throughout this process can help anyone to understand what they’re doing right, or doing wrong, and help support them navigate what can be a stressful time in their life towards ultimately finding their next great opportunity.
“If the candidates/executives are being well cared for, I truly believe the rest takes care of itself,” Borg said.
For more information on how Miller Leith helps support executives through their search for new opportunities in Sydney and Melbourne, click here.
