8 Simple Steps for Hiring Your Next CEO

It is easy enough to hire people in entry level positions – simply start them on the shop floor or equivalent and let them work their way up the ladder and into management if they are capable. But how does one choose a new candidate for a CEO position?

List Desirable Qualifications

Before you begin the process, make sure you know what you are looking for. Do you need a firm hand to stabilize a shaky business? Or an ideas-person to breathe new life into the company? Or someone steady to keep things continuing as they are, with a steady profit and not too many upsets? Each of these will require quite a different candidate, so it is best to know what you are looking for before you start!

Advertise – in the Right Place!

Running a listing for an executive position in a local is likely to gain you a lot of chancers hoping to break into the C-suite without having the right experience or qualifications! Instead, ensure that you let the right people know that you have an upcoming vacancy, and let word of mouth at the executive do much of the work for you.

Speak to a Headhunter

Obtaining the services of executive headhunters here is a must if you want to be able to choose from a pool of the best possible candidates to be your new CEO. Headhunters are experts in their chosen industry and have a network of contacts that help them to stay on top of the latest news especially when it comes to vacancies and people who have the potential to fill them.

Give Them Time

Headhunters are only human and if they are pursuing someone on your behalf it can sometimes take a little time as the candidate is persuaded into considering taking a new position. Rest assured that headhunters want to close the deal as quickly as you, and they will be working behind the scenes to make it happen: pestering them for daily updates will only waste valuable time – yours and theirs!

Read the Details Given

Working with a headhunter will take much of the burden from your shoulders, but there will be some aspects that need your attention. Do pay attention to these, reading the reports and taking note of any warnings or flags that the headhunter raises.

Work Together to Create a Shortlist

Only you know who will be a good fit with the company. While headhunters do use a fair amount of psychology to find the best person for the job, in the end, it is you who will be working with – and under – the new CEO. Ask the headhunter’s advice, listen carefully to answers and make the choices that you know will best work for the business.

Interview the Hopefuls

While the headhunter can interview the longlist of candidates to whittle them down to a shortlist, a representative of the company should be the one who makes the final hiring decision. Schedule the interviews allowing plenty of time for the prospective CEO to see the offices and ask questions, while you can observe their manner and see if the headhunter’s decision was a good one or not.

Hire the Successful Candidate

Finally, offer your preferred candidate a contract! If they find themselves to be as good a match as you, they will happily sign on the dotted line and you will have found your new CEO!