Secrets of the Executive Search Experts

Rating:
Summary: Demystifying executive search
Review: A great job from two emmigrated Norwegians on a theme that is far too seldom published in book-form: at least at this price! The first half of the book is 5 stars, the second half 3 stars. Could have been even more detailed on e-cruiting. I will make use of it in an upcoming revision on my own book on recruiting in Norwegian: "Unngå hodeløs rekruttering!"

Rating:
Summary: Over hyped & out of date
Review: First, to be fair, this book is from 1999. So the fact that recruiting sites like monster.com aren't even mentioned can be blamed on the cruelties of time.

But the rest of this books (many) limitations are harder to forgive. The entire back half of the book consists of descriptions of a number of foreign markets that are on the level of a 5th grade research project: lots of data, most of which is irrelevant, and a few tiny cultural references.

The front half of the book is very pedestrian- I didn't see anything that isn't in any basic 'how-to' of recruiting, much less any "Secrets" of the "Experts". Since the people credited as the authors are from big-name companies I would guess that they had their underlings cobble together some bits & pieces from corporate publications, industry journals, etc. into a book.

Save your money.

Rating:
Summary: Over hyped & out of date
Review: First, to be fair, this book is from 1999. So the fact that recruiting sites like monster.com aren't even mentioned can be blamed on the cruelties of time.

But the rest of this books (many) limitations are harder to forgive. The entire back half of the book consists of descriptions of a number of foreign markets that are on the level of a 5th grade research project: lots of data, most of which is irrelevant, and a few tiny cultural references.

The front half of the book is very pedestrian- I didn't see anything that isn't in any basic 'how-to' of recruiting, much less any "Secrets" of the "Experts". Since the people credited as the authors are from big-name companies I would guess that they had their underlings cobble together some bits & pieces from corporate publications, industry journals, etc. into a book.

Save your money.

Rating:
Summary: Great research and recruiting tool
Review: My company is increasingly using online resources to assist in research and recruiting activities. I found this book to be very helpful, and in addition to the section covering each activity in a professional search process, I have learned a lot from the section covering online and Internet research resources and methods.

Rating:
Summary: A good outline of a successful process
Review: The authors do a good job in spelling out how they operate in the US and in foriegn countries in their recruiting business. It is helpful to a recruiter to see inside a successful operation. Although a large part of the book is devoted to overseas recruiting, there is enough information on the process in the US to make this book a good addition to your bookshelf.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author, "Breakthrough Technical Recruiting" [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece on how to recruit
Review: The book offers an introduction to recruiting, with some good suggestions. However, more than half of the book deals with international recruiting and is therefore not that useful for recruiters dealing mainly with the U.S.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful guideline for recruiters
Review: This book provided a great presentation of the executive search process. Being a recruiter for the last five years I have been missing a standard in the market such as the one presented in Secrets of the Executive Search Experts. The book was written in a unique way as it combined the best from several search firms such as Korn Ferry International, Ward Howell and A.T. Kearney and thereby created a plain and simple recruitment guideline which was based on the experience of more than 150 recruitment professionals within these firms. The mistake I have seen on most books written about this subject is that it's usually based on just one recruiters experience, which was not the case here. Personally I have not yet found a book that explains the process as detailed as in this book.

I have feel that more info should have been included on trends within the recruitment industry such as where the market is heading within the next few years. More information could also have been covered in the internet section of the book. But, as this was a book about executive search it would be wrong to present to much info on variuos job sites as these are meant for jobseekers, which is another industry than headhunting which focus on the candidates that are not out there looking for a new boss. Bottomline; great book.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book but resumes need special attention
Review: This is a great book. It provides Job hunters a wealth of practical advice for a myriad of situations one is likely to encounter in the job market.

But to make use of the ideas discussed in this book, all job hunters need a top-flight resume.

I am an independent resume writer who has discovered how to help job hunters translate their experience into new fields and industries. Please send me an e-mail if you would be interested in my services, which begin with an appraisal of your current resume.