Every conversation that I have with a prospective candidate or client I discuss the elements that make us are different from other recruiting firms. During those daily conversations, I always reference the term opportunistic hiring. I also reference opportunistic hiring situations in many of my blogs. Over the next two weeks I am going to delve into what the term means; but more importantly, what the concept should mean to you as a prospective candidate or new client of H. Friedman Search.
Defining Job Orders
The term “opportunistic hiring” is unlike most recruiting firms that have a standing job order to be filled. It simply means that we do not. To understand opportunistic hiring situations further, I first need to explain a job order. A job order is where a bank or a law firm calls us and asks to find a specific person in a specific location with a specific expertise doing a certain dollar amount of business. For example, a law firm may ask for a bond counsel that is in the state of North Dakota, specializing in tax credits, and having a portable book of business of at least $800,000. After getting a job order, the typical recruiter will scour their contacts and databases to find that individual, present them to Human Resources, and wait for the process to unfurl. Hoping at the end that an offer will be forthcoming, and they will get their candidate hired. In an opportunistic situation, none of the above occurs. There is no standing job order. There is no standing requirement to find a particular person in a specific location. There is not even a request for a specific sector expertise. So, what is opportunistic hiring?
Defining Opportunistic Hiring Situations
We find the best people to work with in the industry and present them to the firm we feel is the best fit for the client. A new position is created just for them with opportunistic hiring situations. That is the simple definition as I have created this mode of hiring. Our clients know that we are experts in our field of bond counsel and public finance professional hiring, since we are the only recruiting firm composed of past public finance professionals. As such, our client firms trust us to find the best future employees for them in any location of the country or sector of expertise. Specifically, our clients are not trying to fill positions. Rather they are asking us to find the best of the best, the “top guns”. Now that you understand the term opportunistic hiring, let us explore what that means to you – the candidate and the firm.
The Differences For Candidates In Opportunistic Hiring
Interview
Let us start off today with the candidate (next week we will address the opportunistic hiring from the client’s perspective). If you are working with us where we have set up an interview for you, first know that we consider you one of the best. That is exactly how we are going to portray you to our client firms. We only work with candidates that we truly believe are the “top guns”. The biggest difference when you have been identified for one of these opportunistic hiring situations is in the way you interview. In a normal employment interviewing process, the firm asks most of the questions. The candidate does their best to answer them and persuade a firm that they are the best candidate out of the pool of candidates they are interviewing. In opportunistic hiring situations, it’s up to you to share your vision as to how you can be successful. The firm will not be asking you the questions. Instead, you will be sharing your ideas and thoughts as to how to develop a new area for the firm along your area of expertise. For example, we are working with a candidate that is an expert around CCRC. The firm has not really thought about expanding into that area. That candidate will get to create the entire vision for the firm to be able to enter this new area for them. The firm is going to listen intensely to the thoughts and plans the candidate will have to expand into this new area.
Location, Location, Location
Another difference is that the location is going to be one where you have the highest possibility of success. For example, if you are in a particular locale and the firm does not have a current footprint there, they are going to let you choose the place of your office along with the area of the country that you want to expand into. Because there is not going to be any internal conflicts, the United States is your playground to develop. By having complete control over where the interview process is leading, the “top gun” candidate gets to structure a deal that will meet their needs first and the company’s needs second. This presents the most amount of flexibility for the top candidates. Also, many times the positions that we fill in these situations offer immediate team expansions. If you want to bring a co-worker with you to start, your own analyst or paralegal; it is extremely likely that will be welcomed. The opportunistic hiring situations are one that will afford you the greatest opportunity to create your dream vision at a new firm at your desired compensation level (as long as it is realistic). If you are one of the best, please reach out to us to create your “perfect” position.
Conclusion
If you would like to discuss your options, please reach out for a confidential conversation at 760-477-1284 or email at [email protected]. He can also be reached on LinkedIn. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter here, which is a compilation of our weekly blogs so you never miss one.
About Harlan Friedman, JD & Founding Member, H. Friedman Search LLC. Harlan is a thirty-year veteran Public Finance Banker turned recruiter who specializes in the placement of all levels Public Finance Bankers, Health Care Bankers, Municipal Financial Advisors, Compliance Officers, Issuers, and Bond Counsels.