INTERVIEW EDGE • JULY 1991

Search Firms Assessing Competencies?

In The Career Makers, author John Sibbald profiles the top executive search professionals, many of whom claim to measure an amazing array of competencies in the candidates they present to their clients. Qualities include "personal presence", "physical impact", "conspicuous character", "common sense", "executive bearing", and "luck or karma".

We called John Sibbald and asked him if he learned how search professionals assessed all these competencies. He said he accepted their assessments at face value. Sibbald went on to point out that he noticed the more senior and accomplished of those he profiled seemed to get "a little lazy" in their listing of what they learned about candidates. He felt they had moved away from some of the candidate analysis skills they relied on earlier in their careers (perhaps they felt they could rely more on an intuitive assessment of candidates).

We wonder if any of the search firm clients ever ask their executive recruiter to deliver an assessment of the competencies they claim to measure?