On the 85th Day.....

Santiago took 85 days before he bagged the "big one".

Hugh Ellerton of EFG Trust Singapore, the old man (just an analogy Hugh, nothing personal) in our story, has taken maybe 365 days (or more) and is still out there searching, trolling, baiting....... The marlin he is seeking is his successor. Meanwhile, others have come and gone with catches of their own (including Sean Coughlan who was one of Hugh's peers or even dotted-line boss who has now relocated to Singapore for another trust company!)....tells you something.

So does EFG Bank suck? Or is it that the role sucks and none of the qualified candidates (including internally) want the job? Or is it that the EFG's requirements are unrealistic and no one is measuring up? Or is it the recruiter(s) fault?

Valuable lessons for those looking for people (especially hiring managers from outside the region, like some global Head sitting overseas) as the annual mass migration triggered by year end bonuses looms. Now how will you go about finding your catch-of-the-day?

After the first batch of résumés flow in, you should have a good idea how of where you stand and whether or not you need to formulate a fall-back plan. You should have started to get a feeling for whether you are using the right bait, which means the appropriate recruiter/headhunter, the right job portals, trade rags (or newspapers....gasp!) etc. If you're not getting bites or getting inappropriate candidates then dump the recruiter or change the ad or place an ad on another job search site, etc.. Recruiters are generally working on a success basis and for good reason, they're generally not successful. Recruiters also tend to work certain fishing spots only. For instance, if they have gotten CitiTrust engagements then they (if they're good) tend to track Citi people and you have a Citi-family tree. You will get a lot of former and current Citi candidates from them. Nice but you may need another recruiter to see what the Credit Suisse-tree has to offer. Obviously the big caché companies have little problem attracting candidates, they're problem lies in screening. For small banks and independents, getting people interested can be a daunting challenge even in buyer's market conditions. They have even more to lose when the big boys gearing up to hire.

After the first batch of interviews, you should have a clear idea of where your mismatches are. Time to consider whether or not you are going to be able to fill the role "as is" or whether you have to make adjustments like splitting up the duties or increasing the experience/seniority level or vice versa. Of course if you were close to a hire then you'll soon find out whether your compensation levels are market or not. If people are saying nay or coming back with counter-offers, then you may have to revise your budgeting. If your first run fails, then you should have a strongly focused revised game plan for your second run. Also remember the potency of the grapevine.....by day 2, 90% of the market already knows you're hiring so you're likely targeting only the remaining 10% who have been under a rock or were previously dis-interested. In a small trust community like HK and Singapore, the well dries up fairly quickly. Even these people will have had a scoop on the pros and cons of job and pay, etc. as they been talking those you already interviewed. You really have your work cut out for you with each successive search so try to get it right the first time.

"Perfect" candidates can be as elusive as great white whales. The more your organisation or role is "unique", the more trouble you will have finding a right fit. After all, a fair portion of the work force out there has been "trained" and compartmentalized by the big institutions. If you're not running a similar operation/model than you can expect some adjustment pains. Somewhere along the line, you are going to have to stop being stubborn and settle on the next best thing. Somewhere along the line, all the best candidates will be gone. Somewhere along the line you will have be forced into a corner and settle for any warm body. Particularly in Singapore, there may be no time to snooze as it is more of a seller's market. So do you begrudgingly go back to the short-listed rejects and possibly foot another 20-50% pay hike on an already inflated salary? Face a buyout or 3-month notice period? Spend more time and money on another search? Or do you continue to sit back and wait for something to fall into your lap? Now for a senior hire, 2-6 months isn't unreasonable, but what is the deadline you're prepared to work on? If EFG pulled the trigger say a year ago, they would have already put in a year of training/grooming a "sub-par" candidate. Time is an opportunity cost.