In my previous blog post, I discussed how the amount of effort it takes to identify potential candidates can affect the difficulty of a search. Now I’ll address the personality type of the individuals who normally hold that type of job.
People are classified roughly in two categories—extroverts and introverts.
As a rule, extroverted people are more open to change and more comfortable taking risks. Introverts, on the other hand, value stability, like to plant roots, and avoid undue risks.
Which do you think would be easier to recruit?
Call 50 companies and speak with their Sales Manager (usually an aggressive extrovert who trained to take chances) and Purchasing Manager (usually a more passive introvert who is trained to follow a set process) and see how many of each are open to listening to an out-of-town opening for a Director position.
It has been my experience that many more Sales Managers will consider the opportunity than Purchasing Managers, if you can get one Purchasing Manager to consider it at all.
This does not mean that every Vice President of Sales job is easy to fill or that every Cost Accountant job is difficult to fill, but the underlying trend tends to be that way.
In my next blog post, I’ll present 10 more factors that can make a search difficult.
(For more information about maximizing the benefits of working with a recruiter, download a copy of Dan Simmons’s e-Book, Hunting the Headhunter: Your Guide to Debunking Myths, Cutting Costs, and Changing the Way You Play the Recruitment Game.)
