November 23, 2011 Tim Tolan
OK – up front – this is a rant! The things that happen in this business rarely surprise me, but they do make me take pause and ask a few questions. Executives hire search firms to find the talent they can’t source on their own, conduct a precision search for a purple squirrel, or perhaps attempt to hire away superior talent from a competitor.
November 9, 2011 Tim Tolan
We in the search business work on assignments that are specific to the needs of our clients. Each assignment is unique, and while some functional
August 20, 2011 Tim Tolan
I am NEVER surprised when we uncover dirty laundry or perceived hidden skeletons from a candidate’s background report. I’ve seen it all. From previous convictions for misdemeanors and felonies ranging from assault and battery to drug possession to stupid college public drunkenness convictions.
August 8, 2011 Tim Tolan
Late to the party - It is almost impossible to recover when you start off being late. Let's face it, you've probably never met the person you will be
July 31, 2011 Tim Tolan
In business, many argue that titles help employees understand who is in charge of what areas and who they need to go to for help, guidance and their own roadmap of what assignments they need to be working on. In general many healthcare IT organizations in different parts of the country have they own set of titles - sometimes less in stature to some, even though the responsibilities are identical. I say, get over it. No big deal.
July 14, 2011 Tim Tolan
I was talking with a very solid CIO last week—a real 'A' Player—about an opportunity we're working on. We'd spoken (many times) before so I already knew his credentials, but I wanted to schedule some time the following week to have an in-depth conversation about the role and location, and also to understand where he was as far as evaluating the opportunity.
June 20, 2011 Tim Tolan
About a year or so ago, I attended a meeting on executive search and listened especially closely to several of the speakers at the conference. One of most interesting topics addressed what some pundits are predicting regarding changes in the executive search business model as the labor pool begins to tighten.
May 28, 2011 Tim Tolan
I have watched in awe as the job market has (finally) started to show signs of recovery. New opportunities are popping up everywhere, but even in the HCIT business there are still (some) really great people at a standstill while they search for their next assignment. Very painful. I recognize how frustrating this can be and want to share something that’s guided me through my own deep valleys in life.
May 23, 2011 Tim Tolan
When a candidate starts to head down one path in particular (you know the one - disparaging their current or previous employer), I let them run with it! It tells me a lot about somebody's character when they push the blame button on everyone else and 'dog' the people they worked for (in some cases) for years.
May 9, 2011 Tim Tolan
Over the years I've learned that major gaps in a resume are often due to big life changes. Putting in black and white - memorializing the reasons - why there's a gap by only adds to the pain, and many candidates will omit the details for deeply personal reasons. Basically, it just hurts too much to see the details and share them with the rest of the world.
