Advice for the Executive Recruiter Interview: What to Bring

When recruiters meet face-to-face with potential candidates for the first time, we have an agenda: to determine whether to continue with this candidate or part friends and move on.   It is a get to know you meeting where we have already had the benefit of reviewing your resume and in most cases,  having benefited from a telephone conversation with you prior to our first meeting.  We will already have reviewed your resume and made notes, to include notes from our phone conversation.  In general, we will have an hour in which to accomplish much.  The first few minutes are spent getting acquainted.  Next we will briefly recap the search and what we are looking for and why.  We will then dive in to your resume and our notes from our phone conversation and probe areas pertinent to the job.

Honestly, in a face-to-face interview we are also assessing your "executive presence."  That is really the number one objective of that meeting.  Most savvy candidates fully understand this.  We then take full advantage of the time to take our phone interview to the next level and will be probing deeply on certain topics.

What would we like for you to do during that initial meeting?  For me it is simply to be yourself, be candid, and participate in a discussion.  An interview should never be an interrogation, but sometimes it can seem like one, I know.  I've been on both sides of that table.  You will have been presented a detailed position specification and if you are a candidate for one of my searches, you will have completed an in-depth questionnaire asking for specific examples of your accomplishments.  So for this meeting it is critical for me to ask you about the areas that are the "must have's" for my client.  That is why it can seem like an interrogation at times, but it is really that I have less time to interview you than I would like (in most cases). 

Given that we do not have a great deal of time, during this meeting I simply want to have this discussion.  The only prop I need is your resume (and in my case your questionnaire).  If you have a more current version of your resume please have one handy to give me (and email me that latest version after our meeting).

What I am NOT looking for in this initial meeting is a sample of your work.   I have had candidates bring large three-ring binders to these meetings that they want to flip through with me page by page.  I have to admit that candidates who do that drop several notches.  In fact, if they enter the room with their samples in hand I put up barriers.  Don't get me wrong.  There are times when it might be very appropriate to share this information with a recruiter.   Keep in mind, though, that time is not on our side and that this meeting is our initial face-to-face meeting.  If there is a need for me to see some material you could provide, and if it is possible for you to share some of it later via email, I may ask you to do that.

There is the rare occasion when our clients may want us to actually review some such sample material.  I have had clients want to see some "balanced score card" information in order for me to verify that the candidate has implemented such a program.   Other clients have suggested that I review portfolios of samples for searches pertaining to marketing or promotions.  In those situations where it is requested that I do some sort of a verification, I will ask the candidate to bring some samples along to that initial interview.

For your initial interview with an executive recruiter, bring yourself and an updated copy of your resume (if there is one) and prepare to have a discussion, an in-depth one, yes, but not an interrogation.  Leave everything else behind unless we have requested in advance that you bring extra information along.  If we need it, rest assured, we will ask.  

Status Report for Leading Edge Memos

If you are a regular reader of this blog, or a newcomer, I thought you would like to know what the response has been to the variety of postings I have written so far on Leading Edge Memo's and where throughout the world LEM readers are distributed.

I opened the blog on January 13, 2011.  While the majority of my readers are in the United States, here is the composite list of where the hundreds of Leading Edge Memo's readers live and work:

United States
Germany
United Kingdom
India
Canada
New Zealand
Singapore
Spain
Iraq
Netherlands

Thank you to all readers who have joined me to date.  If there are topics you would like for me to cover, email me at mike@michaelkburroughs.com or respond via a comment to this posting and I will honor your request quickly. 

I also encourage you to review the list of articles found on the widget attached to this blog.  Topics are in some cases are expansions of my blog postings. 

I also encourage you to visit my website is at http://www.michaelkburroughs.com/ .

The Importance of Executive Networking and Branding

I have seen this look in the eyes of  many executives who have found themselves for the first time in their lives, "in between jobs."  I say, "for the first time" because once an individual has been in this situation, the advice in this posting is generally moot.  This is hard-won knowledge that you won't want to learn and practice from the start a second time.

What is that look?   Deer in the headlights is a good description. 

Throughout my years as an executive recruiter I have been asked (and honored requests) to speak with with executives who are in transition.   While it is not a common practice for executive recruiters to do that,  the main reason I do it is that I have walked a mile or two in their shoes.  I have had two executive positions disappear due to reasons beyond my control, and had another position relocate with the company headquarters to another state and I opted not to follow my job. These are character building experiences that change the way you look at the world.

It took me a long time to get the message that executives should be networking at all times.  Consider it the cornerstone of your personal career management strategy.  Always be reaching out to other executives and lending support and advice to them in any way possible.  With the advent of social networking, namely, LinkedIn, there is no longer an excuse for not staying connected with other executives.  Building your list of connections should be part of your week, every week.  Do it on your own time at home, but do it.

It is a sad thing for me to see that look on the faces of executives in transition when they have to admit that they have been, "...too busy over the past ten years to network."  They almost always follow this comment with a statement of regret.  One thing is for sure: this realization is life altering.  It is emotionally charged.  Psychologists say that our values do not change until we experience a "significant emotional event." An executive job loss for most is, indeed, a significant emotional event. They begin in earnest to reach out to everyone they know.  Often that is a short list.

There are a variety of ways to build a solid network.  Joining associations and attending meetings are among them.  Offer to give presentations covering areas that are in your area of specialization.  Open a LinkedIn account if you haven't already.  Ask everyone who would be a good business contact to join you on LinkedIn.  Keep your LinkedIn account current. Post your activities and thought pieces there. Increasingly, recruiters find you via LinkedIn.  Join LinkedIn groups that pertain to your area of expertise and interests and participate.  Become a "thought leader."  Post your thought pieces and activities on LinkedIn.  You can also attach PowerPoint presentations on LinkedIn. 

You can become a thought leader in several ways.  Writing for publication is one approach. You can get the hang of it quickly through Ezine Articles (http://www.ezinearticles.com/) which is the most recognized Internet publishing platform in existence.   In this day and age of Internet marketing, social networking, shopping, etc., there are many interested readers who will seek out your work through search engines.  Start a blog that showcases your expertise. Give your best advice away.  Write your postings in such a way that people will return to your blog for more.  Two of the most common blogging tools are WordPress and Blogspot.  Blogspot is the easier of the two to use but in my opinion is not as feature rich.  Offer to make presentations at association meetings.  Build a personal website. Mine is http://www.michaelkburroughs.com/ . I built and maintain this simple website myself through Network Solutions.   Trust me, if I can do it, anybody can do it.  You can tailor a personal website for any purpose, even using it as your blog if you prefer that route.  You can put a widget on your website that lists your most recent articles and also links your readers to your Ezine Articles profile and body of work.  You can see this widget and link on this blog as well as on my personal website.

If you are in between jobs, now is the perfect time to establish your personal brand and start building a robust network.  Do it even if you are not in between jobs.  If you are gainfully employed you will likely have to do your blogging, article writing, website maintenance and LinkedIn updates,etc, during evening hours and on weekends.  That should not be a problem.  You have already most likely grown accustomed to burning the midnight oil.  Just be sure to burn some of that oil for yourself this time around.

Do some "backward planning."  Look into the future a year from now.  Mark that date on your calendar.  Commit to yourself and others that by that date you will be well-established as a networker and that your personal brand will be recognized.  Make time to do this (rather than finding time to do it).  If you wait until you find time you never will.

And once you have established yourself in this way, keep it alive.   Encourage others to do the same.  That's what this blog posting is all about. 

If you would like for me to post blog entries or write articles on topics that support your networking and branding initiatives, contact me by email through my website or write a comment on this blog posting with your request and I will do this as soon as possible.

Status Reports from an Executive Recruiter: What to Expect

If there is any single point that irritates candidates when working with executive recruiters, it is the issue of getting updates or status reports on their candidacy.  It ranks high in the literature as a major issue.  How best should you deal with this as a candidate?  What is acceptable and what is not?

To begin, you are clearly entitled to be made aware of your status following your initial interview, even phone interviews.  The reason you are not called back in many situations is one of volume of calls more than inherent rudeness.   A typical executive search involves over a hundred potential candidates.  In both large firms and boutiques the initial contacts are being made by a research associate or principal (the titles vary).  It is that person's job to do several things: build the potential list of candidates (called "sourcing"); call in to that list to begin presenting the opportunity and gaining interest; follow-up with individuals on this list after having received a resume; communicate with the partner as to who is emerging from this list as viable candidates to move to the next stage; and present candidates to the partner who then takes these candidates to the next level of the process.   Researchers can be working on as many as ten searches in varying stages of completion.  Six is the norm.  Sometimes they are communicating with clients and candidates to arrange interviews.  It is easy to understand at this point just how much time that individual is on the phone and doing back-up administrative work such as database management. 

Given this workload, it is unlikely that you will be contacted again after an initial discussion if you are not considered a viable candidate at that time.  Sometimes the research associate will be able to tell you that during the call.  At other times that will not be apparent until a review of  your resume.  At that stage, and depending upon the workload of the research associate, a call will be made to you with an update.  More often than not, it is in your best interest to make the follow-up call yourself.  If you get through (and most of the time you will not) you can have that brief discussion.  If you don't get through, leave a voice mail message and generally your call will be returned.  Communicating by email is also acceptable (and often preferred).  It is generally faster, as well, and easier for the research associate to do given the time constraints.

Assuming you have made it to the partner interview stage, you can expect more communication.  At that point you have made the "long list" which is about 10 to 12 viable candidates.  The partner will arrange to have a substantive conversation with you by phone (normally) and will have closely reviewed your resume prior to that conversation.  The partner is in a better position to close the process during that call or continue to move it forward.  If it is obvious there is not a good fit, the partner will usually say so.  Often, however, it is too soon to reach that conclusion.  The partner's aim is to reduce the field to a "short list."  At that point, if not sooner, the partner will meet you personally.  There is an emerging practice of doing the "meeting" by video conference, but the point here is that your candidacy is viable and requires this extra level of communication.  On occasion, the partner will be able to leave that meeting with your knowing where you stand.  A short list may range from five to eight candidates.  From it there will be a "slate" of three to five candidates who are presented to the client.  You absolutely should know from the interview or video conference where you stand in the process.  Those updates will be provided to you by the research associate or the partner--more often the partner will be the one updating you.

If you have progressed to the slate presentation, the next thing you can expect to hear from the partner is how the client has reacted to the candidates presented and how they wish to proceed.  Regardless of whether you will move to the next stage, you can expect to be notified one way or the other.  Calling or emailing the partner is perfectly acceptable if you have not heard something in a week or so.  The same situation applies if you have actually been interviewed by the client.  Once that has occurred, the partner will know in a few days how the client wishes to proceed and you will be contacted immediately following that feedback from the client.  If you are passed over, in most cases the partner will be able to give you some feedback as to why.  But this is not always the case as clients sometimes are vague about this point.  If you are a finalist or a back-up candidate you can expect to be in regular communication with the partner, but if that communication is not speedy enough for you, make a call (or send a short email).  It should go without saying (but I will do so nonetheless) that you should never call the client directly for any reason.  They are paying the recruiter to do all of the communicating.

The bottom line is this:  If you have been contacted by a recruiter (regardless of the title) you have every right to want to know what is happening next, if anything.  This right carries through to the end of the search.  If you have not heard anything within a respectable time frame, call or email the individual(s) who called you.  The farther along you are in the process the more communication you can expect.  

The Candidate Questionnaire

If you are reading this and you are in the business of retaining search firms on occasion to recruit high-impact individuals, I have a suggestion for you that will pay big dividends during your next search, in ways you least expect.  The suggestion involves the preparation of a job-specific electronic narrative questionnaire.  I have been using this valuable tool for many years.  If you want to verify its value, when you are finished reading this posting, link to my website, http://www.ESIassoc.com , and open the page called, "Client Testimonials."  I'll let my clients speak for me as to its value.

The number of questions typically ranges from 10 to 12.  Several of them are experiential in nature and designed to surface past actions and outcomes.  For example:  "Tell us about a time when you were required to do X,  What was the situation leading up to it?  What did you personally do?  How did it turn out?  What did you learn from the experience?"  This line of questioning is nothing new, but for search firms to have their candidates document the answers to these questions, and provide their clients with completed questionnaires for every candidate submitted, it is not a common practice.

Here are the advantages to using such a tool:  Everyone gets asked the same questions. Nothing is edited in their responses  The recruiter and staff are able to use them to better qualify their candidates. The candidates take the opportunity much more seriously when they know that all of their competitors are doing this. The clients have a tool that helps very busy people better sort through a slate of candidates and prepare for their interviews.  Recruiters and clients alike can see how effectively  the candidates write and how they focus on what is really important in various scenarios.

It is my practice never to alter a word of this document.  In the past that has provided my clients with some very unexpected and telling information about a candidate.  It is not uncommon for a client to steer away from an otherwise sterling candidate on the basis of a less than adequate questionnaire.

The questionnaire demonstrates one's writing ability. Senior executives have to communicate in writing a great deal.  If they are poor writers they must rely on help from their staffs. I often see in a position specification that one of the essential qualifications is, "Excellent writing and speaking skills."  Yet few employers verify this skill.  The use of an on-line candidate questionnaire will demonstrate the writing component of this skill or lack thereof.  This is why it is essential in our firm that we do not edit the document. Clients need to see what they are getting.  I have seen them wince at poor writing skills and hire the person anyway for his/her otherwise sterling capabilities.  But at least they get to see the problem in advance of the hire rather than find out after the fact that their otherwise excellent candidate is a poor writer.

If the recruiters you retain do not use such a tool (few if any do) then insist that they do so.  Develop a dozen good questions that you know your decision makers would like to see answered in advance of an interview and provide them to the recruiter with instructions that every candidate will need to have completed one or they will not be considered.  Insist that the questionnaires remain unaltered. To the recruiter this new questionnaire requirement is extra work.  So be it.  I venture that many of them will see the value of this tool after you insist they use it and will make it an everyday practice thereafter.

If you would like a sample of a candidate questionnaire, email me at mburroughs@esiassoc.com and I will send you one.

I would never do a search without it.  If you use this tool as part of your next executive search you will be glad you did.    http://www.ESIassoc.com    mburroughs@ESIassoc.com

After The Interview With An Executive Recruiter

There are likely several opinions on this subject, but here are my own.  The subject is how to thank a recruiter who just interviewed you. When I have met with prospective candidates for either a job-related or a courtesy interview, it surprises me when I do not hear from them afterward either through an email or a hand-written note.  Either is appropriate, and the practice itself is just common courtesy and common sense.  That said, it makes more of an impact on me when I receive a note card with brief comments thanking me for the meeting and reinforcing whatever point is important to them.   I chuckle at myself when opening and reading them that in this fast-paced information age, a handwritten note still grabs my attention--more than the same note sent via email instead.

 If, however, the candidate needed to send me some additional supporting documentation, such as a reworked resume,  then the email is most appropriate and I don't give it a second thought.  I knew in advance, in most cases, that it would be forthcoming.

My point in this brief posting is simply this:  If you are sending any communication as a way of thanking your interviewer, opt for a handwritten note.  A personal touch such as this is better than an impersonal email. You have a chance of better connecting with the recruiter in a way that is different (really) from your competition.  Most people send an email. While emails are fast and efficient, they lack a personal touch and are less professional in my view than a note with the same message.  If you are interviewing a lot, lately, buy some nice "Thank You" cards and use them. Write and mail the note the same day as your interview. It will get to the recipient in a timely manner and the vast majority of the time the note will be opened by that person and read.

The same advice holds true following an interview with anyone--including a potential employer and all members of that interviewing team.   Yes, it will take more time to do this.  But it's worth the effort.
http://www.esiassoc.com 
http://www.michaelkburroughs.com

Unsolicited Resumes: Should You Invest the Time to Send Them to Executive Recruiters?

When I began my career in retained executive recruiting we had not yet entered the Information Age. The firm I worked for was a regional boutique with a solid reputation in its market. There were 12 people on staff. About a fourth of the office space was set aside for files, primarily files for resumes, and most of those were unsolicited. They had arrived over the transom and were not aimed at any particular search we were conducting. We had an administrative staff who would quickly review each resume long enough to determine if we had a search that might be a match. If so, the resume was given to an appropriate research associate who would make the final judgment. If there was a potential match he would initiate contact. If not, the resume was returned to our administrative staff to be filed under an appropriate heading. I don't recall a time when the files were purged. They were, however, reviewed each time a search was initiated for which their job category might possibly be a match. The majority of the time the resumes were never seen again.

Move forward 14 years to another time when I was with a different search firm. This time it was a large multi-national outfit. We were well-entrenched in the Information Age. Not only did the national headquarters receive unsolicited resumes, but so, too, did each of the firm's 40+ regional offices. Sometimes, the resume was sent to all of the offices. If received at a regional office it was usually addressed to a search consultant known to be in that office. We each received several hard copy resumes per day. My personal practice was to look them over, briefly, on occasion. I would usually spend a half hour and open them all. We did not file them, but I must admit that I kept a few in a personal file. More often than not, I was interested in seeing how people were representing themselves. If they had a cover letter, I looked it over. I was especially interested in resume formatting--what worked and what did not work. I have seen more styles of resumes than I could possible remember. Some stood out; most were indistinguishable. Of particular note were the resumes that came from outplacement firms. They looked basically the same and were always two pages.

Many job seekers began to send their resumes to our firm (and individuals) via email. This is now the standard practice. At the firm's national headquarters they were filed in a large database for possible later retrieval. They were rarely reviewed by anyone. If they were sent to my email address I would look them over for a minute or so and read the ones that grabbed my attention. On a very rare occasion one would be an oblique fit to a search I was doing. On occasion, I would file a resume in a personal file on my computer--the ones I particularly liked.

I recall one occasion when I was having a tough time on a search for a senior operations leader for a large company. One of my colleagues had a habit of printing electronic resumes and filing them. I looked at a stack of about 250 resumes he had not yet filed and took the entire stack home one evening to sift through. To my pleasant surprise, I found five or six resumes of people I needed to contact. Two of those ultimately ended up on my short list "slate" of five candidates submitted to my client. I also had received some good referrals from them. Neither got the job, but they were excellent candidates. I never needed to take that approach again.

There are still some books on the market that tell individuals in the job hunt to mass mail (or email) resumes to retained executive recruiters. This is extremely time-consuming and even expensive. From my point of view this is not the best use of your time. The best executive recruiters stay in business because they treat each search as a fresh project. They identify target companies and, with the aid, these days, of social networking, and good old fashion phone calling these individuals, build a growing list of potential candidates, many who refer other candidates. It is not unusual to have well over a hundred that must be reduced to three to five. From my experience the odds of an unsolicited resume making it to the short list are extremely rare.

Look for future blog postings from me in which I will suggest somee strategies for working with executive recruiters.

What Would You Like to Know?

In the past weeks I've published several articles on the Internet.  They're available at
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_K_Burroughs .   The topics cover executive recruiting, coaching and career transitioning.  More are currently in the queue.  Given the increasing responses to these articles, and the diversity of reader interest, if you have a topic you would like for me to address, contact me via a blog comment below and let me know what you would like to have me discuss and I'll do this as soon as possible.  Look for a new blog posting on your topic, or a new article or both.  I will alert you either way. I can also be accessed through my website at http://www.esiassoc.com/ .

Disclosing Compensation Information to an Executive Recruiter

If ever there has been a topic of debate in the management of one's career, it has been in the area of disclosing compensation information.  The thinking is that such disclosure can cost you a job opportunity or result in a pay cut in an offer that you would not otherwise have experienced.  I'm writing this from the standpoint of an executive recruiter.  I will leave to you how you deal with this when interviewing directly with an organization.  Of course, eventually (and generally sooner rather than later) the organization will require you to complete an application.  Leaving the compensation space blank is up to you, and how it will be received is up to them.

But know this if you are dealing with an executive recruiter:  Keeping compensation history close to the vest is usually a show stopper.  We are being paid well to narrow a large field of potential candidates into those few who best fit the position specification, and that includes a compensation range. 

All executive recruiters identify the compensation target range early in the process.  In most cases, their fees are built on the compensation target--total annual cash compensation, usually.  The client fully expects the recruiter to sift through candidates until an excellent slate of those who fit within the range can be assembled.  There are situations where the entire slate of candidates will exceed the desired range.  This is the point at which recruiters put on their consulting hats.  In these situations what has usually happened is that the organization has lost touch with what people are making who hold a given position in comparable organizations.  It is incumbent on the recruiter at that point to be able to back up their findings rather than simply submit a slate of candidates who make more money.

You will quickly be asked by a recruiter a question such as, "How are you currently compensated?" or "How were you compensated in your previous position?"   If you are coy about this, it is questionable whether you will be moved forward in the process.  The search firm generally has a lot of potential candidates they are working through and a client who expects quick results.  If you take a stand on this you will usually be passed over.  If there is a story around your compensation, e.g., everybody at your company had to take a 20% pay cut over the past two years, or, there were no bonuses paid ever since I arrived and 30% of my compensation was tied to bonuses, then just say so.  Recruiters understand this, especially in the current economic conditions.   Every potential candidate is striving to do generally one of two things:  1) move up in responsibilty and compensation, or 2) get out of a bad situation (for any number of reasons).  Experienced recruiters have heard just about everything, and if your background suits the position well, they will represent the truth for you with their client.  Their job is not to low ball you.  It is to find the best candidate--a candidate that will succeed and stay as long as possible with the organization.  It has been my experience that for the right candidate, hiring organizations compensate them fairly, whatever their history.

So when asked by an executive recruiter to disclose your compensation history, do so if you want to continue in the process.  Be candid and open with the recruiter.  In most cases you will be able to work through any perceived compensation difficulties.  http://www.esiassoc.com/  http://www.michaelkburroughs.com/

Military Resume Writing

If you are a military officer who is transitioning from active duty to the private sector, know before you read this that I was once in your shoes.   The advice in this posting may go counter to that which you have received from others or from some books on the market.  It comes from over a decade of experience as an executive recruiter and two decades of experience in the corporate world in the field of corporate staffing, organization development and HR.

One of the most common things I see in military resumes is an attempt to transform military titles into civilian terms.  For example, company or battalion commander becomes something like "general manager" or "director of operations."   "comptrollers" become "chief financial officers."  Another common observance is the absence of accomplishments.  Instead, what is often written are job descriptions that simply state what you were responsible for.  If you have not started doing so already, and you still have a few years to go in your military career, take note of your accomplishments and keep a record of them.  You will need to do this from now own, whether a military professional or a civilian.

So my advice here is short and sweet.  If you were a company, battalion, ship or wing commander, say so.  Tell a little bit about the scope of responsibility and then isolate some key accomplishments.   Go back through your career and think hard about what you accomplished in each of your past positions.  Two or three cited accomplishments per job is a sufficient number.  State them clearly and succinctly.  In the case of staff roles, use terms that do relate to the private sector.  For example, if you were a battalion S-3, state that you were the chief of plans, operations and training.  If you were a battalion S-4, say you were the chief of logistics.  If an S-1, you were the chief of personnel and administration.  You get the idea.  While many civilians can relate to what a company commander might do, they would hardly ever relate to what an S-3 or G-3 would do, so you will have to spell that out a bit.  Instructor positions speak for themselves.  You could say you were a faculty member or department chief at XYZ school or service academy, and briefly state the subject matter for which you were responsible.  

In summary, resist the temptation to try and make your resume look like a civilian manager's of comparable level.  It's not.  Stress leadership wherever appropriate. The experience you have gained in the military has a unique value, and it is more and more appreciated and understood in the past decade than it was previously. Once you make the transition to the private sector you will be able to use civilian terms, but when you do, resist the urge to go back in time and do the same for your military experience on your resume.  Stick with the military titles.  http://www.esiassoc.com/     http://www.michaelkburroughs.com/

Junior Officer Recruiting

With repeat deployments and extreme hardship on their families, there is an exodus if junior officers leaving all branches of the service that is unusually high.  A junior officer falls into the ranks of second lieutenant to captain in the Army, Marines and Air Force, and ensign to lieutenant in the Navy and Coast Guard. They generally have less than eight years of service, sometimes a bit more.  Most, though, are leaving at the five-year point.  In many cases these young leaders are leaving with very mixed emotions.  When you have private conversations with them and ask, "Do you miss the service?" you often get both a yes and a no.  What they DO miss are their comrades.  There is a level of intensity in their relationships with other officers--and their NCO's and enlisted members--that is almost impossible to replicate in the private sector. What they DON'T miss are...well, the obvious things.

Many organizations have long valued the inherent talent in junior military officers and recruit them with enthusiasm.  Others do not have a clue what they are missing.  The ones that don't, either don't realize what junior officers can bring to their organizations, or have little or no understanding of what it takes to develop a junior officer and the types of responsibilities they have held.  Others simply do not put a premium on young leaders who can think on their feet and operate effectively with a minimum of oversight.  Still others think that there is no relevance what-so-ever between a military officer and a civilian manager.  And there are those who have political leanings that are such that the military in general is viewed as an undesirable institution and that carries over to their hiring decisions.

What makes a junior officer attractive to a potential employer in the private sector?  There are many examples.  At the top of the list is that the majority of departing junior officers are very effective leaders as well as managers.   They put a high premium on the welfare and effectiveness of those they lead, and take personal responsibility for what they do and fail to do.  In the course of being effective leaders they are also ethical decision makers.  They fully understand that in reality, there are few, if any, grey areas.  There is right and wrong and they can be counted on not only to do things right, but to do the right things, which is (to paraphrase Warren Bennis) the difference between management and leadership.  Both are, of course, essential.  But there is little in the way of comparable leadership formation in the ranks of young business managers.  From the outset in the military, leadership is driven home, and one's peers will insist that another officer conforms to the highest standards, even if the system fails to see it for some reason.  

From an officer's earliest days as a cadet or midshipman, the point is drilled home that they are not special people, they just have a high obligation to serve responsibly, and they have many for whom they are responsible...totally responsible.  The maxim in the military is that an officer's first obligation is to the mission, followed very closely by being totally responsible for the health and welfare of those who work under his or her supervision.  Those two values are complimentary not contradictory. There is a level of "selflessness" that is expected of a junior officer that is not the norm in the private sector.  Let me illustrate with just a couple of examples.  As a young cadet, I was acting as a platoon leader on a forced road march training exercise.  It was cold and raining.  We had about 20 miles to cover that day, with pack and weapon.  We would stop every hour for five or ten minutes.  It is natural for people in such a situation to simply flop down and rest as much as possible.  But there was a mission to perform.  Every member of that march had to face and point their weapons outwardly from the edge of the road, in effect building a defensive perimeter.  It was my job to see that they did that affectively while also getting a breather. Furthermore, it was also my responsibility to check on the welfare of my men, and in this case, welfare had a lot to do with the condition of their feet.  I asked every man to tell me how his feet were holding out.  I expected and got truthful answers.  I had a lot of cold, bare, blistering, smelly, wet feet to look at that day. At least once or twice along the march people would put on dry socks.  While that may seem trivial, the point was this:  I looked after the mission and the welfare of my men BEFORE I looked after my own welfare.  In essence, my feet stayed wet most of that day.  Yes, it is important for the leader to remain healthy, but it was more important for me to push on and check on my soldiers before looking after myself.  It was a lesson that stuck.

Another example occured when I entered the private sector in the early 80's.  I had the privilege of using the company's executive dining room for lunch.  I did not do so.  It was anethma to me to see the men and women in my department going the main cafeteria while I would have ducked into the executive dining room.   You see, as a junior officer, it was fully expected that I did not eat a bite until all of my soldiers had been fed.  It was my responsibility to not only see that they were fed first, but that the quality of the food was good (field rations aside).   It was very difficult for me to fathom eating in better conditions, and eating better food, than the people for whom I was responsible.  It still is.

So how does this relate to the private sector, to actively recruiting junior officers who are leaving the service of their country?  Well, extrapolate those simple values to the complexities of accomplishing the mission in your organization.  Would it not make sense to hire young leaders for whom it is ingrained that the right things get done?  That the employees are well looked after along the way?  Would it not be desirable to have your young managers leading from the front and subordinating their own needs until those they lead are well taken care of? (There is a statue of an infantry officer at Fort Benning, Georgia, leading the charge, looking back and motioning with his arm and hand for his soldiers to follow.  Incribed below are the words, "Follow me!")   

Yes, there are many fine young leaders out there.  Leaders who did not come from the junior officer ranks of the military.  But with few exceptions, and irrespective of the branch of service, junior officers are groomed from the start to do the right things while doing things right.  If you have not incorporated junior officer recruiting into your hiring practices I would urge you to do so.  There are several recruiting firms who specialize in placing junior officers.  Talk to them and see for yourself the talent that is increasingly becoming available to you.   http://www.esiassoc.com/    http://www.michaelkburroughs.com/