Headhunter cracks the matching code for candidates and companies

Article in Computerwoche, 15.12.2023

How employers and top applicants can best come together – How real matching works

Employers need to become more flexible and get a holistic picture of the future manager instead of slavishly clinging to the job advertisement, demands headhunter Frank Rechsteiner, and he also has a few ideas on how this can be achieved.

Time and again, both employers and applicants complain that things don’t work out, that both sides realize too late that they don’t fit together. To make this work better, HR consultant Frank Rechsteiner likes to talk about the so-called matching code, i.e. a method in which employers and applicants come together right away and with as little friction as possible.

When he sets out to find the right candidate for his client, a workshop with the company looking for the right candidate is necessary “a half-hour briefing with the HR department is not enough,” he knows from years of experience. The key to success lies in working together with the specialist department to understand the exact requirements profile and tasks.

The confidential cooperation with the client must go so far that he, as a headhunter, can present candidates with the right potential, who can then fully develop this potential with their future employer. His credo is: We don’t match for jobs, but for potential.

For Rechsteiner, the workshop at decision-maker level and preferably with the management is so important in order to sensitize the bosses “right at the top” to the issue of skills shortages and to clearly define the requirements. In his experience, the profile is formulated far too generally. “In 95 percent of cases, the problem lies within the company if the right applicant doesn’t come knocking,” is his message to employers.

Most companies still look at candidates on a skills level – according to the motto: What have they already done? But that is “only half the battle”, you have to look at the candidate “holistically”. This involves a personality analysis, such as how they react to stressful situations. But the private environment should also be addressed in order to be able to better understand why the candidate reacts the way they do in certain situations.

According to Rechsteiner, the fact is that the expectations of employers at C-level and management level have changed in such a way that the professional level is becoming less important. Today, it is much more important, among other things:

• Can the applicant inspire people?
• Does he have a vision for the company or the employees – and where does he want to take the company?
• How does he deal with employees?

And finally, something that is often not mentioned so explicitly but is “mega important” – sales experience.

Rechsteiner calls these candidates business accelerators. In other words, those who are able to build up a new area, have industry experience, immediately score points with innovations and ideally bring customers and a team with them.