The Effectiveness of a Pre-Selection Decision At a Search and Selection Firm

The Effectiveness of a Pre-Selection Decision

At a Search and Selection Firm

Natalia Kotelnikova

REC Member Number 00062426

2006/07

The Effectiveness of a Pre-Selection Decision at a Search and Selection Firm Natalia Kotelnikova


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Table of Contents

Chapter Page Number

Area of Study 3

Aims and Objectives 3

Research Method 3

Discussion of Relevant Recruitment Theory 4

Summary of Research Undertaken 6

Analysis of Research Results 7

Discussion of How Theory Operates in

Practice

8

Problems with Putting Theory into Practice 10

Summary of Findings 11

Conclusions 12

Recommendations 13

Learning Outcomes 14

Bibliography 15

Appendix A An Example of a Proposal 16

Appendix B Project Briefing Form 27

Appendix C Role Description 30

Appendix D Validation Sheet 33

Appendix E Interview Report 34

Appendix F Execution Plan 39

Appendix G Research Manual 41

Appendix H Job Description 43

Appendix I Acid Test 46



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Area of Study

The project is dedicated the stage of the recruitment process that follows attracting a

number of candidates. The pre-selection stage is for gathering and interpreting of information

about candidates who have responded to your chosen method of advertising.1 The REC DipRP

syllabus states that the process of pre-selection allows us to filter out those who are probably

not suitable enough to interview, and to short-list those applicants, whom we would like to look

at more closely. The Pre-Selection stage ends, therefore, when we are satisfied that we have an

adequate short-list for interview.2

Aims and Objectives

This project will look into two important areas of candidate pre-selection process. The

first area is agreeing with the Client on mutually acceptable universal selection criteria:

what are the minimum selection criteria and what kind of candidates could be secured. The

search firm has to be sure that the search criteria are adequate. We shall observe the role of

executive search consultants in playing a pivotal role in defining the selection criteria of

candidates in alliance with the Client‟s recruitment team.

The second area is the selection process methodology: the search firm has to make

sure that it has an adequate pre-selection tool in place. The project will look into how

effective the process of pre-selection is at both Maxwell Drummond energy consultants and the

oil and gas practice at Futurestep search and selection consultancy. It will highlight the role of

the consultancy as an intermediary in processing the best candidates, tailored to clients‟ needs,

which are directly influenced by market forces that drive the quality of candidates against the

time frames, clients‟ financial standing and expectations and their cultural understanding of

local markets. The project will also look into how to make a headhunting job of a researcher

more straight forward and efficient through building a candidate assessment and validation

system called “Acid Test”.

Research Method

We will analyse documents received from actual candidates and business proposals

from senior consultants. We will observe the consultancy‟s capabilities in managing clients‟

expectations through educating, directing and assisting the clients in achieving the best

standards of quality of candidates in the market-driven environment. We will interview and

shadow the leading consultants at Maxwell Drummond to learn their modus operandi of

identifying and pre-selecting candidates and also look into specific documentation used at



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Maxwell Drummond to filter candidates, i.e. an “Acid Test”. We will review the effectiveness

of currently used pre-selection methods at Maxwell Drummond and Futurestep: analyse the

clarity of personal specifications, created in the meetings with clients, how clear the clients are

about what they want and need and how effective personal specifications influence the sifting

process through the “Acid Test”. It will also look into how efficient references and interview

reports are in helping clients to make a final decision.

Discussion of Relevant Recruitment Theory

Once a company has briefed a recruitment consultant they need not be involved in the

recruitment process, save to conduct selection interviews and to implement the decision. In

addition, agencies will often have the right person for the job already on database, so that the

lead time to appointment is dramatically reduced.3

Pre-selection is the activity you undertake after advertising, and the process can be

defined as follows: Pre-selection is the process of analyzing information from all applicants

who have responded to an advertised vacancy, in order to short-list those applicants who will

be invited for interview.4

The REC DipRP Module 1 2006-7 syllabus is stating that there are six main methods by

which applicants will respond to an advertisement: Curriculum Vitae (CV), application form,

letter of application, registration at an agency, personally (telephone or walk-in) and internal

application.5

Generally, the employment agency will use the information gathered at the registration

interview to either produce a CV or augment the applicant‟s own CV, prior to presenting them

to an employer.6

A CV is a history of an individual‟s education, career and work history, personal

circumstances, interests and other background information. The CV is arguably the most

common and accepted form of applicant response used today and can either be a general

document or tailor made to match a specific vacancy. Whereas a CV may be factually accurate,

the astute candidate or intermediary will seek to emphasise or highlight those skills,

experiences or attributes that closely match key requirements of the job description and person

specification.7

Advantages of CV: opportunity for candidates to provide full information about

skills and experience; time saving – candidates can respond quickly without



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waiting for application form to arrive; increased response –once a candidate has

a CV she/he can respond without considerable effort; etc.8

Disadvantages of a CV: can be lengthy and give candidates the chance to

exaggerate suitability; variety of style and layout makes it more difficult to

objectively compare candidates; can deter candidates who do not have a CV or

the facilities or experience to produce one; etc.9

A pre-selection interview is a very important part of a pre-selection process at a search

and selection consultancy. Pre-selection – often conducted by an employment agency or

business to screen candidates and establish their suitability for particular types of work.10

It is

important for interviewers to understand the skills and competences they will need to conduct

an effective interview. The structure of an interview describes its shape. Unlike an unstructured

dialogue, it has objectives i.e. a sense of direction. An interview needs to have clear objectives,

even if they are not always written down. These are normally: 1) to get information, facts and

evidence from, and add to that already supplied by, a candidate; 2) to provide information to

the candidate; 3) to use the information gained in deciding on a candidate‟s suitability for a

particular job or types of jobs.11

A research undertaken into the selection interview is concerned with the overall

outcome of the interview in terms of its reliability and validity and also with non-verbal

behavior of the interviewer and interviewee, and the influence of personal perception on

decision making in the interview.12

Reliability refers to the consistency of judgments made by an interviewer of she/he

were to interview the candidate afresh on a second occasion or if someone else were to

interview the same candidate. Good job analysis, providing selection criteria, and interviewer

training tend to increase reliability.13

Interviews appear to offer low but positive validity in relation to work success. More

recent studies suggest that different types of interview may have different validities. Structured

interviews, with job-relevant criteria derived from detailed job analysis, are better at predicting

future job performance.14

Before the interview takes place, there are several factors which will affect the way it

will proceed: lack of clear job information; inappropriate person specification stereotypes;

insufficient preparation; limited interview skills training; ignorance of the law; lack of diversity

awareness; etc.15



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In order to conduct an interview effectively it is imperative to establish what the job

involves and the specific skills and attributes needed to perform successfully in the role.16

The factors highlighted as potential problems before the interview serve also as

problems during the interview itself: first impressions; visual cues; hearing what they want to

hear; overweighting negative information; overweighting academic qualifications; attitudal,

gender and racial similarity; cross-cultural issues; questioning style; etc.17

Following the interview, additional factors can affect how the information gathered is

evaluated and selection decisions made: contrast effects; pressure to select; intuitive decision

making; structured interview guides and note taking; etc.18

The information collected from a candidate must conform to the Regulations issued

under the Employment Agencies Act 2003 Regulations.19

It is particularly relevant for an agency, supplying candidates for the oil and gas

industry, that it must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that both work seeker and

hirer are aware of any requirements imposed by law or a professional body for the work seeker

to take up that position and make all reasonably practicable enquiries to ensure that it would

not be detrimental to either the interests of the work seeker or the hirer.20

The process of attracting candidates can be seen as one of recruitment. In other words,

we are trying to create a pool of near-suitable and suitable candidates.21

The process of pre-selection, as we have seen, allows us to filter out those who are

probably not suitable enough to interview, and to short-list those applicants, whom we would

like to look at more closely. The Pre-Selection stage ends, therefore, when we are satisfied that

we have an adequate shortlist to present for an interview with a Client.22

Summary of Research Undertaken

We have observed that executive search consultants at Futurestep and Maxwell

Drummond rely largely on identifying and „headhunting‟ the right candidates through the

research of the target market for the senior appointments. Recruitment and pre-selection

process is clearly a team work at an executive search consultancy.23

The team normally consists

of a business development consultant, delivery consultant and a consultant associate, i.e. a

researcher. A Job Description and a Person Specification are defined and decided on during a

negotiation process with a client, upon which a retainer contract is signed. Managing

consultant, in ordinary circumstances, being a person who has secured a client, takes up a role

of an advisor to a client. A senior consultant‟s responsibility is to educate a client about current



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market conditions, supply/demand situation in a certain region for a certain role and salary

levels. [Appendix A] This all is a part of managing client‟s expectations and is a part of

services provided within a package by a Search and Selection firm. [Appendix B] A delivery

consultant is managing day-to-day activities as an account manager, who updates a client on a

progress of work done and prepares chosen candidates for an interview with a client. A

delivery consultant is also responsible for a Position Profile, based on the information received

from a client and a managing consultant. [Appendix C] At Futurestep, a delivery consultant

and/or a researcher approaches identified candidates to secure their interest in a role and also

asks for their CVs. Sometimes, an initial approach is the case of sending a Validation Sheet to a

candidate, identified as suitable. [Appendix D] Once a candidate‟s interest is secured, a

delivery consultant and/or a researcher calls back to a candidate for an in-depth conversation

about a candidate‟s work experience, education, skills set, family circumstances and etc., upon

which a Candidate Profile is written. [Appendix E] Careful planning prior to interview will

ensure that any gaps or apparent weaknesses against the specification are highlighted for

probing at interview, when all facts will be checked through questioning.24

The REC DipRP syllabus states that we should not reject candidates without care –

some may offer skills and experience packaged in ways that we did not expect when we drafted

our person specification and advertisement.25

A Candidate Profile of a pre-selected candidate

for a role is forwarded to a client at the end of a pre-selection process at Futurestep.

Analysis of Research Results

During an exercise for a top five exploration and production companies in the year 2006

at Maxwell Drummond, that was for reservoir engineers that were required to have a full

complement of “classical” reservoir engineering skills, i.e. simulation and model building,

decline curve analysis and material balance. However, there was a marked variance in the

suitability of candidates, sourced by researchers: some candidates had one of the skill sets, i.e.

simulation, but not the rest. What became apparent on consultation with the research team, was

that a number of them did not have the sufficient technical understanding of subsurface matters

to properly qualify and screen the candidates. By utilising the acid test, which was linked to the

three key aspects of “classical” reservoir engineering, researchers were more able to effectively

screen candidates, despite their limited technical understanding. Essentially, previously anyone

with job title of “reservoir engineer” was being put forward to the consultant, but after adoption

of the acid test, only candidates, who could demonstrate experience in all the required areas,



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were pre-selected by researchers for the consultant‟s review. Adopting the acid test led to a

marked increase of relevant candidates being provided to the consultant by the researchers.

[Appendix F]

At the beginning of each assignment a researcher would discuss with a consultant a

Clients‟ corporate culture, their target marketplace and the outline of a job profile to determine

the number of hours required to successfully generate candidates for an employment

opportunity. Once the estimate is proposed and agreed upon, a researcher will assist a

consultant in developing a target company listing and a formal job profile that will be used to

evaluate all prospective executives.26

Recruitment Research involves direct sourcing of target companies by a researcher to

find candidates - the best people, currently performing the job a Client needs done. Researchers

locate candidates through cold calling and networking with people in the industry and relevant

professional associations.26

The end result is a thoroughly researched and filtered list of prospective candidates

tailored to a Client‟s specific position, and submitted to a Client in a detailed research report.

The research report provides a list of candidates who have the experience, education, salary and

geographical preference specified in the job profile. [Appendix G]

Discussion of How Theory Operates in Practice

When a researcher starts a new exercise, there a number of key criteria to be

established, appertaining to the specific exercise, before commencing work on the search. This

can be named the process of Defining the Search Universe. Defining the Search universe

entails fully understanding what your client is looking for on this exercise, where it is likely to

be found and then assembling the list of companies applicable for strategic targeting.

In conceptualizing this search universe a list should be made of companies that are

priority for targeting followed by secondary and tertiary targets. The criteria for mapping this

out is dependant on a number of factors such as a) where are the appropriate candidates( in

terms of comparable experience and skill set ) most likely to be found b) companies that fit

within the same geographic sector negating the need for relocation (if possible ) c) companies

where the pay structure is not superior to the pay structure of the MDI (Maxwell Drummond)

client represented. Companies that represent the aforementioned would be deemed priority or

Tier 1 in the search universe companies that do not all have the above criteria but still have

appropriate candidates would still be included in search process but would be secondary or tier



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2 targets. Tier 3 companies would again have even less of the appropriate criteria (obviously

the researcher should make sure with MDI management which companies are off limits before

compiling any search list).27

An example case study of this process in action is the following:

Client A is a top 5 Oil and Gas Operator and is looking for a Senior Reservoir engineer

for a subsurface team in Aberdeen. The incumbent is to have 10-15 years experience in

reservoir engineering ideally within a major Exploration and Production company with at least

5 years in integrated subsurface teams. The client is middle table in terms of remuneration.

In mapping out a search universe the priority companies, Tier 1 companies, would be

other major oil and gas operators due to the comparable in depth skills, similar pay structures

and same geographic location. These companies would fulfill all the key criteria for the search

and should be of primary focus for the search. Tier 2 companies would be large Independents

in Aberdeen region who would have appropriate candidates but where the pay structure (in

terms of base remuneration) may be superior to the MDI client. Tier 3 companies would be

consultancies or other forms of service provider based in Aberdeen where the skill sets of

candidates are less of a fit to the role spec.27

Typically, a search follows this sequence at Futurestep:

1. During our initial interviews with client executives who have a direct interest in, or

relationship with, the position to be filled, we develop or refine a position profile that describes

the basic responsibilities of the position, its title, compensation, reporting relationships and the

education and experience required for satisfactory performance. In addition, we obtain

information on the client organisation, its history, objectives, current evolution, personalities

involved etc. The position profile and information relative to the client‟s present and future

operations serve as a guide in determine whom we will contact during the course of the search.

2. Once we have developed the specifications for the job, we then search the field to

locate persons with qualifications that match closely. Because individuals with the desired

qualities are usually not actively looking for a job, they must be sought out and brought to the

client‟s attention. It is our practice to search comparable companies or institutions in the

industry and to use a direct approach in locating individuals who both meet the position

requirements, and who have accomplishments and success in a position that closely

approximates the position to be filled. This process is designed to yield several qualified

candidates who can be compared and evaluated competitively against each other - and against

the best possible candidates from within the company, if any.



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3. Candidates are thoroughly interviewed to obtain a realistic understanding of their

accomplishments, capabilities and potential. The candidates are also evaluated to determine

their strengths and limitations. In conducting reference checks, it is our practice to talk directly

with individuals who are or have been in a position to evaluate the candidate‟s performance on

the job. These references and evaluations are combined in our own frank, objective appraisals

of the candidates.

4. We mutually agree that any prospect developed through the Client means be brought

to our attention to avoid duplication of effort and enable us to conduct independent evaluation

of these prospects.

5. Once we have evaluated the potential candidates, we normally present the three most

qualified individuals to the client for his consideration. Our firm prepares a detailed written

report on our findings relative to these candidates, including reference check information, the

candidates‟ track record and our evaluation. We personally present these reports and co-

ordinate initial interviews. Normally, the client follows up these initial meetings with

additional interviews to select the person who best satisfies the needs of the position. The final

selection of the individual and the offer of employment are always made by the client. We are

prepared to assist, when required, in establishing the terms of employment. [Appendix A]

Problems with Putting Theory into Practice

Prior to 2004 screening and pre interview assessment of candidates at MDI (Maxwell

Drummond) was left to the discretion of individual researchers, however this led to a variance

in quality of candidates provided to consultants dependant of the diligence of and technical

understanding of the researchers undertaking the assignment.

To rectify this and ensure throughout the Maxwell Drummond a more robust and

standardized product to consultants and more effective utilization of time by researchers, the

decision was made companywide to adopt an “Acid Test” screening document.

This was initially rolled out in North America in 2004 but has been adopted company

wide since 2006.

The Acid Test means that prior to being put forward to interview with a consultant a

candidate must answer a number of key questions relating to their experience, technical skill

set, interest and mobility that make sure that they are in the first instance a good fit for the

position they are being contacted for.



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An example of where this has added value is previously MDI would undertake an

assignment to source a drilling engineer for an operator. This position would recognize the

candidate to have skills and experience in all the key areas of well construction – casing design,

drill string design, torque and drag and well planning. [Appendix H] However, some people,

titled Drilling Engineer in the service sector, would only have skills in one area of well

construction, i.e. directional drilling, without the technical know how a researcher would not be

able to readily differentiate between the two, however, by applying the acid test, which is

linked to key competencies of the role, even a researcher with limited technical knowledge can

screen unsuitable candidates and make sure the consultants time is not wasted on non

productive interviews.

In conclusion, adopting on Acid Test screening document has been successful, in

ensuring a more robust and standardized way for researchers (headhunters) to provide

candidates to consider a higher ratio of effective interviews, undertaken by consultants and

non-technically minded researchers to screen candidates from diverse technical backgrounds.

[Appendix I]

In the case of Futurestep, an additional challenge was that a new Client, OMEL, an

Indian Company, was a new entrant to the EU market. They had their own ideas and

convictions about the salary levels and person specifications for the roles they have instructed

us to recruit for. It took quite a while for our senior client partners to persuade and educate the

Client about the UK recruitment market conditions and legislation, which was counter-

productive to our team schedule. We had to take a few detours and presented the UK

employment market analysis before going into the process of headhunting candidates who we

thought would be right for the particular Client.

It was difficult to assess fully timescales at this junction. However, if engaged by our

Client, OMEL, we would propose to develop a full project plan with detailed timelines. It

should be noted that the usual timeline for an assignment: a shortlist of candidates for each role

is usually ready for a client to interview within 6 weeks of commencing the work. Client

interviews and offer/acceptance is where delays can occur but should be avoided. The UK

most senior candidates will have notice periods of 1-3 months in their contracts of employment.

[Appendix A]

Summary of Findings

We found out about the importance of the following components of a pre-selection

process, which are essential for achievement of optimal results in pre-selection stage: acid test,



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accuracy of pre-screening, education of a client, advisory services and accurate job

descriptions and person specifications.

Our recent experience with a number of clients has shown that unless a company

understands this market fully, has a strong and attractive proposition (in terms of company, role

and package) and moves quickly and professionally then they will not be successful in

attracting the talent they require to drive their business forward. [Appendix A]

We have reviewed the Job Descriptions, Person Specifications and also “Acid Tests”,

built upon them both at Maxwell Drummond and Futurestep. We have consolidated our

perspectives on the market and made a number of comments below:

We understood that the main focus for the technical recruitment for our Client‟s

business is to identify and attract experienced talent; managers with a sound project supervisory

experience. This talent is indeed in short supply and very much has a price premium attached

to it. Thus, the general observation that we would require is to have a strong proposition and

be able to move very quickly to attract such people has to be understood.

As many of these roles are in an initial „start-up‟ business then it is likely that

these people will be in a very exposed (stand alone) position with little or no technical support.

If that is the case then it is more likely that we would need to fill these positions with highly

experienced personnel who have had previous „start-up‟ experience. These people will be, by

default, expensive. Having looked at our current data, salaries of £200-£500k would not be

unusual.

Our view (irrespective of the level seniority/importance for these positions) is

that it will be very difficult to produce a shortlist of 2/3 candidates for each of these positions

and that it can be helpful to take potential candidates on a “drip-feed” basis.

A difficulty will be extracting candidates who would be potentially losing

favorable pensions and cash incentives for a new start up. [Appendix A]

Conclusions

There are two types of conclusions we have arrived at:

The first conclusion is that we should use a carefully collated “Acid Test”, based on job

description and person specification, to filter candidates through. This “Acid Test” will help

headhunters with non-technical background to make a correct decision about suitability a

candidate.



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The second conclusion is that the role of executive search consultants is to play a

pivotal role in defining the selection criteria of candidates in alliance with the Client‟s

recruitment team.

We came to the conclusion that the following modus operandi is the best for working

with new international entrant-Clients within the oil and gas sector:

We will produce a job and person specification for use in attracting candidates.

This will be sent to a Client for any required amendments.

We have carried out a number of assignments in the oil and gas industry and would

expect to consolidate our knowledge and contacts to produce an agreed target list of people and

companies, i.e. a search universe. We would also seek the views of key individuals in the

relevant markets on who the best candidates are. We would discuss this long list of potential

candidates with a client.

We will then approach these potential candidates, court interest and assess their

suitability through interview, search assessment and cross-referencing.

We will submit a shortlist of suitable people with consultant‟s comments. We

prefer to meet with a client face-to-face to do this.

We will arrange interviews for the candidates with a client.

We will then work closely with a client to handle the offer to the chosen candidates.

When we have identified a final list of candidates we will take out formal reference

checks.

Recommendations

In the present market conditions, there is a need in defining mutually agreed and

universally accepted search criteria with a Client. This would involve an agreement about

contemporary trends in salary levels and qualification requirements to candidates, depending in

which region of the world and at what level of seniority a recruitment process is taking place.

[Appendix A]

Throughout the search process we would provide the Client with regular update reports

and seek the Client‟s feedback on the work in hand. At the same time, there is a real need in

structuring a search and selection work done by researchers, headhunting top personnel,

through the “Acid Tests”.

In addition to the executive search offering, consultants should also offer a range of

business intelligence services which are designed to help the Clients consolidate their position

in the market and gain valuable insight into their competitors‟ strengths and weaknesses.28



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The business intelligence services should be designed to provide the Clients with all the

information they need to make key decisions across a range of areas including hiring,

budgeting, business planning, remuneration and general strategy.28

Each of the following suggested points should create a solution, customized to a

Client‟s particular needs:

Competitor Intelligence: this product provides a Client with detailed

information on an agreed list of key competitors. Areas covered would include organizational

structure, product strengths, P&L, hiring history and threat analysis

Client Analysis: by providing far-reaching insights into specific clients,

consultants should help Clients to serve those clients better, thereby maximizing revenue

Succession Planning / Benchmarking: this type of project allows you to

benchmark your current employees against their counterparts in other institutions; this can be a

useful measure against unexpected team departures, allowing you minimize the impact of

losing key personnel

Perception Analysis: A Client knows what they think of their competitors and

clients, but what do competitors think of a Client? The consultant‟s perception analysis reports

should give a true and accurate profile of the way the market assesses a Client‟s product

offering, their business and the people within it

New Market Entry Analysis: this product allows a Client to assess a market

which they may be considering entering. A consultant should be able to identify your potential

competitors‟ strengths and weaknesses, thereby helping you to avoid their mistakes and

improve upon their successes 28

Learning Outcomes

The Futurestep model demonstrates the importance of defining at the outset universally

agreed selection criteria, so that both the search company and the client recruitment team are

selecting and making recruitment decisions on the same criteria. This means that there is a

standardized and efficient product provided by the researches to the consultant.

We have learnt that the recruitment process for the oil and gas industry on the

international stage is sophisticated and includes more stages than regional. This means that a

recruitment consultant, working on the international stage, needs to take into consideration

more factors of uncertainty as an affect of international Clients‟ decision-making on pre-

selected candidates.



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The Maxwell Drummond model demonstrates that it is important to make sure that

there is an adequate pre-selection tool in place and that a researcher receives a sufficient

training in headhunting for technical roles and also prompted to make a correct pre-selection

decision with a help of an “Acid Test”.

Bibliography

1. REC DipRP Module 1 2006-7, Chapter 4, page 1



4. REC DipRP Module 1 2006-7, Chapter 4, Page 1

5. REC DipRP Module 1 2006-7, Chapter 4, Page 1-2

6. REC DipRP Module 1 2006-7, Chapter 4, page 5; REC DipRP Module 2 2006- 7,

Chapter 11, page 9; REC DipRP Module 2 2006-7, Chapter 11, Page 10













19. REC DipRP Module 1 2006-7, Chapter 4, Page 5; REC Dip RP Module 2 2006-7,

Chapter 11,

20. REC DipRP Module 2 2006-7, Chapter 11. page 16



23. “How to Manage the Search Consultant you are Working With” by Sherri l. Rosenberg,

part “Excerpts from On Target, The Newsletter of the Executive Search Roundtable”



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24. REC DipRP 2006-7 Module 1, Chapter 4, page 10


26. Futurestep Research Manual 2006

27. Maxwell Drummond Search Training Manual

28. http://www.akamaifinancial.com/executive_search.html

The Effectiveness of a Pre-Selection Decision At a Search and Selection Firm

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