What’s the Difference Between a Recruiter and a Headhunter?
Recently, I was discussing SEO keywords with the head of the firm that handles my digital marketing. Gabriel mentioned that along with the keyword recruiter, the keyword headhunter was also very common in internet searches and asked me if there was any difference between a recruiter and a headhunter. My knee-jerk response was that there […]
The Challenge of Recruiting a CFO in a Small Town
Companies based in small towns located far from major population centres face unique difficulties in recruiting qualified people in general, and find it especially difficult to recruit qualified executives. The Only Game in Town In many cases, if the company in question is of any size, they’re the town’s biggest single employer and the neighbouring […]
Let go as CFO? Welcome to the Club
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I was most recently CFO of a good-sized public telecommunications concern. I had been with the company for seven years, the last five of which as VP Finance. Two years ago, the company replaced the CEO, my boss, with another telecommunications executive recruited from outside the company. The new […]
I Want My New CFO Yesterday!
A few months ago, I got a call from the CEO of a mid-sized manufacturing concern who needed to recruit a VP Finance. The incumbent had just handed in her notice, was leaving the firm in four weeks, and he was in a bit of a panic to replace her. This CEO wanted to meet […]
5 Things CFOs Hate about Job Hunting
1. Recruiters When you were a bright, young, up-and-coming accounting professional, recruiters couldn’t get enough of you. If you were in public accounting, they started calling right after you passed the UFE. If you were in financial reporting, financial planning and analysis or audit in industry, head-hunters of all stripes were in frequent touch with […]
What Do I Need to Pay My Next CFO?
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I run a $100mm manufacturing business out in Mississauga. My CFO just quit and I need to find a replacement. Frankly, I’m not sorry to see this guy go, he never really added a lot of value other than keeping the accounting function going smoothly. He was with […]
Great Expectations
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m the Controller for a Canadian, TSX listed, software company up in Markham. I’ve been recruiting for a Manager of Financial Reporting and we’re at the offer stage with one of the candidates that we’ve been interviewing. When we started interviewing this person (let’s call him Steve), we told […]
What’s in a Name: Vice President of Finance, Director of Finance or Controller?
Once you’ve made the decision that you need a qualified professional to head up your finance function, the next decision is determining how much horsepower you actually need in your CFO. And in order to do that, you need to realistically assess not only how much technical horsepower is required to handle the job but […]
Placement Agencies vs. Executive Search Firms: How You Pay Determines How You Play
In the early days of the recruitment industry (which wasn’t all that long ago), it was easy to distinguish between the two very distinct types of recruitment firms – placement agencies and executive search firms. Placement agencies were used for hiring junior and clerical staff, and executive search firms were retained to recruit executives. As […]
Vision Quest
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I run a $45mm CPG manufacturing company and we’ve been recruiting for a new VP Finance to replace the incumbent who’s about to retire. I posted the job on LinkedIn and have interviewed four people so far who’ve headed up finance departments in CPG companies. Of the four […]
Time Kills All Deals
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’ve recently been interviewing with a $100mm manufacturer for a newly created Vice President, Finance position. I started the process four months ago and have had six interviews so far. I’ve met the CEO, his executive team, his father and brother (the company is family owned), the firm’s public […]
Bridesmaid’s Blues
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: Two weeks ago, I had the final of four interviews for a VP Finance role at a mid-sized public company. A few days later, the recruiter I was working with told me the company had gone with another candidate who was a “better fit”. Yesterday, the recruiter called again […]
Why Am I Having Trouble Recruiting A Controller?
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m the Vice President of Finance for a fairly large retail concern with stores across Canada. I recently promoted one of my divisional controllers into a regional Director of Finance role and I needed to backfill that position. Since I didn’t have anyone in my accounting group ready to […]
Why I Don’t Like Functional Resumes
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m currently VP Finance of a mid-sized auto parts manufacturer with over twenty five years’ experience behind me. I wasn’t really on the job market but I was recently approached by a headhunter on a really interesting CFO position with a PE owned company in the auto parts industry […]
Turning Lemons into Lemonade
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m the controller of an $800mm TSX listed company and my assistant controller is going on maternity leave for a year. Normally I’d hire a contractor to fill in for the duration, but the CFO has put a moratorium on any contract hiring. We’re already running pretty lean so […]
Tips for CFOs Who Want to Turbo-Charge Their Job Search Efforts
In a previous article (The Invisible Job Market for Financial Executives), I discussed the lack of protocol around recruiting a finance executive in the world of small and medium sized enterprises. However, SMEs do have one common theme when it comes to recruiting a CFO or vice president of finance – they tend to take […]
Are you hiring a CFO? Calculating Compensation Within Private Companies
Hiring a top notch CFO, someone who will advance your company’s agenda and business objectives, requires strategic thinking on a number of fronts, not least of which is compensation. Not only will a well thought out compensation plan bring the best candidate to the table, it will align your CFO properly with your company’s interests. […]
There’s Never Time to Do It Right but there’s Always Time to Do It Over
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m the VP Finance of a $300mm TSX listed software services firm. My Director of Financial Reporting resigned a couple of months ago and since have the bench to replace her from within, I needed to go outside the firm to recruit for this position. As I was considering […]
Taking the Average (and Bad) CFO Hire Out of Play
Companies going to market to recruit a financial executive can trip over any number of small snags. Recruiting an executive tends to be more complicated than most business endeavors due to the large human component involved in the transaction. Even after all the tangibles have been addressed, like education, technical qualifications, and industry experience, you […]
I’m An Underpaid CPA CA – How Do I Deal With That In A Job Interview?
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m a qualified CPA CA with almost three years of experience in industry since leaving public practice. I didn’t take the traditional route to getting my CA designation – I left public accounting when I had fulfilled all of my hours commitments to do some traveling and then wrote […]
