In this episode, Marcus Edwardes speaks with Matt Heard, an executive search leader for purpose-driven organizations.

He is the VP of Operations for FireSeeds, a search firm in Birmingham, Alabama. Matt has been with the company for nine years and has worked on over 900 retained searches.

Listen in as Matt talks about the importance of understanding your clients’ culture at a deep level in order to do your best job as a recruiter.

He stresses the importance of being able to communicate your client’s story effectively, no matter their industry. Matt also gives his best advice on explaining to particularly picky clients that the “perfect candidate” does not exist.

Finally, Matt goes through his candidate placement process and why he believes in maintaining relationships with everyone he touches in the process.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

●      [01:15] What it means to do recruitment for “purpose-driven” organizations

●      [04:56] Putting together a prospect list of companies with a clear mission or purpose

●      [08:55] Finding companies that care about their people

●      [10:42] Getting to the bottom of your clients’ culture

●      [17:07] The benefits of meeting your clients in person

●      [19:38] Communicating your client’s story

●      [23:45] Working with clients in various industries

●      [28:46] Addressing the “perfect candidate” problem

●      [37:23] Matt’s candidate experience process

Key quotes:

●      “We are dealing in communities that need companies that care. We’re looking for the heart behind the business.”

●      “A big part of how we think about search is communicating clients’ stories.”

●      “We have a lot of work to do as a company to make the person who finished second feel like they have finished first.”