Career Development Consultant, not Career Change Consultant
“Closing the deal” is not how we measure success.
If we make a placement but the candidate leaves in a short period of time — to us, that is a failure. We take pride in being trusted Career Advisors first, Recruiter second. This is why we have zero tolerance policy for consultants who prioritize the short gain of today’s placement over building a long-term trusting relationship.
Understanding your story is at the core of what we do. Your experience, skill sets, what moves you and empowers you, what stifles you.
This is critical in order to provide the context for your career decisions, to assist in your making optimal decisions with full conviction, whether it is to stay, or to leave. Seeing you progress and realize your potential in the placed company is our biggest gratification.
Candidates and Clients are one and the same. If you take another job offer that better shapes the career ambition, and in turn becomes a Client contact, that is a win-win.
Removing information noise, providing context.
“Be in the market” is our key action principle.
Each of our consultants are industry experts, and networking with various stakeholders.
HR, Talent Acquisition, Hiring Managers of course, but also those who are very happy in their current roles with no intention to move, those who are looking for new opportunities, those who are not hiring but are key members in the company, etc.
The understanding of your story, together with our dynamic and up to date information on who gets hired and who doesn’t, who receives promotion after joining a new company and who struggles, the ease of transferring within the company etc., enables us to make the recommendations that strike the right balance of what you are looking for, and what you need to gain in order to attain your long term goals.
The “third-party-filter” for sensitive communication and managing expectations.
We provide background information, market information, interview preparation and feedback, but this is not all. Another key role that we play is a “third party filter”. Any & all communication between Candidate and Client is used as part of an assessment. The what, how, and when you say, can make a big impact on the outcome. Candidates and Clients often forget that their perspective is different, and that intentions can get lost in translation. A negative impression can raise a red flag on both parties; but when they are raised, rarely are they communicated directly to the concerned parties.
Saachi Candidate Snapshot
FAQs
What services do you provide?
- Advice and constructive criticism on your market value, needed skill sets.
- Recommendations based on the “why”, everything is in the context. The upside and downside, historical background, people & culture, career trajectory and speed, the success cases and unhappy cases.
- CV brush-up guidance tailored to each position and clients, to ensure you stand out from multiple applicants.
- Interview preparations tailored to each position / hiring manager / organizational background.
- Aligning and managing expectations of both Candidates and Clients.
How is Saachi Partners different to other agencies?
We are “career development consultants” not “career change consultants.”
One of the most rewarding moments is when we receive referral for Candidates not because they are actively looking for career opportunities, but are looking for a trusting and professional career advisor.
We don’t hold back from sharing constructive criticism, because that criticism has the potential to change the trajectory of your career.
We are also transparent about pros and cons of the opportunities we present. Aligning expectations is very important to us.
Trust is at the core of our Client relationships too, and this is what helps in opening doors and represent our Candidates to the fullest.
We have zero tolerance policy for consultants who prioritize the short gain of today’s placement over building a long-term trusting relationship. This is also reflected in the Consultant’s KPIs.
“Number of new introductions”, a very popular KPI in recruitment companies, may contribute to the short term revenue, but it can incentivize Consultants to introduce inappropriate career opportunities for the short gain, robbing the time (and in worst case, reputation) from you.
We measure the success by metrics such as
- Introduction to 1st Interview conversion rate
- 1st Interview to Offer conversion rate
- Offer Acceptance rate
- Being in the market: networking.
How do you ensure the quality and the accuracy of the information?
By always being in the market, and networking.
Information rich in quantity and quality requires many angles. Hiring manager, HR, division head, team members, junior staff, those who have joined the company, those who have left, historical organizational changes, talent development initiatives etc.
Information is alive. We cannot access live information unless we are continuously talking to the people.
This is why “Always Be In the Market” is one of the key principles at Saachi Partners. Our Consultants and Research Experts are always in the market, talking to not only prospective employers and hiring managers, but also to people who are not looking to change jobs at all, department heads, management and staff in various departments to ensure the freshness of information.
Is there really a recruiter that suits everyone’s needs?
That’s a good point. If your preference is to
- Source as many positions as possible based on your background and desired salary / job title
- Keep interactions to the minimum and administrative, such as interview scheduling
- Cultural fit and alignment and inside information is not part of the deciding factor
we may not be the right recruiter for you.
I'm not thinking about changing jobs.
We are career development consultants, not career change consultants. Please consider our meeting as an opportunity to reflect and calibrate on your career development. Some of the popular feedback we receive is that our Candidates were able to gain insights and information that they could not get from a 1-on-1 meeting with their supervisors.
Isn't it more advantageous to apply directly, or to go through the talent acquisition team?
If you were approached directly through an internal referee program, the process is often informal. Because of the pre-existing relationship, there is a good chance that you will get more frank and honest information about the company.
If not an insider referral, we offer following advantages to our Candidates:
- Full guidance on CV brush-up tailored to the audience to stand out from other applicants
- Interview coaching based on the past interviews in the company
- Interview feedback, behind-the-scenes information about the company to help make best informed decisions
- Having the “3rd-party-filter” for sensitive communication, and managing expectations.
- Anything the Candidate says to the company will be part of the assessment, and anything the Company says will be part of the impression the Company makes on the Candidate. Misunderstandings and misinterpretations are surprisingly common, which makes for a poor
- Candidate experience, leading the Candidate to turn down the offer that could have been a much better career opportunity.
- Offer negotiation
- Timeline management to enable the Candidate to compare with other offers.
Of course, even if you have been approached directly through internal referral, if you wish to avoid having the awkward conversation of salary negotiation, there is a benefit in using an agency. This needs to be treated carefully though, and there are circumstances where we would advise against you using an agency, depending on the specific situation.
I have never registered with Saachi Partners, so how did you get my information?
We are a headhunting recruitment firm, not a registry based recruitment firm. We are always looking out for talent through referral from our deep network of Candidates, employers, industry networks, and our research center. We contacted you not on the premise that you are looking for a new opportunity.