DAY IN THE LIFE - All about Eve
How exactly does a head hunter hunt those heads? Meet Eve Linieres of Ashley Coutts.
Name - Eve Linieres
hunter hunt those heads? Meet Eve Linieres of Ashley Coutts. Job title - Joint managing director of IT headhunting agency Ashley Coutts
Age - 32
Employment history - Eighteen months selling computers fresh out of university. Two years at a recruitment agency. Six years ago, set up Ashley Coutts with partner Claire Edmonds.
Favourite part of the job - Receiving thank you letters from successful candidates.
Worst part of the job - Notifying unsuccessful applicants.
Most triumphant moment - The day we started Ashley Coutts.
Most embarrassing moment - Not for public consumption.
How do you keep your head while all about you are losing theirs?
Ask headhunter Eve Linieres. Standing in her Regent Street office at 9am, she is the picture of calm, with her elegantly tailored suit and sleek hair. She has half an hour to prepare for her first interview of the day.
While she quietly smokes a cigarette, all around her staff are raiding UK resellers for their best account managers.
'We're in the middle of a huge recruitment campaign for the only first division player in the reseller business,' she says. 'The first interviewee today has replied to an advertisement in The Times, which makes our job a lot easier. We don't have to persuade them to change companies - they're ready to do it anyway.'
The breakfast round is organised, with everyone chipping in for tea and coffee. After looking through the day's diary over a couple of slices of Marmite on toast and a cup of tea, it's time for the interview to kick off.
These 45-minute interviews are the easy bit - candidates who are actively seeking work outside their company. Linieres questions them as to why they are interested in leaving and tells them what opportunities are available.
For applicants wishing to move from small to larger companies, she explains the massive culture shock they are likely to experience.
Account managers, for example, will have much higher targets, more resources and greater investment in training. And vice versa for those moving from large to small companies.
Linieres takes the morning's interviewee through questions that are likely to be asked at the next stage of the interview process - with the company itself. When asked what his ambitions and driving forces are, he laughs and answers: 'To earn a lot of money.' Linieres cautions against this. Over a cigarette, she advises on what not to say and how certain answers can be perceived negatively by employees. It's good to want a salary increase, but not to be so blatant about it in the interview, she explains.
Another question is, why have you stayed in your job for so long if you're not happy?
She explains that it's a difficult balancing act. It looks good if employees are loyal - it's something that's respected in this industry - but at the same time they need to show they have the initiative to get out when the time is right.
Linieres also advises on interview technique, giving the candidate tips such as using more confident body language - don't slouch, don't play with your hands and try to relax in interviews. She goes on to ask him what sort of signals he thought he was giving out before and how that could affect an interview.
Linieres emerges from the interview, praising the interviewee and calling for another cup of tea. As soon as she steps foot into her office, she is bombarded with questions and updates on the morning's business.
The method of headhunting is fascinating. For those who have (and those who haven't) been approached by a headhunter, the burning question is, how do recruiters get the names of the people they want to talk to?
Not everyone comes recommended. One consultant at Ashley Coutts explains her own way of working. Scanning The Computer User's Year Book, she pinpoints companies by criteria, including size, area and turnover. She then phones up a company, gets through to reception and pretends to be a new in-house secretary who is trying to decipher a name written down by her boss.
She says it's definitely the name of an account manager, but doesn't know who, and asks the receptionist to run through the list to see if she can match one of the names to hers. This tactic normally works, she claims.
Alternative scams include calling a company and pretending to have information to send out to the sales managers. These and other methods are used to get names.
Then the real work begins. A headhunter will call up a target employee, introduce themselves, and ask whether that person can talk. This is always the first question - if a potential candidate is sitting in a busy office, within earshot of their boss, it's difficult (and unwise) to talk about looking for another job.
The recruiter asks if they can have a chat about the wealth of opportunities elsewhere and whether the person would be interested in having a proper talk. Generally, people respond with interest, even if in extreme cases it can take up to three years to secure them a job. The nature of the IT industry means the pace of change is fast and staff turnover is high.
According to the consultant, a good sales manager will be headhunted at least once a week. Getting them to agree to enter into discussions can be difficult, however: 'Being a good headhunter depends on how well you can sell yourself. There must be a good rapport - they have to like you,' she says.
Linieres looks through her agenda and begins to arrange interviews.
In addition, she begins her search for a new nanny and arranges a weekend trip to Venice. Not bad for one morning's work.
There's healthy office banter and the team appears to work well together.
They even pull together with their highly organised coffee-making agenda, with an A4 list stuck to a cupboard door of who has black or white and who does and doesn't take sugar.
Linieres takes clients out to lunch two or three times a week. When she isn't wining and dining, she grabs a bite to eat in the office. She reveals a passion for steak, chips and green salad, saying she needs the energy for the afternoon's work.
The problem with headhunting is that applicants don't usually provide CVs. Not only does the recruiter have to convince them to move, but the agency has to do all the resume writing. Linieres sits with a cup of tea and mulls over how to bring out the best in a reseller manager's career.
After that, she sorts through some CVs sent in response to a recent advertising campaign. She points out a number of irrelevant points that are made on applications in a bid to impress a future boss. Linieres looks skyward as claims of 'left school as head boy in 1974' surface yet again.
Around her, a buzz reminiscent of the Stock Exchange is in full swing.
People on the phone, gesticulating at each other, asking for papers, confirming interviews and appointments. Across the office staff are asking, 'is it okay to talk, or do you want to ring me back?'
As the day winds up, staff do their best to eradicate the bad guy reputation of the unscrupulous poacher. They call recently placed employees to check they are happy and are integrating well into their new company.
Linieres is aware of the culture shock experienced by some placements and claims the company isn't in the business of simply placing people as quickly as possible and then forgetting about them.
Ethics in a headhunter may not be expected, especially after a day of chasing around after top channel figures. But by 7pm, Linieres has still shown no sign of the brash, aggressive, poaching executive.
ASHLEY COUTTS
Eve Linieres and Claire Edmonds started the Ashley Coutts agency six years ago, employing Linieres' parents for secretarial and office duties.
There are now 10 permanent staff who perform recruitment and administration duties. The entire team of 13 includes three men.
As well as working for one of the UK's biggest IT resellers, it also recruits for software and networking companies. The company specialises in recruiting in the sales arena.