How much time does an executive recruiter need to come up with a good short list for a senior role in Africa? In a poll we had on LinkedIn a lot of the people that voted, were going for maximum 3 weeks.

We think this is on the short side. Let me explain why.

First of all, a good recruitment process starts with a thorough briefing, then the researching starts. This is an in depth search, which includes market mapping, looking at competitors both on a national and international level, checking out candidate profiles from different angles etc.

There are always weekly meetings with the client to update the client about the progress and to see if everyone is still on the same page.

After the research, we start reaching out to candidates. Not everyone replies on the spot, so normally this takes some precious time as well.

Then interviews are planned, intakes are done, reports need to be written, a longlist is being created and, in the end, the final shortlist is drawn up.

These are all very time-consuming activities and there might be more, for example assessments, reference checks etc. Since rushing this process will never give you the best candidates, we would advise to schedule a bit longer for the shortlisting.

In that way your executive recruiter can come up with a great shortlist with qualified and motivated candidates.

If you would like to learn more about the recruitment process in Africa or if you need assistance with finding the top professionals on the African continent, please do reach out via inez@jobnetafrica.com and we’ll get in touch.