How do I find executive level jobs?

March 22, 2011 1:34 PM

What is the best way to find executive level career opportunities in my area?

My wife is ready to make her move. She is highly skilled and very qualified to become a COO (which is what she would like) in the healthcare industry.
Half-million dollar careers aren't generally posted on Monster.com.
Where does one start when looking to move from an executive director level position into a CxO position without necessarily drawing too much attention from her current employer?
Does theladders.com work?

posted by Thrillhouse to work & money (9 answers total)

theladders.com seems awful twee, but I can't speak for them.

If she wants a killer C-level job it might be time to look for a headhunter. They charge notable fees, but can put in the personal time needed for coaching, resume building, and interview placement that websites can't.
posted by Burhanistan at 1:37 PM on March 22, 2011

Yeah, at my healthcare industry place of employment we seem to bring in all the heavy hitters through head hunters.
posted by ghharr at 1:43 PM on March 22, 2011

Generally these C level of roles are filled via industry focused executive search firms.

A quick Google Search turned up this
http://www.tylerandco.com/

I have no idea if they are any good, but your best bet is to see if she knows someone in HR in the healthcare field who can recommend some of these firms.
posted by bitdamaged at 1:46 PM on March 22, 2011

If your wife is seriously playing at that level, she needs a recruiter firm, not a jobs website.

Theladders.com does indeed have lots of +$100K jobs... but that + is just baaaaarely. Many of the positions I saw there when I was searching seemed to be "$75-100K range including benefits," which for all practical purposes means middle management in most markets.
posted by pineapple at 2:19 PM on March 22, 2011

Thanks everybody. This makes total sense. She's already well past 100K so I guess theladders really doesn't make sense. We'll research healthcare recruiters. Thanks again for the great advice.
posted by Thrillhouse at 2:24 PM on March 22, 2011

Theladders is a disaster even for folks in their socio-economic demographic for reasons too long to post here and off topic anyway. Don't waste you time with it.

P.S. For someone at her level, the way in involves two strategies: (i) "networking" through individuals who know people who know people who might provide an introduction to job opportunities and (ii) headhunters. The first option should be where she puts the bulk of her effort.
posted by cool breeze at 2:57 PM on March 22, 2011

What you should be looking for are retained executive search firms. There are big, global firms (think Spencer Stuart or Heidrick & Struggles) that have healthcare industry groups, and there are also boutique firms that specialize in different industries. You can learn more about them at the Association of Executive Search Consultants.

Retained search firms do not charge the candidates anything, just FYI.
posted by mogget at 2:59 PM on March 22, 2011 [1 favorite]

More reasons not to use theladders.com.

+1 to search firms never charging the candidates. They usually get a % of the candidate's final salary or a flat fee from the business.
posted by benzenedream at 5:41 PM on March 22, 2011

Not sure what level she's at but the Economist often has a lot of executive job postings.
posted by telomere at 3:48 AM on March 24, 2011