CFO Coach Cindy Kraft blogged CFOs and LinkedIn, the Evolution. The blog discusses the story of a recruitment firm that would only be focusing on working with CFOs that have a LinkedIn Profile.
My readers will know that I am a big proponent of LinkedIn for CFOs (or any other executive). You can read my previous blogs on the subject:
While I am a fan of LinkedIn for CFOs, I think that people that are looking to hire CFOs (search firms included) that focus solely on LinkedIn are missing a large pool of talent.
Today, it is easier than ever to find talent using LinkedIn. This makes companies and some recruiters (retained and contingency firms) take shortcuts to find talent.
Is LinkedIn a great place to find talent?
Absolutely.
Is it the only place to find talent?
Absolutely not. (Read: When hiring a CFO, is LinkedIn the place to look? )
Finding talent is easy. Finding the best talent to meet the needs of a company is not. Securing that talent is even harder. Ensuring that the talent is hired, stays and delivers multiples of the value of the cost spent on hiring and compensating that talent is why a company decides to work with a quality executive search firm in the first place.
What lessons can CFOs (or other executives) learn from this?
Executives that are not actively searching for their next opportunity beware: You want to be hired by a company that understands the value of executive search and is willing to retain a quality search firm to not only find you, but secure you and keep you for the long term.
Having a profile on LinkedIn does show you are current on social media and technology.
Jeff,
I agree that having a LinkedIn Profile is positive. It certainly shows that you are ‘with it’.
But.
I do see many CFOs that only come on to LinkedIn when they are actively seeking their next opportunity, and ignore it completely when they are happy and busy with their current employer.
For any executive to get the best out of a powerful tool like LinkedIn, they will need to take feed it on a regular basis. Otherwise, it is just an online resume.
Thanks as always for your input,
Samuel