After more than 20 years of experience, Arnie Miller offers advice to search committee members and other hiring authorities on how to use search firms most effectively.

Before you hire a recruiter, interview three or four and check their references.

Executive search is a strategic act. The people hired to lead your organization will have an enormous impact on its future. Before you entrust this responsibility to a search firm, interview several. Ask them to describe how they operate and to include their triumphs and failures. Talk with their clients and find out how satisfied they are. Make sure the people selling the firm's services are the same people who will work on your search. How much time will they devote to you? What other searches are they currently working on? Which organizations are they unable to recruit from? (Search firms are not supposed to recruit people from their clients' organizations for at least a year after they have completed their search.) Make sure the people you select clearly understand your organization and your business. They will be describing and promoting it to others. Finally, don't ignore fees, but don't pick a firm solely on the basis of price. In this business, as in most others, you get what you pay for.

Use the recruiters to help build a consensus within the organization about where it is going and how the new person will help it get there.

A search is a perfect time for an organization to stop and think about where it is going. "What should we be doing at this stage of our organization's development?" "We've been growing rapidly and it's time to consolidate." "We've been sitting still and it's time to grow." "We've been serving this group and we should be serving that group." "We've been using our computer system and it's time to set up a website and utilize the Internet." "We've been doing it quietly and it's time to market ourselves." "We've been doing quite well and we want to stay the course."

Make sure the recruiters talk with all the stakeholders -- board members, staff at all levels, funders, customers and clients, the community, other organizations in the same field -- all those who are interested and important to the organization's future and the new person's success.

Once a consensus is arrived at about a new or reaffirmed mission (not always so easy to do), the next step is to decide what you want the new employee to accomplish in the first 18-24 months of his or her tenure. Specific objectives which flow from the mission should be developed.

Only after you've agreed upon mission and objectives can you begin to think about the kind of person you want. Determine what combination of professional experience and personal characteristics is appropriate for this job for the coming years. You may or may not want someone just like the last person.

The recruiters can be of enormous importance in this effort. They should be able to evoke ideas from people who might otherwise not have the opportunity or inclination to think and talk about these issues.

When the recruiters have talked to all the stakeholders, get them to write a profile, which summarizes their understanding of the assignment. Where has the organization been and where is it going? What objectives have you established for the new person? What kind of person can accomplish these objectives and fit into your organization's culture? Where is this person likely to be now? How much are you prepared to compensate the new person? Circulate this detailed profile among key decision-makers in the search to ensure that a consensus is established and that everyone involved -- search committee, recruiters, and candidates -- will be on the same wavelength.

This initial work should take no longer than three or four weeks. If there are any changes in your organization's plans and requirements or in your expectations of the new person, remember to keep your recruiter apprised.

Work with the recruiters to build a search plan so you know where they will look.

Help the recruiters understand your world. What are the organizations whose people have the best reputations in your field? Who are the mentors who have developed talented proteges who may now be off on their own acting as mentors to new proteges? Who are the best observers of this universe who deal with a lot of people in your field and are likely to know where the talent and the disappointments are? Don't assume the recruiters know, and don't wait for consultants to admit they don't know something (you'd wait a long time). Assume ignorance and let them benefit from your wisdom and experience and that of others you recommend.

Go over the recruiters' presentation before and after they try it out on prospective candidates.

How can you best present this opportunity honestly, accurately and with enough appeal to make someone want to leave a job (and sometimes a city) to take on this new position? What combination of professional challenge, compensation and opportunity for growth and recognition can you and your recruiters put together to present a compelling case? While the pitch must be appealing, it also must be accurate. In preliminary discussions with prospective candidates, you may not want to expose all the organization's problems, but you might as well be forthright because the final candidates should know exactly what they are getting into. No one benefits from less than full disclosure.

If you're interested (and you should be), the recruiters should tell you where they are looking and with whom they are talking.

While you want to leave the recruiters alone to do their work, don't settle for an initial visit and then to a return in six weeks with three names. You are entitled to hear about the people they've rejected as well as those who have rejected them. You have the right to know about the networks developed by the recruiters for your search; you're paying for them.

Expect a weekly verbal update but don't make the recruiter spend a lot of time preparing elaborate reports; you want them focused on recruiting.

Don't run a separate search of your own.

Everyone is in this together. Everyone involved should be pooling candidates and information about candidates through the same process. Recruiters cost a lot of money; use them. Don't try to win a race against your recruiter. A parallel process usually ends up confusing candidates and always diminishes your recruiters' effectiveness.

When your recruiters present you with their recommendations, press them for as much detail as they can provide about each candidate.

What is it about each candidate that makes her or him so special? Why are they being recommended? How did they hear about each candidate? With whom have they checked? How much are the candidates making? When are they next up for a raise or promotion? Why -- and how much -- are they interested in your organization? What worries the recruiter about each person? What issues should you probe further in your interview?

Be sure that your recruiters interview all serious candidates.

It's very important for staff morale that people working for your organization know they have been given serious consideration. Sometimes you may want to compare your existing people to "what's out there." Other times you may discover real talent you didn't know you had. In certain circumstances, it may be useful for the recruiter to take some of the heat off you when an inside candidate is rejected.

Don't rely on a canned set of questions to ask each of the candidates.

After reviewing resumes and listening to your recruiters' presentations of the candidates, think about what you want to know about each candidate. Work with your recruiter to tailor the questions specifically to each person. It's your turn to take over and make the judgements. The recruiters are there to help but they don't have to live with the new person -- you do.

Secure a commitment from each search committee member to see every candidate.

Participation on a search committee is an important and time-consuming responsibility. Be sure that every member understands this and is prepared to review all of the search consultants' materials, attend all of the meetings, and interview all of the candidates. You want to be sure when you are reviewing candidates and making decisions that the entire committee is working from the same set of information and experience.

Interviews are obviously important, but don't overemphasize their importance.

You're not hiring an interviewee; you're hiring a person with a history of successes and failures. Make sure your interviews elicit these details. After the candidates talk about their experience, develop some hypotheses -- rather than conclusions -- about them, and then test these hypotheses by talking to people who worked closely with them.

Provide your recruiter with detailed, timely feedback on each candidate, so that recruiters can help you evaluate your hypotheses, focus their energy and provide you with more information.

Be sure the recruiters cut through the standard gobbledygook of reference checks.

Get them to record vignettes and detailed descriptions of the candidates' experiences that are relevant to your situation. Make sure they talk to people who worked for and with candidates in addition to their supervisors. If you aren't satisfied that you fully understand the person, ask the recruiter for more reference checks.

Make sure the recruiter gets permission to go off the list of references as provided by the candidates.

A good way to do this is to ask each finalist if there is anyone you cannot talk with about his or her work. Most people say "Talk to anyone." Some are concerned about confidentiality and present employers. This must always be respected, although, at the very end, before an offer is made, it's imperative to talk with the people who will enable you to evaluate a candidate's current performance. Some candidates will tell you about people who are apt to give them a negative reference. It's then necessary for the recruiter to convince the candidate that talking with those people will help to provide a balanced picture. In fact, if your recruiters give you nothing but unqualified positive references, they haven't done their job. Remember that everyone has weaknesses and that everyone's history is a combination of victories and losses. You need to get the whole picture.

Let the recruiters do their job of pushing the process along.

Don't allow yourself to be railroaded into a decision, but don't discourage some gentle prodding to overcome scheduling delays, procrastination, indecision or the frequently felt fear of making a choice.

Get your recruiters to help you with candidates' spouses or partners, if that becomes necessary to close a deal.

Too often a deal comes apart (or doesn't come together) because the candidate's partner doesn't perceive the relocation as an opportunity for his or her career advancement or personal growth. You and your recruiters can help a lot by providing career counseling, networking contacts, moral support and reinforcement for the partner's job search. You normally won't find the partner a job before the deal is closed. It's often enough to show them what's possible and how you and your recruiters are prepared to help.

Use your recruiters to assist with final negotiations.

Difficult discussions may be necessary concerning contracts, relocation packages, benefits, start dates, as well as substantive questions about the work. In these instances, it's often very helpful to have a buffer between you and the person you've selected.

On the other hand, the introduction of a "broker" sometimes encourages people to develop negotiating postures which they would otherwise avoid.

You and your recruiters should decide together about whether and how to involve them.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

You may have found the perfect candidate, but done deals often have a way of coming undone. Always have a backup.

When an offer is made and accepted, don't think it's all over. Prepare for a counteroffer by the candidate's current organization.

Often when a candidate announces her or his intention to leave for a new assignment, all hell breaks loose. Friends, bosses, subordinates, board members, mayors, governors, clients and everyone else who may or may not have ever shown any appreciation before are marshaled into action to turn the decision around. Raises and promotions are promised, loyalties and guilt are evoked, fears of the unknown are played upon, and not infrequently, it works.

You and your recruiters should talk about the possibility of a counteroffer with the candidate and be in constant touch with him or her before and after he/she announces his/her departure.

It may be necessary to fly back with them to their current work site and hold their hands. It's a good idea to invite the candidate to planning meetings, include them in the paper flow, quickly begin to develop their investment in and excitement for your organization. But above all, be very clear yourself about what you will and will not do to insure that the deal gets closed.

Arrange for your recruiters to debrief the successful candidate and you about what the recruiters have learned during the search.

Good recruiters often accumulate a lot of information. Within your organization they often learn about people whom the new person should rely on or look out for. On the outside, they often learn about your organization's reputation in the field, about the strengths, problems and structure of your competitors, and about compensation schemes elsewhere in your industry. Most importantly, they've learned what others say about the person you've hired and how he or she can best perform for you. Without violating individual confidences, the recruiters can have a lot to offer. Get them to share it.

Get a guarantee.

In most cases, your search will result in a first-class person -- better matched to your needs than you could have found on your own. The result will make all the effort and expense worthwhile. However, in recruiting, as in all human relationships, things sometimes don't work out as planned. If the new person leaves in the first year of his/her tenure, you should require your recruiters to find you a new pool of candidates, at no additional cost to you other than the recruiters' expenses.

Recruiting excellent people to lead your organization is one of the most important contributions you can make to its success. In some instances, using professional recruiters may be a wise way to proceed. In other instances you may be better off doing it yourself. However you decide to do it, don't underestimate its importance; make sure that you devote enough time and attention to do it well.