How to Evaluate Executive Search Firms in the Food Ingredients Industry

Nothing stands still in the food ingredients industry.

As tastes, dietary preferences, health regulations, and food supply concerns shift, those who have dedicated their careers to this industry must evolve with the times. Food ingredients executives must be vigilant in recognizing the shifts in consumer behaviors, economic indicators, and political impacts worldwide.

Finding the ideal technical and executive candidates for job openings in the food ingredients space requires patience and an intricate understanding of the mechanisms of the industry. You need an executive search firm to partner with that can find viable candidates and has the deep relationships necessary to ensure success.

When choosing a management recruiter to work with toward filling open positions in the food ingredients industry, you must consider the following:

  • Relationship Network – An outstanding executive search firm doesn’t rely on single-level relationships. What sets a firm apart is its traction with several layers of industry expertise – connecting the dots from a search starting point to difference makers throughout the industry. The difference between candidates actively searching for positions, and the number of open roles, can vary greatly. The web of relationships must be strong to be able to uncover the candidates not obviously on the surface. 
  • Proactivity – Too often, executive recruiters make clients do a majority of the leg work, happy to collect a fee for just finding a name. You want a firm that will proactively work with you each step of the way to understand hiring process, expectations, and candidate resourcing. 
  • Communicating the Narrative – Any executive recruitment firm can collect a stack of resumes and send them to a hiring manager, or conversely, recite the well-known details of an organization to prospective candidates. An exceptional executive search firm understands and can implement with finesse the delicate art of storytelling. What is it that your organization wants to communicate to candidates to entice them to join your team? What impressive background does an applicant bring to the table that could potentially reshape a department? A good story sticks. 
  • Results – It makes no difference how well an executive staffing firm boasts of success if the outcomes don’t solidify the case. Companies are looking for a firm that has credibility because of their results. Candidates want to know the relationships the firm is able to bridge have merit and foundation. 
  • Efficiency – The longer a vital role remains open at an organization, the more productivity and outcomes suffer. Your food ingredients executive recruiters must appreciate the cost to existing business and the impact of time savings. By focusing on efficiencies, key roles are filled with the right candidates, quickly.

At Key Corporate Services, we offer food ingredients recruitment and executive search services to help fill roles in several food industry markets, including:

  • Food Ingredients
  • Flavors
  • Food Additives
  • Nutraceuticals
  • Baking Ingredients
  • Dairy
  • Beverage
  • Confectionery
  • Cereal
  • Sensory Science
  • Food Chemistry
  • And More

By evaluating an executive search firm using the criteria above, you improve the likelihood of fruitful, long-term relationships.

Contact us today.

About Key Corporate Services

Key Corporate Services is a leading retained search and job search headhunting firm specializing in the following industries: industrial chemicals, pharma & biotech, food ingredients, finance and accounting, manufacturing and engineering.