Executive recruiters are professionals whose job responsibilities include finding and signing candidates for high level management positions. These individuals may either work for third party firms contracted by organizations in need of human resource consultation or they can be full time, in-house professionals who often work for large corporations. In the insurance industry, executive recruiters often communicate with top clients, usually the businesses that an insurance company insures, to learn about their needs and preferences. One key function of most insurance executive recruiters is to use innovative methods to discover potential executive candidates. Insurance executive recruiters network with professionals from other insurance companies, sort through resumes and cover letters, and search job databases for promising executive candidates.
Individuals who become insurance executive recruiters normally have undergraduate degrees in fields such as management or human resources. In some cases, they might also have graduate degrees. Professionals at this level tend to have years of experience in job recruiting. They gain this experience by beginning in human resource departments and recruiting candidates for lower level positions, such as department leads and insurance sales managers. In most cases, insurance executive recruiters are expected to have recruiting experience in the insurance industry since this field might require a strong understanding of healthcare and specific government regulation.
It is common for insurance executive recruiters to communicate often with clients to learn about the characteristics of ideal executive job candidates. Recruiters might ask clients about what they would like to see happen in terms of claims processing, underwriting, and benefits package design. Insurance executive recruiters might compose strategies for recruiting executives based on this information.
Insurance executive recruiters also must communicate with current high level managers. They find out what current executives feel is missing from operations and which kind of professional might lead to improvement. If executives feel that they need an executive who has experience managing an insurance company, recruiters might search for managers from other insurance companies who are looking for new opportunities. When executives feel that they can benefit from new ideas and fresh perspectives, recruiters might look for promising recent graduates and executives from other industries.
It is also common for insurance companies with in-house insurance executive recruiters to hire search firms. This is especially the case when companies want to perform wide searches but do not have the manpower required to do a thorough job. In these cases, in-house recruiters usually act as project managers who oversee actions of search firm employees.