Beyond Recruitment: Cultivating Lifelong Relationships In Business

Marisa Tuñas, Global Talent Acquisition Sr Manager, The Clorox Company

I didn’t grow up with a clear vocation. My parents had abandoned their undergraduate careers during the military dictatorship in Argentina to focus on starting a family and avoiding political conflict. I am the youngest daughter of a Spanish immigrant and a native Argentine of Italian descent. I was raised in a humble family, and while I never lacked anything, I learned that everything in life is achieved through sacrifice, passion, and perseverance.

At the age of twenty-four, I married my lifelong boyfriend, and at 26, I graduated as a Bachelor of Communication with a focus on advertising and public opinion from the University of Buenos Aires. After gaining experience in prestigious companies as an executive secretary, I joined Korn Ferry International where my boss believed in my potential and within two years, I had progressed to research associate. It was during this time that I discovered helping people find new and better job opportunities gave purpose to my career, and I aimed for more.

I left Korn Ferry to join a local boutique consulting firm and lead a team of recruiters. The more challenging the search, the more passionate I became, gradually immersing myself in the world of executive searches and headhunting as an art to attract talent.

Over the years, I discovered that a very special connection is formed with the people you meet and evaluate for each position, a connection that transcends companies, clients, etc. My goal is to build relationships and bonds for a lifetime, and people value my style of authentic, friendly, and trustworthy connection.

“Remember, your ultimate goal is not just to find a great candidate but to make a lifelong connection with a new person that transcends any role or company”

The technology we use today across the talent lifecycle (Applicant Tracking System, Candidate Relationship Management tools, LinkedIn Recruiter and Insights, Talent Neuron, artificial intelligence like ChatGPT, Copilot, etc.) makes our processes and tasks a little easier compared to how we did it 20 years ago. I can still remember creating organizational charts on paper to know who was who after a cold call! Despite technological advancements, relationships still reign king. A former boss always told me that your contact list is your most precious asset, something I continue to find true today.

I believe the main difference between an executive search and a managerial or mid-level search lies in how to generate interest from proven successful executives with very tight schedules. It’s about making such a high impact in those first 10 minutes of a phone call or email conversation that they want to continue chatting with you and exploring further what you offer. The key isn’t in “finding” these individuals, as in many cases, they are already exposed on social networks, in the media, and are well-known. Instead, it’s about “attracting” their interest and having the intelligence to realize which type of opportunity best fits each one.

For the past 11 years, I have served as the Global Talent Acquisition Sr Manager at The Clorox Company. This incredible company has given me the opportunity to shape the recruitment process from scratch and put the experience of our candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters at the forefront. We have a global team of recruiters who are Clorox employees and know and love the company firsthand to help authentically advocate about our employer brand to candidates. While we also work with strategic partners like executive search firms, we most often rely on our teammates to drive our talent acquisition work.

While personal style and approach matter a lot, I train my team on best practices for conducting executive searches, such as:

- Buy what you sell: You have to love your company and know it very well to understand its differentiators and culture. This will help you understand what kind of professionals can fit best, and if you feel proud of where you work, it will show when you talk to prospects.

- Understand what you’re looking for: Each hiring manager, department, and position is unique, and you must thoroughly understand them before contacting potential candidates. A good intake call and a good sourcing strategy are essential for setting yourself up for success.

- Leave a positive mark on every contact: Remember, your ultimate goal is not just to find a candidate for that search but to get to know a new person for life. Be respectful, friendly, and deliver on your promises, keep the candidate regularly updated, and document everything so that you can build a history of each person. Today, there are many collaborative tools that allow you to do this quickly and easily.

Remove your biases: Be aware that if you have a brain, you have biases, and keep this in mind when evaluating candidates. Don’t judge and ask strictly job-related questions; help your internal clients make more informed, unbiased, and better hiring decisions

- Provide feedback: Help people improve, understand where their opportunities lie, and what they need to do to grow and develop or what gaps they need to fill to reach that desired job. Be thankful and generous with candidates, remembering that you could also be in their shoes someday. Remember, as Maya Angelou said, “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

I enjoyed sharing a part of my story and why executive search” is a field that I am so passionate about. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

 

Artificial Intelligence