As CFO.com reported yesterday, getting in with upper-echelon headhunters, while not impossible, can be tough. For those who prefer other avenues of the job search — or lack the personal connections to get an audience with a top headhunter — a survey released this week by online career-services center ExecuNet.com finds that the Internet is the way to go. Apart from personal referrals, thatís where search firms often find the most qualified executive job candidates.
According to the survey, in 45 percent of all searches in the past year, the job was offered to a candidate found on the Internet. Seventy-eight percent of 109 recruiters who use the Web to find candidates use online job sites to locate executive candidates with salaries over $100,000; 76 percent use online resume databases; and 55 percent use registration-databases from their own firmís Web site.
“When used efficiently, the Internet is a tremendous resource for both recruiters and job seekers,” said ExecuNet CEO and founder Dave Opton in the release. “With over 40,000 e-cruiting sites on the Web today, the key to using the Internet effectively lies in finding the best resources.”
Among recruiters who use the Internet for sourcing, 54 percent have been using the Internet since before 2000.
What’s more, the Internet seems to be taken more seriously as a recruiting forum by job seekers and recruiters alike. Consider that more than one-third of the recruiters polled (35 percent) believe the quality of candidates found on the Internet has improved during the past 12 months. Better quality candidates apparently leads to better quality jobs: among the responses, the highest paying position posted on an Internet job site offered $1,000,000.
“The employment market is helping to improve the quality of candidates found via the Internet this year,” said Opton. “It’s also reinforcing the need, convenience, and value of Internet-sourced searches, which is a win-win for both recruiters and job seekers.”
CFOs on the Move
Power company Mirant Corp. named Harvey Wagner CFO, replacing Ray Hill. Hill, who has been with the company since 1993, is leaving to teach at Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business. Before joining Mirant, Wagner was CFO of Atlanta software company Optio Software Inc. Debt-riddled Mirant has been hit by lower electricity prices and faced a slew of credit downgrades by rating agencies this year. Last month Mirant said accounting errors led to the overstatement of $41 million of net income over more than two years, leading to a do-over of its 2000 and 2001 books. It has yet to report its third-quarter results … Another troubled energy company, Dynegy Inc., coaxed former Shell Oil Co. finance chief Nick J. Caruso out of retirement to be its CFO. Caruso had also served as Shell’s controller and general auditor during his tenure there of more than 30 years. He retired last year. Caruso replaces Louis Dorey, who was promoted in June to EVP of finance from president of Dynegy’s energy marketing division after former CFO Rob Doty resigned. Dynegy also said that EVP of corporate development Hugh Tarpley and SVP of investor relations Margaret Nollen resigned to pursue other interests. Those positions will not be filled. In the past year, the company has faced management turnover, layoffs, credit downgrades, restatements, and regulatory scrutiny … Thomas J. Sandeman was named CFO of Orthodontic Centers of America Inc. Sandeman most recently served as finance chief of Wall Street Deli Inc. His previous jobs include CFO of Cucos Inc. and VP of finance and accounting of Entergy Integrated Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of Entergy Corp. Former OCA CFO John C. Glover resigned to pursue other interests.