Oliver Dunne (OD): Why did you decide to work with a specialist search consultancy for this appointment?
Jeff Bousfield (JB): The reason that we chose a search partner, was because, although I’ve got a good network in the CFO world and I’ve hired FC and FD level candidates there before, I wanted to work with a specialist which had an even broader range.
My network really is just those that I’ve met during my career and worked with all the startup CFO group - but that’s just a tiny part of the market. I wanted to get access to the whole market - or at least a larger part - and crucially also, at speed. We needed a specialist, who’s available. You’ve got hundreds of people in your black book that you’re talking to all the time! We were really looking for someone to start quickly and so your knowledge about their availability as well as your the breadth of network was was something that I just couldn’t replicate myself.
OD: What was the value add of using Camino Search?
JB:I think the value add is the size of network and the range of the candidates you were able to show me. It wouldn’t have been a good use of my time to have been sending messages to 650 people to my network! But your knew, instantly, who was available and you were able to match the right people to our skills needs and working environment - so absolutely the impact of your network cannot be underestimated.
You and I took a lot of time understanding what we were looking for. I am very deliberate with the wording I use and you were very conscientious at understanding exactly what that meant - which meant that the process to find the right person happened really quickly. We had three or four candidates at final stage that matched exactly what I was looking for and it’s because you and I spent a good amount of time at the start deciding what we needed. You asked some really smart questions figuring out exactly what it is that I was looking for - really digging into the specific items of skill, experience and culture that an individual will be able to bring and how that was going to fit with Distributed, or indeed, any company that you’re working with. That’s a really big plus, because CFOs, on the face of - all the job specs look the same - but everyone’s looking for something different personality and culture fit wise. So being able to actually pick that out during the recruitment experience is a huge competitive advantage.
Benchmarking was also helpful, because it’s always good to know how far your money’s going to go when you’re hiring someone. Just like anything else - like, you know - buying a house or an upgrade on the car, you know what an extra 5% or 10% or 20% might get you. In the recruitment process with a candidate, are you going to get an asymmetrical return for that increase? We came to you with a budget originally and we ended up spending a fair bit more. And so the knowledge that you shared on kind of on that that market insight particularly on rates of pay experience and so on was super helpful to get us to them the right approach in the end. So clearly it worked brilliantly! OD: Would you recommend working with a global search agency?
You [Oliver] and I will work together on an exclusive basis a for my appointments from now on. You’ve impressed the hell out of me - you’re easily the most diligent exec recruiter that I’ve that I’ve worked with, easily. Your market knowledge is much better. Do you know what I consider recruitment is? It’s a really skilled vocation. But I think 80% of recruiters aren’t necessarily interested in learning the vocation itself. I think 80% of recruiters ‘fall into it’. It’s a job. It’s something that pays the bills but, you know, those that get it right and really appreciate the vocation have the skill required to be really excellent at it.
In terms of using a skilled search professional - It’s a no brainer in terms of cost and so you’re in rare air. In terms of your career trajectory, Oliver, I think you’re further ahead at your age - you’re still in your 20s I believe - than most people regardless of how much experience they have. So, my recommendation of Camino is my recommendation of you. I really appreciate that you put the work in - It’s really admirable, it’s like you approach it like an entrepreneur.
