Candidate Process

Taking pride in the details.

At Kraft Search, we take pride in the detailed process through which we put each candidate. When our clients meet a final candidate, they take comfort in knowing that we have spent numerous hours talking, exploring and interviewing the candidate to ensure each is qualified and interested in our client’s unique opportunity. The graph below summarizes the process of each candidate.

Initial Contact:

Kraft Search designs a creative and unique research strategy for each search project. Using our extensive networks and research staff, we identify companies with relevant individuals within those specific companies to recruit for each opportunity. More importantly, we use our networking base to identify potential candidates through previous searches we have completed, healthcare industry centers of influence and expert research. We believe that good people know good people; therefore, maintaining and further developing our deep industry relationships and networking base are a key to our success. We actively recruit passive industry leaders who align with the needs of our client.

Initial Phone Call:

Our confidential and initial conversation is to determine whether the business leader or executive may be interested to learn more about our client's opportunity. Knowing healthcare industry centers of influence allows us to contact those we know to be both qualified as well as interested in specific opportunities. Additionally, we always are on the look out to connect with and meet new leaders who possess proven backgrounds. During this call, we also share an overview of the role and information about the client. Our goal is to engage the candidate through a brief yet thoughtful discussion to engage the person into further conversations.

Phone Interview:

Once we determine that the candidate's background would interest and fit with our client's detailed requirements, we will conduct a 1-hour phone interview to further discuss the individual's background and experiences. Through the initial phone conversation we explore previous work experiences as we also assess the candidate's overall skill sets, competencies, relevant experiences, appropriate and necessary credentials, long-term growth potential and style to effectively perform, lead and fit within the culture of our client's organization. We always discuss counter offers during this stage of the process.

Phone Interview with Project Manager:

After a successful, initial phone interview between the potential candidate and our firm, the candidate will speak with the project manager. The purpose of this conversation is to help the candidate further understand the role, gain a different perspective on the opportunity and ask specific questions about the position or company. Again, we will continue to gauge the executive's interest and commitment to the process along with their willingness to relocate.

Face-to-Face Meeting with Project Manager:

We conduct thorough in-person interviews will all of our final candidates, prior to presenting them to our client. The purpose of this interview is to continue to learn about the candidate, share greater detail about our client and the opportunity, assess personality, motivators, style and determine if the candidate could be a good fit with our client and effectively lead the business towards strategic objectives. Additionally, this interview allows us to further gauge interest level, commitment to the opportunity and relocation.

Kraft Search believes that making a career move is a family decision. As part of our process, we talk with each candidate's spouse or significant other to determine their level of commitment to the new opportunity. This conversation is welcomed by the spouse as it allows the spouse to be directly involved in the information gathering process so that the best decision will be made when appropriate. This casual spousal conversation will also allow us to share details of the role as well as reasons for our interest in the executive leader. To deliver a thorough search process to the client and our candidates, we need to understand all spousal questions, interests and concerns so that the family unit has accurate information to make an informed decision.

Background and Reference Checks:

Professional and personal references are conducted via candidate supplied references as well as direct references we discreetly identify and contact. All formal educational and certification claims are verified through national or institutional certifying bodies.

Candidate Interview with Client:

Once the candidate has successfully completed the prior steps of the process, he/she will meet with our client and appropriate others in the client's organization (this may occur in a single interview or multiple rounds of interviews may be appropriate). Necessary travel arrangements will be coordinated either through the client, through Kraft Search Associates' travel agency or the candidate.

Employment Offer:

Kraft Search Associates will assist the client in structuring and presenting the offer to the successful candidate. The successful agreement of an offer between our client and candidate is heavily predicated upon the discussions and interactions we have had directly with the candidate and the spouse during the entire recruiting process. As a result, the offer stage should not serve as a surprise to either our candidate or our client. It is our aim to have a thorough understanding of the details of an offer and the candidate's willingness to accept an offer prior to extending the actual offer. Additionally, we will communicate with the final candidates who were not chosen, striving to give constructive feedback and reasons for our client's decision.

Ongoing Follow up:

To help ensure the successful integration of the candidate into our client's organization, we maintain contact with our client and the successful candidate for approximately 12 months following the candidate's employment.