- Role landed
- Head of Wealth Management and Analytics Technology
- Company
- Ares Management
- Compensation
- $325,000 base
- Time to offer
- about 6 months
Amit came to us after losing his role as VP of Engineering at a very large asset management firm. He signed a Head of Wealth Management and Analytics Technology role at $325,000 base.
He did not believe the model worked
His hesitation was never really about us. It was about the whole idea of reverse recruiting.
“The resistance was more about reverse recruiting: does it really work or not?”
He had spoken to other reverse recruiters months earlier and walked away. His objection was a sharp one, and honestly it is the right question to put to any service like this:
“It depends who they are. If it all comes down to them coming on a call and telling me what to do, and I have to do all the things, then it doesn’t help me, because there was no value coming out of it except some course correction.”
What changed his mind about us was who would actually be doing the work.
“When I talked to Wolf Mentoring I thought there was huge value, because not only were you taking the search into your hands, you were driving it. At minimum I would get a team who could help with applying and looking after the leads, and it would give me more time to focus on the things that matter. And it did.”
The hardest part was handing over his own resume
This is the most honest stretch of the whole conversation, and it is a genuine sticking point for senior people.
“I was more uptight about it initially, because I felt strongly about my resume.”
He came round on it himself, reasoning that hiring someone and then overruling them makes no sense:
“Yes, it’s my career, so I should have a say in it. But at the same time, if I continue to push you towards what I had initially, then why would I hire you? So it came with a realisation that maybe it’s good to give some of this control to you, because you have the experience and you can see things happening differently.”
“Your team really came across as: okay, they know what they are doing.”
What he says now
“I’ve been working with Wolf Mentoring for almost 6 months and I’m very happy with the process and the outcome. The team really worked hard to present me in the right way to the employers and was there to help me at every stage of the interview process, from applying to follow-ups to interview preparation, feedback on the interviews and helping craft my message.”
“I highly recommend them for senior executive roles. They really know what they’re doing.”
“What I got out was more than what I had expected.”
What he did not get, and why he took this role instead
Amit wanted a CTO or CIO seat at a smaller firm. We targeted those and landed him interviews for them, and they did not convert.
“Ideally I would have got a role in a smaller firm, a CTO or CIO role. It didn’t happen, so we’ll have to continue to work on that.”
The role he signed came after some adjustments to the job description and a compensation negotiation, and it moves him into work he has not run before. He is candid that it does not feel entirely comfortable.
“To be honest, I still have mixed feelings about the role, because it’s everything I’ve not done before. Of course I feel excited, but at the same time I feel a little bit awkward, and there’s a bit of nervousness.”
Then he makes the case for it himself, and this next part is worth borrowing if you are weighing a similar move. Sometimes the sideways step that fills a gap on your record does more for you than another title doing what you have already done.
“I do feel that having this role is a good detour in my career, because it helps me get to those CIO positions, which are typically sceptical about my ability to run more than one business. I’ve always run one team, one business. When you come to CIO roles the mandate is to create an organisation-level strategy that works for multiple businesses. This role goes across the organisation, so it can boost my resume and fill in the gaps that were there.”
“What I got out was more than what I had expected.”
The search in numbers
- $325,000 base
- About 6 months from start to signed offer
- Level: VP. Function: Data and Analytics
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