President And Founder
CurrentI founded Strategic Search Advantage to provide a cost saving, strategic advantage to the in-house executive search efforts of higher education institutions.As the former Managing Director of one of the leading national executive search firms serving higher education, I observed an increasing need for an alternative to high cost executive search firm fee structures. In an ever-challenging fiscal environment, a growing number of institutions were undertaking in-house searches, and their search efforts were producing smaller, less-qualified applicant pools. Additionally, many higher education executive search firms were developing an over reliance on ads, web postings, and mass email campaigns.I knew colleges and universities possessed the senior leadership, human resource departments, and search committees to initiate a search process and qualify an applicant pool. What they lacked was the internal capability and support to undertake the recruitment of the candidate pool. I set out to isolate the one key component of the search process vital for recruitment success - cultivation of the candidate pool - and focus a set of services on this one essential element. That focus generates strong, well-qualified higher education candidate pools, just like a full executive search, but at a fraction of the cost.Through rigorous original research and aggressive candidate networking, components vital to a winning recruitment strategy, our firm assembles robust pools of superior candidates. We relish the challenge, exploration, creativity, nuance, and personal contacts afforded in the research and networking of each recruitment effort, and strive to provide a service with responsiveness and personal attention.
