Answer: The key points initially that I thought would be compelling were: the attractiveness of the organization with an exciting growth story, and a job description with detailed explanation about the opportunity.
Also, I assumed the job would appeal to candidates because it was newly created, the compensation was comprised of base salary that was above the range of our potential candidates, it had high bonus potential and longer-term incentives.

My point of view about job descriptions has been developed from years of attracting excellent candidates. I find that most job descriptions are full of words like challenging, growth opportunity, strategic level and they all seem to run together. After so much overuse the words are meaningless and so these so-called descriptions are non-descriptions.

To make the point that the job I am filling is important and has some real substance, I always prepare a detailed, thoughtful document that is as specific as I can make it. Frequently the description is 5-pages or more.

As usual, I began the outreach with a highly targeted list of candidates. Some were local (not requiring a relocation) and others were from different regions of the country. All professionals fully met the criteria for being considered for the new role. Because I understood the job so well, each contact was a potential finalist.

I used Social Media to make initial contact and asked if they would join my network and that I would continue to stay in touch. I also promised to provide additional information once they responded. Of course, I explained that I was a retained search consultant specialized in comms and conducting a search. It was a brief message and virtually all the professionals responded positively, which is normally how these searches begin.

So far, so good. Everything seemed to be proceeding normally. With contact information I was able to send the detailed job description within a day. Would there be any response? As it turned out, there was very little and a different. approach was needed. What had to change?