CFO and FD Recruitment tips

Are you looking to recruit a new CFO or FD for your business? then this blog post is written with you and your company in mind.  We are a leading London based recruiter of CFOs and FDs focussed on matching high calibre candidates with Founders and their PE House and VC fund investors and backers.    We handle opportunities both on a UK wide basis and internationally and across a wide range of sectors.  Here are some tips to help with your recruitment process and to inform your thinking.

What should I take into account whilst recruiting a new CFO or FD?

What does the role look like now?   How do you see your business developing?  Where do you expect to be in 5 or 10 years from now?  These are important considerations as they will inform the skill set requirements of your new role.  Are you planning a fund raise?  Have you already raised seed stage funds? and are you moving forward to a secondary raise ?  An A Series fund raise for example?

Are you planning on introducing new systems for example an ERP system or implementing business intelligence dashboards?  Maybe launching or expanding an E-Commerce channel.

These are sorts of questions to ask yourself as they will help you and us to identify the perfect candidate for your business requirements as they are now and how you expect them to be in the future.

Tip 1 – People Skills

Depending on the size of your function and organisation finding a candidate with strong people skills is really important.  You need a candidate who can work closely with the CEO and other C-Suite executives to give great advice and guide the business in the right direction.  Higher calibre candidates tend to be ICAEW qualified.

Tip 2 -Sector Experience

Having same sector or complimentary experience is really valuable.   For example if you plan to significantly grow your business online then recruiting a candidate with a background in E-Commerce makes good sense.  Whilst if you plan to scale up your activities then bringing in a professional familar with your industry makes sense.  Likewise specific skills sets can be invaluable such as business turnaround experience.

Tip 3 -Take up References

Too many businesses make the mistake of not taking up references, these are important to gain confidence that a candidates achievements as stated on their CV match the reality as perceived by their peer groups.

Tip 4 – Psychometic Testing

Whilst somewhat controversial as a tip, psychometic testing can indentify personality traits that can change the decision making process, often these are a good way of assessing how a candidate will interact with other team members, and if they are a team player or not.

Tip 5 – Use a specialist Recruiter

For senior level recruitment an important tip to use a niche recruiter, one who is soley focussed on senior recruitment.  This is the great strength of FD Capital as we only recruit FDs and CFOs.  We are London based, and from our Great Portland Street offices service the London area and the South East, plus national and international opportunities.

We offer a full range of flexible options:-

Part-Time CFO – Senior recruitment does not need to mean a full time cost, a CFO or FD can be available a few days per month or per week, on a flexible basis.

Interim CFO – If you need a CFO or FD for a defined time or task then reach out to our tem.

CFO recruitment, finding a permanent replacement is one of our core skill areas, many of our candidates are available for an immediate start and have specialists skills including fund raising and PE / VC experitise.

Our Culture

We pride ourselves on always being friendly and professional, plus our approach reflects that we are team made up of FD’s and professional recruiters, so you can be sure of talking with someone who knows first hand what your issues and situation is likely to be. Many of our team have been entrepreneurs themselves so can really relate to our owner manager client base.  If you need advice make sure you ring our office and ask to speak to a consultant who can share with you more hints and tips.   We are very very focussed onto senior finance appointments.

Because we are so experienced we always find the best candidates.

Your next step.

If you are ready to move forward with your next CFO or FD Recruitment then please reach out to our team today, we are experienced entrepreneurs ourselves and are very used to working with PE backed business and Founders, so we’ll make your feel at home right away and can share with your more tips too.

Call us today for a no obligation initial discussion

CALL 020 3287 9501