Bringing Outside Search In

The biotech firm Invitrogen has formed a new in-house team with the mandate of filling at least 10 executive (director and above) searches this year that would have gone to an outside, retained search firm. It hopes to save a half-mil in search fees (an initiative that Invitrogen’s James Seetoo goes into more detail about in the July Journal).

Here’s a look at Seetoo’s “SWOT” chart when it comes to moving search in.

Strengths
• Ability to partner closely with clients to proactively build candidate pipeline
• “Skin in the game”

Weaknesses
• Limited bandwidth
• Potential lack of resources

Opportunities
• Cost control
• Broader talent pool
• Opportunity to drive best practices in talent acquisition organization
• Better candidate experience

Threats
• Unfilled searches
• Unmanaged expectations
• Lost opportunity costs