Kincannon & Reed - Global Executive Search - News & Resources

Kincannon & Reed is the only retained executive search firm focused exclusively on the food, agribusiness, and life sciences sectors. Founded in 1981, the firm serves clients throughout the world from its offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

David G. Jensen to Lead Biopharmaceutical /
Life Sciences Practice

David G. Jensen joined Kincannon & Reed this month in the newly created position of Managing Director, Biopharmaceutical Life Sciences.

Prior to joining the firm, David G. Jensen was CEO and Founder of two executive recruiting firms in the Life Sciences sector: CareerTrax Inc. and Search Masters International. Jensen is a well-recognized life sciences author and speaker, and is seen regularly in industry meetings or on university campuses. His monthly column "Managing Your Career" has been seen for more than fifteen years in magazines like BioPharm and Contract Pharma, and he writes a monthly column, "Tooling Up," for the AAAS, publisher of the journal SCIENCE... Read More

Résumés: Reading between the lines

By Bernard Auxenfans, Managing Director The old saying goes, "You can't judge a book by its cover." In the world of executive recruiting, the résumé is a candidate's "cover" and learning to read between the lines is a skill developed with years of experience. Here are a few tips to keep in mind the next time you review a résumé… or update your own. Although you may have heard these tips before, they are worth repeating:
RESULTS: What has the individual added to the bottom line or saved in the way of expenses to improve performance? The more specific, detailed, and current the results, the better.
CAREER TRACK: Other than in smaller firms or those with very flat organizational structures, few or no promotions are a warning signal. We look for Candidates who have earned successively more responsibility over time.
JOB LONGEVITY: Compute the number of years the person has spent in each position on his/her résumé. If there are frequent employer changes, this needs to be explored in detail to assess whether she/he is a job hopper or whether there are logical reasons for the changes. On the other hand, if an individual has only been employed with one company for his/her entire career, it can also be a potential red flag, as this could imply risk aversion or lack of ambition, Generally speaking, any role of less than two years duration may not provide adequate time to fully test a person's capabilities in that post.
STYLE: The format and content of a résumé will give you clues to the style of the individual. Is it clear, easy to read, and focused on results? This is a signal that the Candidate may also have these qualities. If the résumé is confusing, contains spelling errors, or spends more time on responsibilities than results, that is also a signal that the Candidate may lack the communications skills needed for most executive posts in today's world.

Read More

News & Resources

Food for Thought Subscribe Archived Articles News Useful Information

Kincannon & Reed - Find Executive Talent

"You consistently challenge us and broaden our thinking and horizons. You are able to show that sometimes what we think we want is very different than what we need."

- Human resources director for a major crop input company

"We ended up with the ideal candidate combination, and one we would not have envisioned ourselves. Your firm's knowledge of the sector was invaluable as it led to opportunities beyond the search."

- Managing director of a private equity firm

"In addition to finding us great candidates, you worked adeptly and sensitively with all our internal stakeholders. Widespread ownership in the selection process will help our team extend to new hires the support they need for success."
- CEO, privately owned artisan bread company

"We have worked with all the big global firms, and Kincannon & Reed has been easily the most thorough and professional."
- Head of human resources of large multinational company

"We appreciate that you are always reachable and that you never give up even when we all know the search is extremely difficult."
- Chairman of major distribution company

"Thank you for your excellent assistance in this process. The tight search timeline was respected and I believe that the candidate will bring much value to our company."
- CEO for crop input company

"When this search started you indicated one of your goals was to provide a slate that would be so good that we would have difficulty choosing just one candidate. You far exceeded that goal."
- Business unit president for global animal health company

"One of our Senior VPs commented early on that hiring a retained firm was not our best investment of time and money. On our last conference call, however, he indicated he's become a true believer in Kincannon & Reed, and wanted to go on the record as retracting his earlier comment."
- VP of HR for multi-billion dollar, family-owned grain company

"Kincannon & Reed is universally respected and relied upon for quality partnership and mentoring when it comes to senior-level executive searches."
- Former CEO of major agribusiness organization

"Kincannon & Reed has good instincts for people and works hard to know the organization they're serving. "They do a magnificent job matching qualified candidates to the organization."
- Director of Biotech Business Development, multinational agricultural biotechnology organization

"Even when we're not using them, the Kincannon & Reed team keeps in touch because they seem genuinely interested in what we're doing. So when people ask me who we should turn to, I invariably point them to Kincannon & Reed."
- CEO of animal genetics and technology firm