The head of a search firm that has found more than 1,300 executives for its client companies since 2000 advises experienced workers to stay at one employer for at least three years.

“My advice is to do your job as well as you can with sincere effort and to maintain good relations with your superiors, peers, subordinates and customers,” George Whitfield, president of Halcyon Search International in Seoul, said in an interview with The Korea Herald.

“It is also best to stay at one employer for at least three years so that you can add value to its organization and build a performance track record for yourself.”

Halcyon works with many of the major companies operating in Korea including domestic firms as they expand geographically and advance technologically. Some foreign companies that are just beginning operations in Korea use its services for about a year as they get started.

Shinhan Financial Group, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Allianz Life Insurance, Accenture, LG Electronics, Coca-Cola, GE Korea and Hyundai Oilbank are among the firm’s clients.

Its corporate clients are about 30 percent Korean, 30 percent North American, 30 percent European, and the remaining 10 percent other Asia-Pacific corporations.

Halcyon has filled executive positions for client companies in Korea, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, India, Australia, the U.S., Canada and Finland.

Last year, Seoul-based Halcyon opened an office in Hong Kong.

The former strategic analyst at the U.S. Forces Korea emphasizes that the fact that Halcyon is not a subordinate office of a large chain makes its services different from other search firms.

“Because Halcyon Search is not a subordinate office of a large chain, our priorities are very clear and we have a strong interest in making our searches successful,” he said.

“We also focus only on executive search. We do not perform any other professional activities. “

Halcyon’s registry contains approximately 200,000 people and it keeps track of several hundred job functions and industry fields.

Out of the 10 steps of service that it provides, Whitfield notes that the first two steps ― “Step 1: Discuss the requirements in an in-depth manner” and “Step 2: Develop an ideal candidate profile” ― are the most critical as the firm must clearly understand the position to be filled and the type of candidate the client would like to consider.

“However, the steps that take the most intense work and time are ‘Step 4: Identify prospective candidates’ and ‘Step 5: Screen and evaluate candidate prospects.’ We take these steps very carefully,” he said.

Whitfield served in the USFK for 18 years in numerous roles including labor and employee relations, contingency planning, quality programs management, installation management and strategic analysis. Prior to coming to Korea, he worked in labor and employee relations at the Naval Supply Center in Virginia, and at the U.S. National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration and the Department of Commerce.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)