High-performing executives do not apply. The best talent gets approached directly.
After more than two decades in executive search and over 500 senior-level placements in Thailand, I continue to observe a pattern that many organizations still underestimate.
Most high-performing leaders are not spending time browsing job boards, refreshing resumes, or monitoring corporate career pages.
They are fully engaged in running divisions, leading teams, driving performance, managing crises, and executing strategy.
Their attention sits on business outcomes, not job advertisements and posts.
This reality creates a structural disconnect in how many companies approach hiring.
When a regional headquarters approves a role, HR teams in Thailand often default to visibility strategies as in: A job is uploaded, shared, circulated, and promoted across platforms.
The assumption is simple: the right candidate will see the posting and apply.
However, the executives that hiring companies truly want, rarely enter the market by browsing job boards and LinkedIn.
Senior hiring operates in two very different talent pools
There are two very different talent pools from which top executives and senior-level hires come.
- The first consists of active candidates, individuals who are searching, applying, and available.
- The second consists of passive candidates, proven leaders who are currently employed, delivering results, and not actively looking for change.
Yes, those from the second group get recruited while they’re not looking.
They are too busy delivering results to browse job boards.
This is where executive search changes the game
Executive search changes the game. We don’t wait for applications. We map the market. We identify the top 20 people who could do the job. We approach them directly.
- 70% of executives we place were not looking for a new role
- 85% never saw the job posting
- 95% got recruited through a direct approach
The best executives in Thailand operate in a different job market
They get calls from headhunters. They get introduced over coffee. They get recruited at chambers of commerce and industry events.
They negotiate from strength. They know their value. They choose opportunities, not chase them.
Rely on job boards and miss the entire talent pool
Companies that rely only on job postings miss this entire talent pool. You get active candidates who need a job. You miss passive candidates who could transform your business.
Want the best executives in Thailand? Stop posting. Start hunting.
It’s time you talk to Thailand’s No. 1 Headhunter, Tom Sorensen.
