Topic: General Posts

I have also been contacted by them.  I have no information about them.  I look forward to any comments on this subject.

I signed with them about 6 months ago.  I have applied for about a dozen positions and have been rejected from about half with no reason other than they chose another candidate.  The other half I am still waiting for.  I expected to try them for about a year and if I receive no offers then to cancel my membership.

Andrew Levine

Recently contacted by Exec Rank.  Anybody have further detail on quality of comapnies they have (e.g., small, medium, large cap) and what kind of vetting they do on the candidates.  Want to see if this is worthwhile.  Welcome thoughts?

Dain

I have been using the service for about 6 or 7 months and have had several leads, but no success.  Planning on terminating it today.  I don't think it's an efficient way to go about getting a board position, but it was a learning experience.

Hi FENG Colleagues,

Do not waste your money!!

Most board seats are not advertised on job boards or through subscription web services.  Real board seats are almost exclusively sourced through retained search firms. The only other way to find a board seat is through networking relationships and consulting, etc. The thesis that millions of board seats are available, unfilled and a shortage of applicants that can be filled through a web based service is just ludicrous.  

I was constantly bomdared by a "Outside Directors". It was irritating a best.   I finally called them to ascertain how confident they were in their claims. I made counter-offer to  their $195/month:   Find me a board seat ( paying or pro-bono) in the next 12 months an I will pay them lump sum twice one year's subscription rate upon a successful placement.  I never heard from them again. These subscription service are a scam in my opinion.

If you are truly looknig for a board seat then I suggest ramp up networking for this purpose as well as calling and sending your resume to the top retained based search firms in the country.  They actually do keep qualitied resumes in their database and will call when a suitable match exists. I also found Rite-site to be a reasonable way to easily contact creadible retained search firms for this purpose. it's $99.year.  I have received a few calls over the last 18 months after establishing contacts with "Rites-Honored" firms.  Its a long process... especially the first board opportunity. Though, once on corporate board then its easier to find that second and third board opportunity.  

Lastly,  You may find getting board certified will open doors as well. Recruiters will see this as a edge

Wayne is spot on.

Board members are picked by CEOs and lead directors.  If they are going to use a head hunter they will be retained search.

B

I have been a member of ExecRank for about a year and a half.  In that time the only lead that I got was from a company in Vancouver (I am in NY) that was looking for money from me to help him get some start up capital.  When I told him I was not interested in that type of advisory service, he lost interest in me and I in him.

I cancelled my subscription last week.

I presently serves on the Board of Directors for the Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production, an independent, objective, non-profit team of global social compliance experts dedicated to promoting safe, lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing around the world.  Looking to serve on other Boards.

Looking for recommendations, that is best way to get recruited for a position.

Thoughts anyone?

FENG Allies,

I just got off of an introductory conference call with ExecRank.  Thank you all for your comments which was very helpful to have in my hip pocket.  Here's my impressions:

- Quick, boilerplate presentation designed to get you commited before offering much support of their promises.

- First comment was they "presented" you, then I was told they would, "be with you all the way," next I was told, "we recommend signing up for at least eight months to be sure that I was using the website frequently to see and apply for their postings."  It was confused at best and perhaps even contradictory.

- I asked why board positions would come up this way and got the same answer(s) posted by others here.  Ultimately, the answer was a sales pitch with a bunch of numbers quoted and no context provided.  Then I was told that ExecRank was the largest recruiter (not just BOD recruiter) in the world because they were in 12 countries!  Imagine that...

When my skepticism became apparent I received the hard sale and politely signed off as that is a sure sign to me to be skeptical.

Kelly Baker

Agree with the other posts - this is a waste and not worth your time.

Just did a Deloitte CPE webcast a couple of weeks ago that relates to the question of how to prepare to be asked to join a board.  No way to paste files on here  but the website is listed below.  You might have to register (it's free).  If that doesn't work for you, email me at [email protected] and I will send a copy.

https://event.on24.com/event/13/23/02/3/rt/1/documents/resourceList1486586492084/dbriefs_governance_risk_compliance_020917.pdf?dummy=dummyBody

Some of you may also want to check out Board Prospects.  $129 a year. For me, I do not meet most of the experience requirements.

If you have experience with this program, please let me know your perspective.