Obama's administration preparing to use headhunters to fill key positions

April 27, 8:50 PMSeattle Jobs ExaminerTara Gowland

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                                    Barack Obama

Barack Obama has been notoriously tough in hiring lobbyists in Washington and therefore, headhunters have been retained to search for hard to fill positions.

Obama's administrators have reportedly interviewed large search firms Korn/Ferry International, Russell Reynolds Associates and Heidrick & Struggles.

Obama administration faces frustration

Bob Cusack writes in his recent article in The Hill called, Obama administration works with headhunters to fill out key positions.

Administration officials, including Obama, have said that filling some positions has been extremely difficult. In an interview with “60 Minutes” last month, Obama said candidates have turned him down to join the Treasury Department.

Obama expressed disappointment that the vetting process by Senate committees has been “pretty tough.” Several Obama appointees, including former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), have withdrawn their names from consideration amid the rigorous Senate background checks.

Obama said, “A lot of people who we think are about to serve in the administration and Treasury suddenly say, ‘Well, you know what? I don’t want to go through some of the scrutiny, embarrassment, in addition to taking huge cuts in pay.’ ”

However, according to the according to the nonpartisan White House Transition Project, the Obama administration is ahead of where George Bush's administration was at the beginning of Bush's first term. In fact, Obama has double the number of nominations it has sent to the Senate for confirmation.

I do hope that the headhunters and search firms Obama chooses help him in filling these positions - I know people are more frustrated than ever on his strict hiring guidelines.