Headhunters Work By Reputation

Although many run-of-the-mill recruitment consultants refer to themselves as Headhunters, the truth is that they are not. In the simplest terms it is someone who identifies and approaches suitable candidates employed elsewhere to fill business positions for their clients.

You'll know the difference when you get a call, completely out of the blue, from a recruiter of personnel, the person whose profession is to find executives to fill open positions in corporations - the recruitment specialist offering you a wonderful new position at a higher salary, when you weren't even looking! Even more surprising is the fact that they seem to know your history inside out!

Headhunters Are Ruthless...

Head-Hunters are sometimes described as people who recruit ruthlessly in order to get the best employees regardless of their employment status. A term often used to describe the activities is: Retained Executive Search services.

The secrets behind this way of executive recruitment is that the agency takes great pains to track qualified personnel during their work life, getting feedback from known contacts, socially and corporately and can thus quickly and precisely locate a suitable candidate for a specific client's job requirement, this usually being for high-level executive positions. These high level recruitment specialists are generally used by companies that are looking outside their present staff to fill these senior level executive positions.

What do headhunters look for?

First, they look for a strong reputation within a given industry. Because people work together and talk about others in conversations, at work or in conventions. This can build up a reputation which can open doors and move mountains. They simply listen and talk, hearing good things about a person puts her on their radar for the future. But if nobody much has ever heard of you and you don't figure in conversations, they’re inclined to suspect there may be good reason.

You, as a potential candidate, must be seen to demonstrate impeccable character and integrity in the eyes of colleagues, clients and suppliers. It must be possible to identify a track record of making tough - and not always popular - decisions; in other words are you seen as someone who walks the talk? Headhunters rely heavily on references from their own contacts who are known quantities for perspective.

Headhunters remain outside your working environment and can only work with third party knowledge, therefore they do not always know whether your achievements, are comparable with their clients' needs. They have no scale by which they measure your value other than your reputation. If you want to get headhunted, you must protect and enhance your reputation at every step of the way.

Headhunters: Retained Search

High-end executive search specialists receive a retainer as an up-front fee, to perform a specific search for a senior executive position. Typically, retained searches tend to be for positions that pay upwards of GBP £200k or US $300,000 and often far more.

Search fees are typically 30% of the annual compensation of the recruited executive, which is for the time and expertise of the search firm. The recruiter is employed to conduct the entire recruitment effort from evaluating potential candidates until the selected candidate has started working.

They are retained recruiters who work for the client organisations, not for job candidates seeking employment, in some countries, such the UK, recruiters are not legally permitted to charge candidates.

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