Headhunter

What a headhunter does

A headhunter works for the hiring company. Their job is to find people who are good at a specific role and persuade some of them to consider a move. That means identifying target companies, working out who does the job there, making contact (by phone, email or LinkedIn), and having a confidential conversation about the opportunity. Most of the people a headhunter calls are passive candidates who were not looking until the call.

After outreach, the headhunter screens interested people, presents a short list to the client, coordinates interviews, gathers feedback, and helps negotiate the offer and resignation. A good headhunter also tells the client things it may not want to hear: the salary is low, the role is unclear, or a competitor just hired the three best candidates.

Headhunter vs recruiter

Every headhunter is a recruiter, but not every recruiter is a headhunter. The term usually means:

• Third-party, not in-house. A corporate recruiter works for one employer. A headhunter works for an agency or search firm serving several clients.
• Proactive outreach. Headhunters go after people who are not applying. Many recruiters, especially in high-volume hourly hiring, mainly process applicants who come in through job ads.
• More senior roles. Headhunting is common for managers, specialists and executives, where the candidate pool is small and well employed.

In the industry, 'headhunter' is casual. Professionals tend to describe themselves as search consultants, executive search consultants or agency recruiters, and the firm as a staffing agency or search firm.

How headhunters are paid

The employer pays. Headhunters work on either:

• Contingency: paid only when the client hires their candidate, commonly 15% to 25% of first-year base salary.
• Retained: paid in installments for an exclusive search, commonly around one-third of first-year total cash compensation.

Candidates should never pay a headhunter to be placed. Firms that charge job seekers are a different business, career coaching or resume writing, and many states regulate or bar employment agencies from charging job seekers placement fees. Because pay is usually tied to the hire's salary, the headhunter has some incentive to get a good offer, but a stronger incentive to get the offer accepted.

How employers should work with headhunters

Use a headhunter when the role is hard to fill from applicants and your team does not have the time or network to go out and find people. Give them a proper briefing with the hiring manager, an honest salary range and fast feedback. Agree on fees, candidate ownership and the guarantee in writing before they start. And be careful about using many headhunters on one role: the same candidates get called by several firms about the same job, which makes the employer look disorganized to the very people it is trying to attract.

How candidates should work with headhunters

Take the call, even when you are happy where you are; it costs nothing and tells you what the market pays. Be honest about compensation and what would make you move. Ask which company the role is with before your resume is sent anywhere, and do not let two firms submit you to the same employer. Remember who the headhunter works for: they will help you, but their client is the company.