Headhunter - how to understand him?

Headhunter- a misunderstood role. Most job seekers generally misunderstand the role of professional headhunters (also known as headhunters) employed by recruitment agencies and as a result miss out on countless job opportunities.

In this article I will explain exactly how headhunters work and how you can find them, as they are an essential part of the job search process especially for high level managers

Because headhunters are hired by employers to fill vacancies they don't want to advertise, so in many cases you will never have access to these positions unless you find the right headhunters.

What is the job of a headunter?

 

This process always starts with the employer. First there is a need to hire someone for the position, usually the business (hiring manager) informs its HR department. The HR manager or HR specialist prepares a description of the candidate sought. This usually includes both interpersonal, soft and hard skills that will suit their organisation. In the case of so-called confidential recruitment, the employer generally chooses to work with executive search consultancies.

See also: 7 benefits of hiring an executive search firm

The headhunter is then concerned with finding an exact match. I emphasized the phrase "exact match" because that is probably the most important thing to understand about headhunters. They are hired to streamline the hiring process, not complicate it. Therefore, they are only interested in candidates who exactly meet the criteria given to them by their client.

headhunting in warsaw

Rejection - it is nothing personal.

If you don't meet these criteria, you probably won't get a call, no matter how great your employment history... It's not personal - it's simply that the headhunter needs to find exactly what they've been asked to do in order to a) make money and b) get the next project from their client.

A company's HR/recruitment person could complete this task themselves, but they have hired a headhunter because they generally do not have the time or resources to reach out to, for example, candidates working for their competitors. From this headhunter she expects the only CVs she will see to be highly qualified candidates who meet the criteria she has set out in the job specification. She doesn't want to see creative opportunities. She doesn't want to hear the headhunter say: "I know this guy doesn't have the experience you asked for, but he seems interesting." She wants to see a small group of perfectly qualified candidates.

Therefore, you probably won't hear back from most headhunters you come into contact with. Don't take this personally. It's not a reflection on your skills or employment history. It simply means that your professional profile does not match the profile our talent hunter is looking for.

The second important thing to understand about headhunters is that they work for the client, not you. Prices vary, but are usually 20-30% of your annual salary if they find you a job. This means that the headhunter is loyal to their Client. They have no interest in helping you - they focus solely on their client's needs. I know how it sounds, but it's better to know the truth than not know what it's about.

Thirdly, because their compensation for a good headhunter is based solely on successful projects, they don't have the luxury of spending time on items without much chance of being completed. Each headhunter only works on a limited number of searches (aka searches) at any given time, and most will not pay attention to your CV if you are not an exact match for the vacancy they are looking to fill.

All this means that you need to see headhunters as useful contacts, not as people who are there to help you find your next job.

When headhunters can help and when they cannot

Because a headhunter's job is to find an exact match, headhunters are generally not helpful to those who want to change their career.

And if you are new to the job market, talent hunters are also not the best resource for you. Most employers don't use them to fill entry-level positions, so you're wasting your time contacting them.

But if you know what you want to do and are qualified to do it, headhunters will be a key part of your search strategy.

Should you only work with one 'headhunter'?

No! This is probably the most common misconception that hurts job seekers, but working with just one headhunter is just as useful as sending just one CV throughout your job search and hoping to get that one job.

You need to understand that each headhunter will only fill a few vacancies at a time, and most of them will not be suitable for you. This means you need to be in touch with as many headhunters as possible, because you never know which one has the perfect job offer for you. And you need to stay in touch over time, because they may not have the perfect job now, but it could land on their desk in three months' time.

The importance of specialisation in a headhunter.

Most headhunters have a specific specialism will ignore your CV if you don't fit the type of recruitment projects they often do.

Therefore, you should carefully consider whether your professional experience and profile matches the positions and profiles recruited by our talent hunter.

I cannot stress this more strongly. Nothing annoys headhunters more than being spammed by potential candidates who haven't taken the time to understand what the headhunter's specialism is. If a headhunter only hires finance managers in Warsaw, and you are a construction project manager in Lublin, the chances of getting that position are very slim.

So a tip- take some time to understand what kind of projects the headhunter deals with and contact those who have projects similar to your job profile. With this approach the cooperation with headhunter will be fruitful and your chances will increase dramatically. If you need support in recruiting candidates in IT, digital marketing or sales I think we can help you. Send us an email by clicking this link