What Is a Headhunter?

What Is a Headhunter?

Let me explain to you what a headhunter is. A headhunter is a company or individual that provides employment recruiting services on behalf of an employer. You should know that headhunters are hired by firms to find talent and locate individuals who meet specific job requirements.

Headhunters may also be referred to as executive recruiters, and the function they perform is often called executive search. They might have a pool of candidates for specific positions or act aggressively to find talent by looking at competitors' employees. Employers tend to enlist headhunters when there's a sense of urgency and they can't find the right person to fill a role on their own.

Key Takeaways

A headhunter, or executive recruiter, is an individual or company hired by an employer to recruit talent for an open role. Headhunters are often paid on contingency and typically earn commission only when they are successful in placing a candidate in a job. A good headhunter won't ask you about your current or past salary, so it's important to address the salary range that you are seeking.

Duties and Responsibilities of a Headhunter

Finding and recruiting job candidates is often performed by hiring managers, human resources personnel, or internal recruitment specialists. But in some cases, employment agencies or executive search firms may be employed. Third parties working on behalf of a hiring company are colloquially referred to as headhunters.

A headhunter is retained to fill jobs that require specific or high-level skills or offer high pay. Headhunters working on behalf of a firm often scour international organizations for top talent. In addition, some individuals may contact a headhunter to provide a résumé or curriculum vitae (CV) or to apply for a position for which the headhunter is seeking talent. Headhunting is supported on many levels by internet technologies, including social media and online job boards.

How Headhunters Are Paid

Headhunters typically only make money when they are successful in placing a candidate in a job. Independent, third-party recruiters are often paid on contingency, meaning they do not get paid unless their candidate is hired. The typical fee is 20% to 30% of a new hire's total first-year salary. As headhunters work for the employer, they have the incentive to please them rather than the candidate.

Some headhunter firms may also charge an upfront retainer to defray the costs of the search. This can reduce the risk for the headhunter, especially if the role is difficult to fill. A retainer arrangement ensures that the headhunter receives some pay for their work, even if the search is unsuccessful. A 'container' arrangement is a hybrid of a commission and retainer.

There is no licensing necessary to become a headhunter or recruiter, so anyone can become one. Less established recruiters often compete with professional ones that possess large networks of clients and candidates. They may operate in a similar way, such as an unsolicited email, call, or LinkedIn request.

What Should You Look for in a Headhunter?

The quality and helpfulness of headhunters vary. A good headhunter will contact you knowing ahead of time that you are a good fit for a role based on your skills and experience. If a headhunter asks for your past or current salary, this is a red flag. Rather, they should tell you the salary range of the opportunity they are calling about and then ask you whether it is a good fit.

An unprepared headhunter will not have done proper homework on your background and may try to interview you on the fly once you are on the phone. Quality headhunters are easy to reach and communicate with, and they conduct themselves professionally. It is a bad sign if a headhunter talks fast, is rude, makes too many demands, is hard to reach, or neglects to respond to messages. A good headhunter will want to stay in touch especially if you're a good candidate and will want to keep you in their network of potential candidates for openings.

What Percentage Do Headhunters Get?

A typical commission for a headhunter is about 20-30% of a new hire's initial annual salary, but this may vary depending on the industry and qualifications that the employer is looking for. For management executives, a typical commission is in a higher range of 25-35%. For senior-level executives, the commission may be higher due to the increased stakes as well as the difficulty of the search.

What Are the Alternatives to Recruiting Through Headhunters?

For companies trying to recruit talent, the main alternative to headhunters or recruiting firms is to recruit their own talent, either through an in-house recruiting department or by networking. In-house recruitment is more common at larger firms, which have enough turnover to justify employing several full-time professionals to look for new employees. Headhunters are more expensive, but may have the industry expertise to find candidates with specialized qualifications.

What's the Difference Between a Headhunter and a Recruiter?

Headhunters and recruiters are both recruiting professionals who seek to find job candidates for open positions. The main difference is the positions they fill; headhunters typically seek to fill high-level, executive positions, while recruiters seek a wider variety of technical qualifications. Recruiters also seek people who are already seeking employment, while headhunters may target people who are already employed.

The Bottom Line

A headhunter is a recruitment professional who is hired to fill high-level vacancies on behalf of a client company. They are typically paid a percentage of the new hire's salary, contingent upon finding a suitable candidate.