INSIGHTS

Headhunter

Elizan Erdoğan

21.12.2022

What Is a Headhunter?

Recruiting correct and skilled people to important roles can be tricky when there are so many options. At that point having people who specialize in the matter of choosing the best professionals for certain job roles becomes a necessity for companies. This is where the concept of headhunter came alive.

So, what is a headhunter? Headhunters, like recruiters, contact highly skilled individuals to assist businesses in filling specific job openings. These perfect candidates are already employed by other companies but are open to new prospects. Headhunters are particularly efficient at attracting candidates because they are experts at networking and analyzing the current labor market. Companies use headhunters when they are unable to find the proper person for the job on their own. The job role of a headhunter means discovering talent and locating people that fulfill certain employment needs. It’s either a talent discovered in a field of candidates or a competitor’s employee.

What Should You Look for in a Headhunter?

The quality and effectiveness of headhunters differs. Below are a few factors to look for and eliminate:

  • A skilled headhunter should contact you knowing you are a great fit for a position based on your abilities and knowledge.
  • A competent headhunter always wants to keep in contact with you if you’re a strong candidate and will want to retain you in their pool of potential employees for future positions.
  • Professional headhunters are simple to reach and connect with, and they always act professionally. If a headhunter speaks quickly, is impolite, makes excessive demands, is difficult to reach, or fails to react to communications, this means that they are not a professional headhunter in the field.
  • A good headhunter would never ask you about your past or current salary as this means that they want to estimate the salary range of the position based on you and not the deserved amount for the job. A professional headhunter will tell you the range of the salary and let you decide if that is okay with you or not.
  • If the headhunter is not prepared for the interview and they have not done the proper homework about your background, they might try to conduct an interview right then and there over the phone.

What Does the Headhunter Do

A headhunter must properly comprehend what the hiring organization requires in order to understand what is expected of the potential list of applicants. This includes comprehending the function and its nuances, as well as the organization, its culture, and any secret arrangements and information. Therefore, fully analyzing the role and having a complete understanding of the needs of the company is the main purpose of this job role. After compiling a lengthy list of potential candidates, headhunters refine their search by qualification to discover the most specific fits for the role.

Usually, potential candidates who meet the qualifications of the role will be unaware that a job opportunity exists; headhunters typically work with top-level opportunities that have not been advertised. The headhunter is going to contact and tell possible candidates about the position in order to determine their interest.

Is A Headhunter the Same as a Recruiter?

All headhunters and recruiters try to locate qualified candidates for open positions, but there are considerable differences between them:

  • Typically, a recruiter works for the recruiting company, usually in the department of human resources. A headhunter, on the other hand, is paid on a contingency basis once the organization hires the perfect applicant, and they have no involvement in the hiring process.
  • Headhunters typically specialize in one area or industry, whereas recruiters must be wider in their understanding of a company’s available roles. While a headhunter may look for industry expertise in a specific function or subject, a recruiter must be able to fill anything from a part-time post to a full-time employment in a variety of departments.
  • The headhunter is suitable when the firm’s requirement is urgent—when the organization has the capacity or time to conduct an intensive candidate search or interview a large number of people. A recruiter, on the other hand, is usually on staff and thus has more time to handle several applicants and resumes and guide a small group of candidates through the interview session from beginning to end.

What Questions Will a Headhunter Ask?

If you want to shine out among other applicants, you should be prepared to answer certain frequent questions in order to appear professional and competent. Here are some of the most often asked questions by headhunters as they determine if you are the suitable applicant to present to their clients:

  • Can you tell me about yourself?
  • What are your current responsibilities?
  • What is your proudest achievement?
  • Why do you want to move on from your old job?
  • What is your ideal future position?
  • What are your preferred locations for your ideal job?

What Should You Not Tell a Headhunter?

In normal cases, a professional headhunter will know where to go and where to stop when asking personal questions to the potential candidate. But in other cases, a headhunter may go down an invasive road and ask you about things that are better left unsaid. In addition, there are also some things you shouldn’t blurt out in hopes of getting the job. Here are some of the things you should never tell a headhunter:

  • You should never answer with the exact amount to the question of your past or current salary. A headhunter should tell you the deserved amount of salary for the position up front. If you tell your salary and it is under their budget, they won’t give you a higher range since they’ll think you will accept the current amount.
  • You should never seem desperate. Confidence and making sure you seem like the correct candidate to headhunters is the key to getting the Therefore, saying things like “I’m very desperate.”, “This is my only option.” are going to make you lose the opportunity.
  • Don’t ever badmouth your previous job or your previous colleagues as the company will not take the risk of you ending up being the problem in that situation.

What is the Average Cost of a Headhunter?

Hiring through a recruitment agency will cost you approximately 15-20% of the role’s first year’s compensation if you are an employer. Given their level of knowledge and specialization, you may expect to pay extra for their services—around 30% of their first year’s compensation. If you’re an employee, it’s up to you whether headhunters can charge you to locate you in the positions you wish. In some countries, headhunters are not permitted to charge potential employees for assisting them in getting positions they believe they are qualified for. Once the position is filled, the employee is responsible for the payments.


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INSIGHTS

Headhunter

Elizan Erdoğan

21.12.2022

What Is a Headhunter?

Recruiting correct and skilled people to important roles can be tricky when there are so many options. At that point having people who specialize in the matter of choosing the best professionals for certain job roles becomes a necessity for companies. This is where the concept of headhunter came alive.

So, what is a headhunter? Headhunters, like recruiters, contact highly skilled individuals to assist businesses in filling specific job openings. These perfect candidates are already employed by other companies but are open to new prospects. Headhunters are particularly efficient at attracting candidates because they are experts at networking and analyzing the current labor market. Companies use headhunters when they are unable to find the proper person for the job on their own. The job role of a headhunter means discovering talent and locating people that fulfill certain employment needs. It’s either a talent discovered in a field of candidates or a competitor’s employee.

What Should You Look for in a Headhunter?

The quality and effectiveness of headhunters differs. Below are a few factors to look for and eliminate:

  • A skilled headhunter should contact you knowing you are a great fit for a position based on your abilities and knowledge.
  • A competent headhunter always wants to keep in contact with you if you’re a strong candidate and will want to retain you in their pool of potential employees for future positions.
  • Professional headhunters are simple to reach and connect with, and they always act professionally. If a headhunter speaks quickly, is impolite, makes excessive demands, is difficult to reach, or fails to react to communications, this means that they are not a professional headhunter in the field.
  • A good headhunter would never ask you about your past or current salary as this means that they want to estimate the salary range of the position based on you and not the deserved amount for the job. A professional headhunter will tell you the range of the salary and let you decide if that is okay with you or not.
  • If the headhunter is not prepared for the interview and they have not done the proper homework about your background, they might try to conduct an interview right then and there over the phone.

What Does the Headhunter Do

A headhunter must properly comprehend what the hiring organization requires in order to understand what is expected of the potential list of applicants. This includes comprehending the function and its nuances, as well as the organization, its culture, and any secret arrangements and information. Therefore, fully analyzing the role and having a complete understanding of the needs of the company is the main purpose of this job role. After compiling a lengthy list of potential candidates, headhunters refine their search by qualification to discover the most specific fits for the role.

Usually, potential candidates who meet the qualifications of the role will be unaware that a job opportunity exists; headhunters typically work with top-level opportunities that have not been advertised. The headhunter is going to contact and tell possible candidates about the position in order to determine their interest.

Is A Headhunter the Same as a Recruiter?

All headhunters and recruiters try to locate qualified candidates for open positions, but there are considerable differences between them:

  • Typically, a recruiter works for the recruiting company, usually in the department of human resources. A headhunter, on the other hand, is paid on a contingency basis once the organization hires the perfect applicant, and they have no involvement in the hiring process.
  • Headhunters typically specialize in one area or industry, whereas recruiters must be wider in their understanding of a company’s available roles. While a headhunter may look for industry expertise in a specific function or subject, a recruiter must be able to fill anything from a part-time post to a full-time employment in a variety of departments.
  • The headhunter is suitable when the firm’s requirement is urgent—when the organization has the capacity or time to conduct an intensive candidate search or interview a large number of people. A recruiter, on the other hand, is usually on staff and thus has more time to handle several applicants and resumes and guide a small group of candidates through the interview session from beginning to end.

What Questions Will a Headhunter Ask?

If you want to shine out among other applicants, you should be prepared to answer certain frequent questions in order to appear professional and competent. Here are some of the most often asked questions by headhunters as they determine if you are the suitable applicant to present to their clients:

  • Can you tell me about yourself?
  • What are your current responsibilities?
  • What is your proudest achievement?
  • Why do you want to move on from your old job?
  • What is your ideal future position?
  • What are your preferred locations for your ideal job?

What Should You Not Tell a Headhunter?

In normal cases, a professional headhunter will know where to go and where to stop when asking personal questions to the potential candidate. But in other cases, a headhunter may go down an invasive road and ask you about things that are better left unsaid. In addition, there are also some things you shouldn’t blurt out in hopes of getting the job. Here are some of the things you should never tell a headhunter:

  • You should never answer with the exact amount to the question of your past or current salary. A headhunter should tell you the deserved amount of salary for the position up front. If you tell your salary and it is under their budget, they won’t give you a higher range since they’ll think you will accept the current amount.
  • You should never seem desperate. Confidence and making sure you seem like the correct candidate to headhunters is the key to getting the Therefore, saying things like “I’m very desperate.”, “This is my only option.” are going to make you lose the opportunity.
  • Don’t ever badmouth your previous job or your previous colleagues as the company will not take the risk of you ending up being the problem in that situation.

What is the Average Cost of a Headhunter?

Hiring through a recruitment agency will cost you approximately 15-20% of the role’s first year’s compensation if you are an employer. Given their level of knowledge and specialization, you may expect to pay extra for their services—around 30% of their first year’s compensation. If you’re an employee, it’s up to you whether headhunters can charge you to locate you in the positions you wish. In some countries, headhunters are not permitted to charge potential employees for assisting them in getting positions they believe they are qualified for. Once the position is filled, the employee is responsible for the payments.