Headhunter Definition

In simple words, a headhunter is a person who offers recruitment services to organizations. Organisations need headhunters to conduct all the procedures involved in the hiring process and find the best talent which can effortlessly help them in achieving the pre-decided goals.

Headhunters, also known as executive search recruiters, can make your life easier by simplifying the hiring process to onboard the right people into your organization.

Let''s dive in and get up to speed on everything about headhunters!

What is a Headhunter?

Headhunters are experts in finding and recruiting candidates best suiting the various requirements.

From getting in touch with candidates to efficiently filling different openings, they do a lot of things which generally eat up much time and energy of companies. Quite the opposite of regular recruiters, a headhunter comes with a number of networks and experience that make the recruitment process super easy and faster.

How do Headhunters Work?

When you hire a headhunter to make your hiring process easier, here are various tasks they will undertake on their own:

• Examine: The first thing that every headhunter does is analyze the role to be filled. They understand the candidate requirements for the particular position mentioned by the client. This deep research on the role and its requirements helps the headhunter in finding out the right candidates who would be able to fit the vision and goals of the company. Unlike other recruiters, headhunters spend a considerable amount of time researching and leave no stone unturned to zero down the best candidate.
• Source: After getting a clear picture of the role he is assigned to fill, the next thing the headhunter does is prepare a detailed job description. Then, he posts this JD on job portals and other authentic mediums. They get a huge response to one job posting. Now, the cream among them may elude a normal recruiter, but a headhunter is just an expert in this area. With their network and industry knowledge, they get in touch with the right set of candidates for a given position. They also use referrals, social media, and competitors.
• Shortlist: They interview and test each candidate. Doing this enables them to bring down the list to people who are interested in the job and are just about equally qualified for the post. They would pass this list to the client who would interview the short-listed candidates further. Some headhunters provide onboarding process services, too.

Benefits of Using a Headhunter

There are plenty, but here are the top benefits of seeking the help of a headhunter:

• Expertise: As we already mentioned earlier, headhunters come with extensive experience. They know every trick and step to find a perfect candidate for a job opening. Their expertise helps their clients to recruit employees in a bare minimum time. Companies with limited resources and time can benefit the most by relying on a headhunter.
• Result-Driven: Headhunters have an incentive to bring in the best talent as most of their fees are commission-based, hence they only get paid if the company or the business is successful in hiring the people they recommend. They know that finding poor applicants wastes their time and money and will thus not waste yours. They suggest highly competent individuals that fit certain specifications.
• Results are Fast: A company usually spends much time carrying out each step involved in the hiring process. As a result, the managers and employers often do not get time for other value-adding activities of the business. It is at this point when headhunters come into the picture. Since they recruit and fill a number of different openings every day, they know how to fill any particular role within no time. Headhunters can save a good amount of time and effort for the companies while helping them hire appropriate people on time.
• Help HRs: HR managers are the most responsible ones when it comes to sourcing, hiring, and onboarding people in organizations. When a company hires a headhunter, indirectly, it saves time for its HR people. This way, HR managers would be in a position to concentrate on other critical businesses that would enable them to improve the bottom line.
• Economical: The headhunter charges can be very expensive, but this can be a good investment. You outsource the tedious work of finding and looking for applicants, and you are more productive in finding people to match your needs. You can spend a number of hours over several days or weeks. The recruiters offer professional service in matching job seekers with the right companies to ensure they will stay with them for a longer period of time. This reduces the costs associated with employee turnover.
• Professional Network: Headhunters possess an extensive network of professional contacts. Their task of searching for suitable candidates possessing a particular type of knowledge and experience has brought them in contact with a large number of industry experts. When you hire a headhunter, you are actually making use of their professional network to assist you in finding a suitable candidate for the vacant post.

There you have it, everything about headhunters!