Companies across all industries have their own recruiting and hiring method that allows them to find the perfect candidate for each role. While no method is the same, companies often turn to headhunters to help them find a candidate with a unique set of skills or niche background.
A headhunter is often mistaken for an in-house hiring recruiter or part of an in-house recruiting team. What exactly is a headhunter, and what do they do?
What Is a Headhunter?
Headhunters are individuals who work on behalf of an organization or a company to help them fill a particular role. Industry speak often refers to them as executive recruiters. This is because many of the positions they headhunt for are high-level executive positions. Employers will reach out to headhunters and provide a list of requirements needed to successfully fill an open role with haste.
Headhunters task themselves with finding a candidate that fits within a rigid set of requirements and backgrounds. These specialized positions that become open are not publicized or added to job boards. This allows headhunters to identify and select individuals that best fit the requirements strategically. They also have access to a large candidate pool or will reach out to competitor employees.
How Does a Headhunter Work?
Every headhunter works with their clients to understand the company’s values, culture, and needs to know how they can best fill the position. Once headhunters have a good understanding of the open role, they thoroughly search for similar roles in other companies and find people that may be a match. They dive deep into the candidate pool, looking for referrals through social media and other private databases.
Headhunters make calls and schedule appointments with people who show the most potential to screen candidates to see if they are interested. They will also screen the candidate to make sure they check the boxes of the needs of the position and provide a short list of ideal candidates to the company. They may even organize interviews and quick introductory meetings between their client and the candidate to help get the ball rolling.
Benefits of Hiring a Headhunter
Headhunters are a valuable asset to have on your team. They are up to date on local job market changes and challenges and have built connections that allow them to pinpoint top talent, among other benefits:
Commission Based
Headhunters are traditionally commission based and are paid based on their ability to fill a role and deliver. Thus, results drive their actions, and they are more likely to recognize the importance of finding a great candidate.
Reduce Time and Costs
Recruiting efforts in-house can take a lot of time and resources to publish, advertise, and interview for a role and review all applicants. It can leave a role sitting open for weeks, even months. A headhunter helps provide you with a small list of qualified candidates that will save you time and money in the long run.
Understanding of Local Markets
Headhunters thoroughly understand their local job markets. Some specialize in particular industries. With their extensive knowledge, they can find a qualified candidate.
Find Top Talent Quickly and Efficiently
Many companies looking to hire executive roles have a short timetable to work with. Working with a headhunter saves you time by utilizing their skills to sift through hundreds of potential candidates and provide you with people most relevant for the position you’re hiring for.
Find Off-Market Candidates
Headhunters have experience building networks and will reach out to employees at competitors with similar roles if they have the desired qualities. They have the skills to strategically approach people who may not be looking for a new job but are willing to learn more.
Confidentiality
Employers often want to refrain from making a new position public, for example, if you are looking to replace a low-performing executive. Hiring a headhunter can help you discreetly find the right fit for a position without publicizing the opening.
Headhunter Vs. Recruiter
People often use the terms recruiters and headhunters interchangeably. While their duties are fairly similar, they do have a slight difference.
A recruiter works directly for the company looking to hire people for open positions. They are part of the in-house recruitment team and often a part of the HR environment. They manage more than talent acquisition and have more roles and responsibilities, including conducting initial interviews, onboarding, and writing job descriptions to help with the hiring process.
Headhunters, on the other hand, work independently on behalf of their clients. They fill more executive-level roles and find high-skill professionals who are in the mid to senior career level. The long list of skills needed for high-level roles requires headhunters to conduct intense searches to find someone well suited for the position and likely to succeed.
Can Headhunters Really Find You a Job?
Searching for a new job or career can be challenging as you explore the thousands of open positions online. We understand that reaching out to a headhunter feels daunting at first. However, making that connection can get you more exposure to opportunities that headhunters exclusively gatekeep.
Also, headhunters do not exclusively work with companies. A headhunter can help you find a job when you’re in the market. They are skilled at taking your experience and background and matching it with potential companies that may be the right fit for you.
They can also provide valuable insight and feedback on your resume. Why is this important? It will help you to make improvements that make you more marketable in your industry. Most headhunters are passionate about what they do. So, working with a headhunter could potentially land you in your dream role.
How to Find a Headhunter in Denver
Before you search for a headhunter, be sure to outline your needs for the position. In addition to outlining the role, you want to set precise details of the expectations of working with a headhunter before you begin.
Headhunters are generally easy to find through an online search or within professional networking communities. When searching for a headhunter, you will want to search your particular industry, the city of Denver, and “headhunter” all in one search. For example, “sales headhunters in Denver.” Be sure to change up the search terms to expand your search results.
Professional networking websites such as LinkedIn are a great resource to find people with a headhunter title and relevant keywords within their professional bios.
Conclusion
The job market in Denver can be fiercely competitive. If you have a high-level position to fill fast and don’t want to dedicate the time and resources yourself, a headhunter may be a good fit for you.
Headhunters dedicate their time to understanding the market and will help you to find the best candidate for your company. They can narrow down the candidate pool to track down top talent for your open position and deliver the best candidate to help your company thrive.
We encourage you to learn more about us at Sales Recruiters Denver to see if we may be the perfect recruiting firm to help you find the talent your business needs to grow. Get in touch with us if you’re looking for the best headhunters in Denver, Colorado.