Getting a Headhunter on Board – A Recruiter’s Need to Know

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Getting a Headhunter on Board – A Recruiter’s Need to Know

Getting A Headhunter On Board

We all get stuck in ruts. We all have our preferred, favoured, or usual way of doing things. And recruitment is no different. If you’ve always advertised jobs on your company website – why change? If you keep that freebie mug on your desk simply because it has your favoured recruitment agency number on it, why call someone else? How do you know when it is time to change the game? How do you know when you should be working with headhunters?

The Recruitment Game

There tend to be some fairly common scenarios when it comes to a recruitment vacancy. The steps you take tend to be determined based on past experience, the role you’re recruiting for (notably the type and level), and the resources available to you. Recruitment almost certainly isn’t your full time job. In fact, it’s the add-on. It’s the bit that gives you a headache, keeps you worrying about the future, and doesn’t pay.

The result is that we tend to turn to the same old techniques. We have a mediocre success rate. The vacancy gets filled. Phew, move on, next task. But herein lies the problem. We’re using the same strategies, whatever the role. We’re using the same strategies, which aren’t future-proof. We’re using the same strategies, even if they cost us more in the long run.

There are times that we need to shake up the recruiting game and get working with headhunters so that we can change the outcome. Let’s take a look at those reasons.

  • The Hiring Rut:The hiring rut is a problem on many levels. You simply can’t use the same recruitment strategy for a CEO as a payroll officer. What works for one is unlikely to be the optimal solution for another. The other problem with the hiring rut is that you’re constantly casting your net in the same waters. The audience isn’t changing. They get tired of the show. To be noticed you need to be new, different, and out there. The result is that the hiring rut stagnates recruitment. Recruitment is more dynamic than that.
    It’s time to start working with headhunters when you realise you’re in the hiring rut and you’re ready to broaden your search.
  • The Level is High: Filling executive level roles are the most challenging. They are also the most important to get right. Whilst a lower level vacancy has its knock on effects, the business can continue. It can both function and grow. Higher level executive vacancies cause not just ripples of trouble, but positive tidal waves of danger. The business cannot afford to not keep moving forward, but without key players this is a very real outcome. Importantly, your pool of candidates to choose from is smaller. Then comes the conundrum that the very people you want aren’t going to be sat waiting to send you their CV. You need to find and entice this calibre of talent. That’s a full-time specialist job all on its own. That’s when you need to be working with headhunters.
  • Keep Your Head Down, But Your Profile Up: Then comes the problem that for many executive roles you need to entice others from high profile executive roles without attracting any attention – either to the current vacancy-caused weakness in your ranks, or to your competitors. That’s nearly impossible with standard recruitment techniques. If you need to network your way to candidates without raising your head above the parapet, then a headhunter is the solution.
  • You’re Time- and Resources-Poor: Whether it’s a lack of knowledge, lack of time, or lack of recruitment experience, you’re at a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting. If your HR department is struggling, or they are taking too long, or it’s not as high a priority for them as other roles, or it’s simply one task too many, then hiring a headhunter provides the solution.
  • Vital Networking: There are two elements to the need for networking in recruitment for executive level positions. Firstly, you can be sure your competitors are working with headhunters. That’s why they are cherry-picking the best talent and taking it away from you. Secondly, it’s a tall order for you to network with recruitment in mind within your own industry. Doors tend to close pretty quickly. A headhunter on the other hand, can get their foot in the door and pique interest without exposing your name.  Experienced headhunters will be expert networkers within different industry fields and able to make the connections that you can’t.

The Steps You Need to Take to Working with Headhunters

You need to select headhunters who have a proven track record and who you trust. To get Eagle Headhunters on board to fill your vacancies, please Get in Touch.