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Who is a Headhunter? The pieces that make up a high-class Headhunter

Vacant high-level positions can become a burden for a business. The complexity of the labor market makes it difficult for companies to recruit talent to their organisation. This is the motivation behind the emergence of the Headhunter profession. A top-notch “headhunter” can certainly bring many benefits to a business. This article will help you better understand Headhunters as well as other aspects surrounding this profession.

1. Who is a Headhunter?

Headhunter is sometimes understood as the profession of “hunting for grey matter talents,” a service or concept that refers to companies providing this service. If you are interested in the field of human resources in general, you will find the term Headhunter quite familiar.

Headhunter is simply a term used to describe the process of recruiting candidates to fill high-level positions that are vacant in a specific organisation. One particular aspect when it comes to Headhunters is their professionalism and effectiveness. Headhunter experts may have diverse backgrounds, they understand society, economics, psychology, the complexity of human resource management mechanisms, et cetera.

Headhunters have a deep understanding of labor market trends, a superb grasp of candidate psychology, and especially persuasive and negotiation skills. They work with many candidates considered top “talents” to help them find a career path that suits themselves.

As mentioned, the labor market mechanism is constantly changing, and businesses seem to be struggling more and more in the recruitment process, especially for high-level positions.

This motivation has formed the Headhunter profession, Headhunter services, and companies providing these services. Headhunters are affectionately known as the “matchmakers” of businesses and talented individuals.

2. The difference between an HR Specialist and a Headhunter

Sometimes, you may not see the difference between employees in the recruitment department of a company compared to a Headhunter. But in reality, these are two different concepts.

The common ground here is that both perform similar tasks: searching for top talents for the organisation. However, if a recruiting company has its own HR department and staff, then the Headhunter is a third-party intermediary that supports this work. Headhunters are organised as a service company, or sometimes operate independently as a freelance “headhunter.” They are paid by businesses (commission) when successfully connecting a talent to work for them.

Another difference between an HR specialist and a Headhunter is the stages of performing their job. HR specialists are responsible for the entire recruitment process, from reviewing resumes, interviewing, to receiving and training candidates. Meanwhile, Headhunters only stop at the initial recruitment stage. When this stage ends, and the candidate has been hired, the Headhunter will end their responsibility.

In addition, HR specialists are employed as personnel in the company’s structure. They will be responsible for recruitment and training for the business and receive salaries according to that company’s policy. On the other hand, Headhunters work independently, are more proactive, and receive commissions based on successfully connecting candidates. In summary, the differences between a Headhunter and an HR specialist can be summarised as follows:

HR specialists advertise, post job openings, and wait for potential candidates to proactively contact them, or they can access a large network of candidates. Meanwhile, Headhunters only approach a selected number of candidates and identify the most suitable candidate for the job description.

HR specialists strive to find candidates that fit the open position or role of the organisation, regardless of the field or requirements. Meanwhile, Headhunters will focus on the role, position needed to be recruited first, and then select the most suitable candidate for their client.

In the Headhunter industry, understanding specific industries and target markets is much more important than traditional recruitment methods. Therefore, Headhunters are likely to specialise in a particular field and combine knowledge of related industries.

In conclusion, if HR specialists feel extremely difficult in the process of “hunting” candidates for high-level positions in the company, or the ideal talent they are aiming for has agreed to work with another company, or they cannot change their recruitment method, then hiring a professional Headhunter is something they should not hesitate to do.

3. What benefits can Headhunters bring?

The employment and recruitment industry as a whole recognises the significant contributions of Headhunter companies. This is an undeniable fact, as these companies are generally able to satisfy the requirements of their clients. These benefits can be summarised by the following values:

a. Market expertise

There is an undeniable fact that Headhunters possess a deep knowledge of the job market’s professional expertise, with specific industries and fields. This becomes the foundation that supports them in identifying the best talent for a certain position. In reality, companies with limited recruitment time and human resources highly value the values that Headhunters bring. Therefore, they consider Headhunters as an ideal long-term investment.

b. Impact of commission fees

Headhunters work on a commission-based mechanism in the form of a commission fee. They are only paid a commission fee when they successfully connect a candidate with the hiring company. This is a motivating factor that drives them in their work. Headhunters will recognise the importance of finding suitable talent that meets 100% of the position’s requirements. Therefore, the quality and efficiency of their work will maximise time savings for the hiring company.

c. Extensive network of quality relationships

Headhunter companies have an extensive and highly professional network of relationships. Their responsibility in finding suitable talent has helped them access and establish many relationships with experts in the industry. By collaborating with a Headhunter, you essentially leverage the benefits of their network to serve your purpose.

4. Overview of the job of a professional Headhunter

Whether working independently or employed by companies that provide “headhunting” services, the job of a Headhunter has some typical characteristics. Understanding their tasks and work process will help you have a clearer idea of what a Headhunter is.

Headhunters start their work journey by researching, analysing, and surveying information about the job position that their client needs to fill. Headhunters use their understanding of the job market and industry expertise, as well as their database of potential candidates. These will support them as much as possible in identifying the perfect candidate for that position.

If their previous database does not have any suitable candidates, Headhunters will continuously conduct research. They research candidates and companies, identifying targets that they need to approach. During this initial process, Headhunters focus on “hunting” and assessing the capabilities of each candidate from multiple angles.

Next, they will transfer the initial “hunting” results to their client, helping them to hold the candidate’s profile along with an evaluation of each person’s capabilities. The next step depends on the client’s assessment. It is not a Headhunter’s responsibility to contact candidates to discuss the job in an interview.

Headhunters work according to a process that takes about 5-6 weeks to complete and achieve the desired results. However, their responsibility does not end there. If the candidate successfully connects with the Headhunter’s client, they will continue to provide information about the company to the candidate or monitor and observe the candidate’s progress and work efficiency in the company.

5. What makes a high-class Headhunter?

Many businesses choose to develop their resources by utilising the expertise of a Headhunter. So, what are the qualities that make up the golden formula for a competent Headhunter?

Source of Image: the Internet

a. In-depth knowledge of individual industries and jobs

First and foremost, they need to have a professional knowledge foundation about the labor market in general, and specific job fields in particular. Headhunters are partners of many businesses in the market. They are like professional news hunters and human consulting experts. Therefore, if they do not understand the working field of their clients, or do not understand the characteristics and requirements of each position in that field, Headhunters will not be as highly valued by businesses.

Their understanding is a combination of both professional and social knowledge. They need a platform to help them look further and wider, expanding their observations from different perspectives, in order to find the most suitable talents.

b. The ability to detect talent

The ability to detect talent is crucial to the success of Headhunters. The process of finding talent is quite challenging for an HR specialist because they lack many elements. However, for a Headhunter, it is different. They have a wide network of relationships, and possess skills in searching for information, analysing candidate data, et cetera. Through their deep knowledge of various fields, from social to economic, from micro to macro, Headhunters fulfil their commitments and connect deserving talents with businesses.

Having a conversation with a Headhunter, candidates feel more understood and gain a better understanding of themselves. Headhunters help candidates find a bright direction for their careers, relieving them of anxieties and struggles along the path they are on.

c. Skills to analyse profiles and identify candidates

To become an outstanding Headhunter, you need to possess the skills of analysing resumes and identifying perfect candidates. The recruitment market is increasingly competitive, even every second and minute. Therefore, losing means that they are not sensitive and fast enough. A good Headhunter usually handles, analyzes resumes, and identifies candidates in the shortest possible time.

With their own experience and keenness, sometimes they can complete the analysis of hundreds of resumes in just a day. Their working time can be double or even triple that of a regular HR specialist. They know how to push aside candidates with inadequate resumes, lacking skills, etc., and they never find it difficult to do so.

d. Perfect soft skills

Professional knowledge, social knowledge, and perfect soft skills. If you possess these three qualities, the Headhunter career may be suitable for you. They are skilful in communication, know how to read people, listen, understand, and empathize. In addition, Headhunters possess many outstanding skills such as negotiation, planning, and goal-setting. Having these precise soft skills will support Headhunters to the fullest in their work process, leading to higher end results than ever before.

e. Passion, motivation, and perseverance

A regular HR specialist may sometimes face pressure and criticism from their supervisors. But a Headhunter can face pressure from public opinion from a series of clients and candidates. Without motivation, passion, and perseverance, you will not survive in this job for long. This quality has created brave Headhunters. As their name suggests, they have become the “alpha wolves” who hunt for the best prey.

By VINH PHAN, Practice Leader of Executive Search & Board Services

NB Asia is a highly experienced and strategic human resources consulting firm that specialises in providing an extensive range of executive placement, board services, organisational structure, and people solutions to business partners throughout Asia. We are privileged to have the opportunity to work with many great companies in various industries across Asia. Our executive search and board services offer the following advantages:

• Shortening the time required to find the right candidate.
• Saving time and effort for businesses.
• Ensuring confidentiality for difficult vacancies that companies do not want to advertise publicly.
• Ensuring high candidate compatibility compared to expectations.
• Bringing many innovations, new and breakthrough proposals to businesses.
• Helping businesses verify candidate reference information, ensuring part of the candidate’s capacity.

For clients, please contact us via email at SERVICES@nbvn.asia, and for candidates, please email us at PEOPLE@nbvn.asia. We will respond to your inquiry within 24 hours.