The Role of the Headhunter

Often, recruiters would in fact source out and approach personnel in competitive organizations.  A chartered accountant working for a major television network might receive a call one day from a headhunter indicating that a competitive network is in need of his services. This leverages the employee in that the competitor is usually willing to offer a very attractive package to get the employee to cross over.

Nowadays, recruiters meet with a lot more job seekers than employers, and their role involves more of a weeding out process. In fact, the whole process has sort of reversed itself.  When an employer does solicit the services of a headhunter, it is rather more due to overwhelming response than lack of response. Employers don’t have the time to screen the overwhelming response from applicants, so they leave it to recruiters to start the selection process, and bring it through to a round of qualified finalists.

Recruiters, headhunters, staffing professionals: regardless of their label, they should certainly not be excluded from your job search campaign. They maintain ongoing relations with high profile employers and they are in constant contact with organizations regarding their staffing needs. 

Recruiters should be on your list and form part of your overall campaign. Contact recruiters and get in front of as many of them as you can. If a recruiter likes you and appreciates what you bring to the table, you will be brought forth to an employer when a suitable role comes up. Any organization that has chosen to use the services of a recruiting company will not accept applications outside of those parameters. They are in fact bound by a contract not to continue to conduct their own search. So the headhunter becomes your only ticket to an interview. It should certainly not be your only avenue of pursuit, but there should be room for headhunters within the overall structure of your job campaign. It fits right in along with your networking and active pursuit of available postings.