What is headhunting and what is his role in recruitment process - Shelby Global

What is headhunting and what is his role in recruitment process?

Headhunting is a recruitment method in which a headhunter directly searches for a professional profile a company request. The techniques he uses are not passive recruiting (into mediators, advertisements, etc.).

It is a recruitment or active search in which he goes on the "hunt" for the professional desired by the company.

Many companies decide to hire a Headhunting company to incorporate certain professionals, outsourcing the recruitment of talent for the organization through this type of process. Above all, this method is used for Managers, Middle Managers, and highly Specialized Profiles scarce in the market.

Hiring an external consultant provides a fundamental value, discretion in the process, which can be carried out within established parameters that do not arouse alarm in a market or sector of activity.

How does headhunting work?

The process followed by Headhunting company is, in a simplified way, as follows: 1. - Request to the company for the profile you want to hire: at this point, the head-hunter asks the client for information about the job position and the profile of the possible occupant, that is, the know-how demanded, the expected results, the problems that they must solve, the desired competencies, the required training, the salary, the necessary personal experience, etc.

2. - Determination of the potential target market with exciting candidates, which sometimes includes sectors or companies of origin, critical positions of origin, minimum results obtained in the past, etc. It is not uncommon for a final report from the head-hunter to give an overview of the market of potential candidates.

3. - Selection of sources: in this case, the head-hunter may use professional networks such as LinkedIn, their network of contacts in a specific sector, or follow different strategies to access possible candidates from among the professionals of the companies that have targeted.

It is not uncommon for the headhunting company to contact the client's competing companies to locate the ideal profile among some of its employees. Hence, insisting on the significant value that discretion and knowhow have in the process.

4. - Motivate the contacted professional towards change.

Let us not forget that it is not a person who has attended a selection process but rather someone we have sought.

You may be open to listening to offers, but routine issues such as explaining the job position or requesting information from candidates are essential in executing it.

All the usual phases of a selection process should be carried out with the most significant possible rigor. Still, the candidate must understand that providing information does not entail any risk and must fit into the new organization.

5. - Presentation of the finalist candidates to the client company: the shortlisted will carry out the corresponding interview with the company, and the latter will decide who will be hired for the job in question.

Conclusion: Once the head-hunter contacts potential candidates, they need to give an honest explanation of the attractiveness of the position offered. You should verify that the candidate is genuinely interested before requesting any professional background.

The person contacted will want to be guaranteed discretion as well. A high-level professional cannot make his resume available to any prospective employer without adequate security. These are people who have a lot to lose.