February 8, 2011 in Tips & Guides by Dawn Williams

Finding a Headhunter

How do I Find a Good Headhunter ?

You realize that you need to go outside and hire a headhunter. Just do a search on Google of headhunters and it returns over 1.8 million hits. How do you choose which one to work with?

You can start by looking for someone who knows the local market. Using a firm that is truly national will work only if they have feet on the street. You, as the hiring manager will have to get to know the recruiter in the local market so that your needs are met.

The other choice is dealing with a larger headhunter who may have resources across the country but are more generalists. They will be able to help you on a variety of roles.

Your other choice is to look for a specialist. These recruiters deal in either 1 industry i.e. pharmaceutical or 1 job type i.e. sales. The advantage to using a specialist is the depth of knowledge that they bring to the table.

It is important to ask the recruiter, not only about rates and conditions, but about their work methodology and timelines. Don’t forget to ask the headhunter if they personally meet the candidates or not. Some clients don’t mind a phone interview but others insist on a face to face interview before the candidate is sent.

It is important to establish how you want to work with them. Are you a phone or email person? Be honest with your headhunter so that they can get you the best candidates out there. Set expectations and be prepared to give feedback so that they can get back to their candidates.

Having a good working relationship with your headhunter will give you insight into the market and should produce those gems that you are looking for. The next time around that you are working with the same headhunter should produce faster results since they now know what you are looking for. Try to build a long term relationship for that reason and everyone will come out a winner.