Insights
What you should know about working with a headhunter
Many companies use executive search firms to fill their key positions. It pays to understand who these firms are and how they operate, regardless of your current employment situation. The worst time to try to build a relationship with a headhunter is when you already need a job.
Many companies use executive search firms to fill their key positions. It pays to understand who these firms are and how they operate, regardless of your current employment situation. The worst time to try to build a relationship with a headhunter is when you already need a job.
Many companies use executive search firms to fill their key positions. It pays to understand who these firms are and how they operate, regardless of your current employment situation. The worst time to try to build a relationship with a headhunter is when you already need a job.
The socioeconomic events of the last five years have dramatically changed business dynamics and, as a result, labor market dynamics. Pressure from recessionary markets has forced companies to seek greater focus and specialization in order to compete in global markets.
In general terms, companies have transformed from being generalists in a regional market to being specialists in a global one. At the most critical point of the recession, I asked Francisco Garza-Egloff, CEO of Arca-Continental, what his reaction to the economic situation would be. His answer: “We’re going to invest more. But we’re going to invest in fewer things.” Eduardo Garza T. Fernández, chairman of the board of Frisa Industrias, commented, “You can’t compete in the global market just by trying hard.” Tolerance for learning curves has dropped dramatically, and we find ourselves in a situation where, despite high unemployment, companies are struggling to secure the talent they need to compete effectively. Executive search firms are playing a very important role in helping companies meet this challenge.
An agency, a job board, and an executive search firm are not the same thing.
- Agency: Focuses on compiling certain profiles and represents talent (acting as an agent) when a company has specific requirements. In many cases, the agency handles payroll and provides temporary staffing services. The focus is typically on temporary positions and certain professional areas.
- Job board: An intermediary between people looking for work and companies posting vacancies. Typically, there is no involvement beyond facilitating the transaction and providing the infrastructure for autonomous interaction between the two parties.
- Executive recruiter (headhunter): Starts from a specific requirement and implements a structured process to determine, research, proactively identify, evaluate, and present candidates to clients.
Who is the headhunter’s client?
The client—the one who pays—is the company. Headhunters represent companies and devote their time to locating the talent their client needs. This typically happens under significant time pressure.
Tips for working effectively with headhunters:
- Seek the relationship, not the transaction. Think long term. Some people recommend staying on a headhunter’s radar by touching base every two weeks. This is a sure way to get your calls stopped. Instead, look for conversations that add value to the headhunter’s work, and aim to build an alliance that lasts your entire career. Become a source of information and insight about what’s happening in the industry you share.
- Understand the recruiter’s job. Headhunters gravitate toward executives they know and who understand how the process works. They avoid executives who represent a mystery or an unknown, since these candidates can make them look bad to their clients.
- Know your limitations. Understand the requirements and details of the role thoroughly. Study and ask questions before confirming your candidacy. Evaluating a candidate for a position is a shared responsibility among the candidate, the company, and the recruiter. Learn to say no when a position is beyond your level of competence and prior experience. Failing to do so can damage the trust a headhunter may place in you in the future.
- Be transparent. Don’t try to sell yourself to the headhunter. Put everything on the table so that, together, you can determine whether it’s a good opportunity for you and for the company.
- Don’t underestimate them. A headhunter’s reach and standing in your industry is usually deeper than you imagine. Consider that a good headhunter talks to no fewer than five people a day about what’s happening in the industry, in companies, and in the region. There’s always a chance they’ve spoken with your competitors, your boss, your subordinates, or your coworkers (though they won’t mention it to you, for reasons of confidentiality). It’s easy for them to connect the dots and gain a broad perspective on the circumstances surrounding your industry, your company, and your own career.
Jose Ruiz is CEO and Managing Partner of Alder Koten.
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