What is headhunting?

Headhunting is a very proactive and vibrant process of identifying and recruiting top-level managerial candidates to high-level decision-making positions within the organization or the company. This is an exclusive process in the sense that the recruitment process aims to find those exclusive candidates to meet specific demands.        

This process is so-called because the individuals involved in the process of finding top-level talent are called ‘headhunters.’ This category includes the company’s director board members, recruitment representatives outside of the organization, or top-level HR executives. 

Few features distinguish this process from any other recruiting. In the process of headhunting, officials approach very few eligible candidates after evaluating their past performance and history. It is different from the perspective of meeting the requirements of the client. The recruiters or headhunters do not exercise hierarchical dominance over the candidates. The process of headhunting revolves around B identification of the specific requirements that the company expects from the job position. The shortlisting of candidates follows after this identification process. Since this requires a high level of specifications and specialization, this job demands high experience and knowledge specific to the industry, unlike other recruiting processes.  

An effective headhunting process is based on the identification and spotting of upcoming talents in the industry. A perfect analysis of the job profiles and history is used to shortlist potential candidates after identifying the necessary skills required. The factor that sets apart headhunting is the fact that the hiring officials approach potential candidates even if they are not actively looking for a shift in their careers. A successful headhunting process happens only when the company has crossed threshold visibility as most of the stopped level players do not prefer a company with low visibility as it can hinder their prospects.  

Combined with understanding the process of headhunting, we must identify a perfect headhunter also. A perfect headhunter knows the talent of a potential candidate before they open themselves to the market, helping their client to get the best. They maintained great professional etiquette and did thorough research on both clients and potential candidates to reach out and communicate in a better fashion. They provide insights and suggestions which are highly tailor-made or customized to ensure that the process happens smoothly. Ideally speaking, they are real champions of transparency and highly successful in presenting their case believably.