The term headhunter services might sound quite aggressive and rather savage, in some ways this particular type of service is and can be quite aggressive. The term headhunter in its original context refers to the ancient practices of savage tribes who used to hunt enemies from other tribes and collect their heads.
In today’s modern and corporate environment the context is somewhat different. Although in practice the idea is actually a bit similar, in that a great deal of ‘hunting’ is actually involved in the process. Headhunter services are a very specialized and they are mainly used by high profile and large corporations to find very specific and equally specialized candidates, these candidates are more often than not on the higher or upper echelon end of the employment scale.
How Headhunter Services Work
Headhunter services work in a very different way to the more common and usual employment agency services. A good analogy to describe this difference is to think of fishing, a general employment agency is a lot like fishermen that use a large net to scoop as many fish as possible. A headhunter service on the other hand is a lot more like a fly fisherman, a fisherman that seeks to catch a very specific type of fish for a very special purpose.
Headhunter services are used for the very reason that they are specialists within the employment sphere. Their entire operation is geared towards finding the exact candidate for the exact position, one can see how the name headhunter became synonymous with hunting because once the brief has been given to the service the entire operation becomes like a hunting party.
Once the most ideal candidate is found the headhunting service moves in and will do everything possible to ensure a positive outcome for the client involved. There are many benefits to using headhunter services and the benefits are not just for the client or employer, the benefits also extend to the potential future employee too. This is because the future employee may not have even been aware that they could be of more value or doing better than they are currently doing. The headhunter service could make their lives better by facilitating a change for the better.
Headhunter Services Fees And Other Details
The majority of headhunter services all work on more or less the same service fee principles. Once a client has decided that they need to use the services of a headhunter service because the position that needs to be filled is too specific or vital to operational requirements that warrant the need to use such a specialized and specific recruitment method, then the process can begin.
The process is usually initiated by the securing of a basic retainer by the headhunter service, this is quite common among most headhunter services. In addition to this retainer the majority of headhunter services will also charge what is commonly referred to as a short list fee, this short list is compiled by the headhunter service and represents a good cross section of ideal choices for the client company. Finally the headhunter service will also charge a percentage based on the employees first year base salary.