When I was a senior manager in the commercial world I must admit that I thought there was a mix of skill and art in headhunting. It was almost as if they would wave a magic wand to find the the perfect fit for my needs. I didn’t know how they did it, and being a senior manager I didn’t want to ask – it showed that I didn’t understand. Somehow, after the event, there was sometimes no straight line between my expectation and reality, but if they couldn’t fix my problems, then nobody could……………………..

Now I’m a headhunter, I find things are different: As long as I have a good tight brief, a client who understands their needs, a phone, an Internet connection, enough time to research, some common sense and an eagerness to work hard, then I can get candidates to meet a brief, on time, and on budget.

If you’ve been thinking about appointing a headhunter, here’s some questions I’d be asking……..

“How will you search for candidates for me?” – Be aware that the Internet gives people to ability to search for CV’s en masse. Some people will deliver a pile of CV’s gathered from CV databases and the like. This is credible, but it misses out on the community that isn’t looking for work – which can actually contain the strongest list of potential candidates. It also means they can deliver an impressive pile of names, but their pre-qualification may be limited. A real headhunter will build a network specific to the role and look for people who are the best candidates – whether they are looking for a new job is almost irrelevant. They will then interview them before they present them to you to ensure they meet your skills, experience and cultural needs. 

“Who will be doing the headhunting?” - Sometimes the person who will be selling will not be doing the headhunting. This will then be delegated to an office based researcher. This does leave the potential for the brief to become diluted and the search to go off track. It also adds to the assignment costs.

“How will you advertise the role?”- More often than not expensive media advertising just isn’t needed. A good headhunter will build a network to hunt for the best candidates. Advertising in the appointment pages of a heavy duty newspaper will add time and costs that may just be unnecessary – and they might well just be publicising the headhunters business.

“What are your fees?”- Fees may be expressed as a percentage of the role’s OTE (On Target Earnings) plus out of pocket expenses. Expenses can include media advertising which can include some surprises when the final invoice gets delivered. Fees are commonly in the range of 30-35% of OTE (at SAM we are about 60-70% of our competitors fees) and you should check what is included in the OTE because that could pump up the salary, which will, in turn, bump up the fee. Ask for clarity on the fee structure and ask for a fixed fee if you want to stop costs running away.

“How long will this search take?” – if they say “it depends” they’re buying time which will slip between your fingers. Get commitment to a first interview date right from the outset. It will take longer than four weeks (although my record is 3 weeks from assignment start to first interview – but that was because of a mix of hard work and luck), but normally shouldn’t take more than eight weeks. The other biggest impact on time could be the notice period on the candidates current contract. Depending on seniority that can extend to six months.

OK, so this is only 5 questions, but depending on the answers you’ll get, they’ll lead to more questions and a better understanding that you and the headhunter are on the same wavelength.

The UK headhunting market is very competitive. There will be somebody you can trust to help you find the right people. Do some Internet research and ask questions over the phone. Don’t appoint a headhunter until you’ve met them face to face and they can reassure you they will really do what they say they will do.

SAM Headhunting can help, but there is a lot to choose from……

Written by Martin Ellis – me@samheadhunting.com