Is Headhunting aka Executive Recruiting a Good Profession?

There are two basic types of headhunters. There are retained headhunters and there are contingency headhunters. Both find people for jobs, and not jobs for people (although that can be argued with some contingency headhunting firms). The fact that they find people for jobs is important to the job seeker. Although headhunters can be helpful in some ways, they cannot proactively find you a job. That is not what their function is.

RETAINED HEADHUNTER

A true headhunter (hunting for heads aka candidates) will search for candidates for a corporation or small company when the company has a position they need filled. For example, if a company needs a President because their current president is retiring, the company has several choices. They can retain, on an exclusive basis (hire for money), a retained headhunting firm to fill the position by having a contract that will pay them a sum of money up front and /or in increments. Typically the search fee is 30-35% of the annual starting salary, plus bonus. Some retained search firms will offer a guarantee to replace the candidate if they leave in a short period of time. They do not refund the client's money and they do not compete against other firms when trying to fill the position.

CONTINGENCY HEADHUNTER

A company also has the option to use contingency search firms. They may call on several contingency firms to fill the same position. The contingency firms then compete with each other to find a suitable candidate, and in turn, the company who finds the winning candidate gets paid after the placement is made. The tricky part here is that payment is not guaranteed unless the contingency firm has an exclusive assignment. Even then, most guarantees state that if the client is unhappy or if the newly hired candidate leaves within a 60-90 day period, the contingency firm has to give that money back.

Headhunting can be a lucrative field regardless of which type of recruiting company you choose.

Retained recruiting firms are considered by most to be more professional firms. They are not hit or miss firms. They have established relationships with clients who are willing to pay them up front to fill an open position. These firms can maintain a higher degree of professionalism as they are representing one client, have a more, in-depth understanding of their client's needs, and are under less pressure. Although there is pressure to find the right candidate to fill the position with, there is no pressure from outside competition from other search firms. They can concentrate on filling their assignment and can have the confidence that their search is exclusive.

Retained firms have to work harder to get clients, but when they do, they can establish long term relationships if they are successful in meeting their client's needs.

Retained firms will typically hire recruiters and put them on a salary plus bonus. Salaries can range from entry level in the 30's to as high as six figures. Bonus potentials are very good.

Contingency firms do not have the same reputations as retained firms in general. There are exceptions, but for the most part, contingency firms are considered to be more "salesy" rather than professional. The reason for this is that they are under pressure, unless they have an exclusive contingency search, to compete with other contingency firms in filling the same position. This creates a more frantic environment in a sense. If you don't get to the candidate before the other guy, you lose out.

Also, many contingency firms don't actually recruit. They have files full of candidates who have submitted their resumes for a variety of positions. Oftentimes the contingency recruiter will just go to those files and pull out resumes, send them to clients and hope that they "stick". For the job seeker, this may be a plus in some ways, but not for one who is currently employed. Be sure you know your contingency recruiter before you ever submit a resume. It may wind up on your own bosses desk.

Other contingency firms may get on the phone and call potential candidates. This is more rare and here is why. Contingency firms typically have lots of assignments to fill. If they are not getting paid up front to fill those assignments, they are going to try to fill the more lucrative searches where they may already have candidates on file. If they do get on the phone, they will target potentially qualified candidates but they need to hurry to get to them before the other competing contingency firms do.

The plus side of the contingency relationship is that you can make quite a bit of money, especially if the firm has some exclusive assignments. Those are the ones they will focus on. There is a risk that the successfully placed candidate will leave before the guarantee period is up, but if not, the recruiter could receive a nice commission check of 30-50%, or 100% if s/he owns their own contingency recruiting firm. Most contingency firms do not pay a salary or if they do, it's a salary against commission. You may earn a small salary and a large commission or you may work for straight commission. If you like a sales and telemarketing type of environment, this may be right for you.

Headhunting is a good profession for those who like client contact, are personable, who don't mind cold calling, who can make quick judgements when on the phone, and who can come across as self-confident.

Most retained firms require a college degree, especially for those who are interested in doing business development which is another aspect of headhunting. Someone has to bring in the business. Most of the successful headhunters who bring in business have come up through the ranks in the business world in some capacity and understand how companies work.

Some contingency firms require a college degree, but others don't. If you are aggressive, don't mind rejection, like to cold call, can work under pressure, and like the challenge of commission based work, then contingency search can be very rewarding.

Annual earnings for seasoned headhunters are well into the six figures, even for part-time. Entry level salaries depend on the area of the country you live in. The areas of the greatest demand for headhunters seem to be located in California, NJ, Philadelphia PA, in NY, Chicago, Atlanta and Texas according to recent job listings.

In summary, if you have the ability to get new clients and satisfy those clients by filling their positions, you will have great success as a headhunter and make quite a lucrative salary.

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