As the globe spins further into recession, and businesses continue to reduce their work force, the challenge of recruiting those specific, hard to find individuals who fit a role’s unique requirements has shifted. The talent pool has become suddenly flooded with capable individuals seeking their next role; job advertisements yield an embarrassment of riches. Consequently, has the role of the headhunter been shrunk? With this deluge of talent, is the headhunter left high and dry, looking rather superfluous and uncomfortable over there in the corner? Surely now that more people are looking, it has become a lot easier for a business to attract the talent they need on their own. Isn’t it just a case of putting out a carefully worded advertisement on targeted job boards or in specific publications? In a market with this many people actively looking, the talent will come flocking! And if this is the case, has the age of the headhunter come to a close? Because if the pickings are this easy, the practice of headhunting seems somewhat anachronistic, and (dare I say it?) redundant.
Digging Deeper…
Well, that could be one view, and these are certainly strange and exciting times for many professionals, including headhunters. But the impression of easy pickings is a red herring, a mirage. In a world overpopulated with individuals looking for their next role, and with more people applying to advertisements than at any point in recent memory, ironically the role of the headhunter has become even more crucial. Of course, some big heads will find themselves shrunk down to size, but for those headhunters that really know their market, and take the time to build understanding, consultative relationships with their clients and their candidates, there is definitely opportunity out there and value they can add. There are more people competing for a (comparatively) smaller number of available roles. Many of these individuals will be highly skilled and determined to prove that they are the right person for the job. However, that isn’t to say they necessarily are. If it’s a niche, unusual role that requires a specific, hard to find skill set, maybe the right person for the job isn’t one of those applicants. Maybe the right person for that job is already employed, working away, building an enviable résumé of successes in a competitor. But how can you know that, and how do you reach that person? Surely if they are that valuable, that unusual, that skilled, then in these uncertain times they are going to be even harder to attract than ever?
This is the kind of situation where a professional headhunter can step up, provide an answer to that question, and add genuine value. In these turbulent times, headhunting isn’t dead. In fact it is more vital than ever.
- Thinking Heads
In a flooded market place, headhunting takes on greater value. A skilled headhunter will engage with the client and read between the lines of a brief, taking the time to really build an understanding of the business, its values and ambitions. A professional headhunter will listen, but a superlative headhunter will also contribute. Headhunters can become trusted partners to a business, giving real input and insight into the process and strategy, and influencing the thinking of decision makers. Headhunters have their ears closely to the ground; they can offer a different perspective that is closer to the heart of the beast. They can feed back the pulse of the market place to their clients, and crucially are also likely to have a view on how their client’s strategy compares with their competitors’. An accomplished headhunter can look beyond the headlines, and will take the trouble to understand the key underlying purpose of the job, and what the best fit candidates will really look like and sound like, not just in terms of skill set, but in terms of their background, personality, ethics, aspirations, and everything else.
Looking Beyond The Obvious…
Given the current market, almost every advertisement for a new role results in a torrent of applications; a flood of CVs. Whilst it is entirely likely that a strong candidate who ticks most or all of the boxes required lurks somewhere amongst that mountain of responses, it’s going to take time- and skill- to find it. However, a good headhunter can step in (hopefully before your money has been spent) and save a great deal of time and effort. A successful headhunter will already have a network of top candidates in place, or be able to tap up their network to find those hard to reach people who really know the ins and outs of that particular role. A valued headhunter will enable you to leapfrog the lengthy sifting process that often follows an advertised campaign, and instead present two or three well-qualified candidates who you’ll want to meet. In addition, given the intimate relationships that headhunters enjoy with their particular market, they are also able to bring out those candidates who may or may not stand out on paper. With such a large volume of profiles to sift through, it can be easy to miss a great candidate if their expertise isn’t obvious at first glance. A practiced headhunter will be able to identify and understand that candidate swiftly, reading between the lines of the CV and approaching those conversations with insight.
Thinking Smarter…
With such a competitive market, many of those candidates will be looking at more than one opportunity, and it can be frustrating if they choose to change direction at the last minute. A headhunter can help eliminate this risk. Headhunters typically source candidates who are not on the open market; they have access to highly skilled individuals who may not be found anywhere else, those people who are ‘passively looking’, those people who don’t typically respond to job advertisements. Likewise, with the current backdrop, many people who are currently employed are reluctant to take their chance on a new role. After all, they may be perfectly content where they are. It’s a known quantity, there’s little risk. A skilled headhunter, someone with a genuine relationship with their client, and a deep understanding of the role they’re recruiting for can approach that individual and engage them, make them see the value of that move and position the advantages of that opportunity in a way that a humble advert cannot. This is particularly valuable if a role demands a niche or particular set of skills or experience that is hard to find and that may not come through from the open market. A headhunter can run a highly targeted search, approaching select individuals from specific competitors to find their client the perfect match. Not just someone who ticks most of the boxes, but someone who ticks all of the boxes, and then goes on to draw some more boxes you didn’t know were there and then tick them too.
The art of headhunting isn’t dead, and it can be an art in the right hands. The heads aren’t shrunk, they’re just working harder, thinking smarter to bring those individuals to their clients.
- Talking Heads
Talking, talking, talking. Headhunters do a lot of talking. Good headhunters do a lot of listening too. They listen to their clients, they listen to the market, and they listen to their candidates as well. A headhunter isn’t just a valued partner to their client, they can also become a trusted advisor. The relationship works the other way around. A headhunter is out there talking to decision makers in various businesses across the sector, and the information they glean and the knowledge they gain of the market can be invaluable to those individuals they engage with from a candidate perspective. A consultative headhunter can take on a mentoring, career coaching role to their candidate. With a detailed knowledge of the market, the hunter can give a frank and honest evaluation of that candidate’s skills, their background, their CV, and from that conversation can give them ideas about what direction they can push their career in, and what opportunities and organisations would fit them best. A headhunter can even help a candidate improve their CV, teasing out the salient points and cutting out the soft stuff. And contrary to popular belief, most headhunters can spell and punctuate.
Putting Two And Two Together…
A headhunter that is in touch with their chosen marketplace is well placed to have a view on new opportunities before they hit the wider market. In certain cases, a headhunter who has taken the time to understand their client and build that relationship with them can be there at the creation of a new opportunity. Both of these scenarios can be a benefit to their candidate. A candidate that has been well briefed on an opportunity and also advised on how best to present their skills and aspirations by their headhunter is in an advantageous position when it comes to meeting the client. With that relationship in place, a headhunter can act as the champion of the candidate, playing matchmaker between two parties that desperately need to meet.
Headroom To Achieve…
In the current climate, headhunters aren’t redundant, they’re even more crucial. Headhunters have the expertise and the knowledge to help both clients and candidates alike find the next step on the road to success. Headhunters have the network to deliver the right skills and personality mix for a client’s most particular of requirements. Headhunters can help their candidates to maximise their potential and find where their expertise will add the greatest value. And choosing the right agency to partner with can make the difference between simply finding a good person for the job, or finding the best person for the job.
With thanks to those who responded to my question whilst researching this article on Linkedin.com.
Gi Lewis
Researcher
Firstperson Executive Search & Selection
