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about headhunters:

We are the home of "Ethics Defined," a set of criteria and practices we believe could elevate the entire business if more paid attention to it! more »

Why you might need one, how to choose which type, how to interview, reference check, and motivate headhunters.

Why You Might Need a Real Recruiter and Traditional Headhunter Today?

Hiring Executives:

Discretion. You have so many friends and former employees out of work, or at least very nervous, you just don't want the world to know you are hiring. You need to keep this quiet.
Time. You need someone to start within a month.
Because you can't drink from a fire hydrant anymore. You post an opening on the web today, you have 700 responses by 4PM. HR has been cut by 60%. Who is going to process these for you?
Because the person you need is currently employed and not responding to web postings.
All the recruiters, internal and otherwise, are working the job boards and not their own network. You need a real recruiter.

Job Seekers:

If you are currently employed, you need to be discreet as well. Every company has had layoffs, and they're not over. Any suggestion that you are not loyal to your employer puts you at greater risk. If you're looking, you need to keep it quiet.
The hidden job market doesn't make it to the web. Never did and never will.

Suggestions for Screening

Interviewing, Reference Checking, Selecting, and Motivating Recruiters, Headhunters, and Search Firms

There is valid criticism about the recruiting profession, and much damage can be done by an unethical or inept recruiter's actions. However, there are some honest and ethical recruiters around and you can find them if you know what you are looking for. Here are the three major types:

Internal recruiters work inside the company but may or may not have the ear of the hiring exec. If discretion is key, you might want to explore the influence of the recruiter before sending something in. From the client side, ask how much this person is "working the boards" and how much recruiting the old-fashioned way. It may be less expensive to have a college kid work the boards.

Internet recruiters, aka "kitchen recruiters" frequently work from home or a bullpen. Some communicate by phone occasionally, most communicate electronically only. Some will misrepresent te working relationship they have with the company. Some will ask permission to forward a resume to their client (or perhaps just a prospect), many will not. A few will conduct a decent interview by phone and want to speak to a reference, the vast majority will not. We believe this level of service warrants no more that 5% fees.

Real recruiters, headhunters and search firms will take the time to know you, have taken the time to know their client companies, and will try to meet you in person when possible. Real recruiters arrange interviews, not email attachments.

Disclaimer: It is hoped that the information provided on these web pages will be helpful to readers. We assume that readers understand that any advice must be weighed against an individual's situation, and that the reader will implement only what makes sense. Some of the information on these pages may be inappropriate for your circumstances. And we recognize that people have different tastes/concerns regarding recruiters. So use your head! Neither Jim Thomas nor Linda Tuerk nor John Barry can be held responsible for an individual's particular use of these suggestions.

Take a proactive stance in selecting recruiters/search firms to work with! We believe that clients and candidates who do not carefully screen the recruiters they are working with are partially responsible for the quality they accept. We recommend you consider the level of service you want, then interview and reference check several recruiters. Use the interviews and references to determine talents and integrity levels. You must have a candid relationship with a recruiter, or there is no point in working with them. A new recruiter, who is candid and committed to your search, might be the best one of all! Demand ethical service and help the rest of us raise the bar!

Retained vs Contingency: Pros and Cons For Candidates and Clients:

Retained "Executive Search" firms and contingency firms share more of the market than they used to. For the candidate, there can be advantages with both types. A firm on retainer is more likely to show only one opportunity at a time to a candidate. They will also tend to be more discreet, and can often assist in relocating nationally and internationally. Many top search firms moved to a hybrid fee structure (partial deposit, partial on contingency) in 2001.

A good contingency firm can also be discreet, but it has more flexibility to show a candidate more than one opportunity simultaneously (since they usually don't have the "golden handcuffs" of a full retainer). Also, since contingency fees are rarely flat, a candidate may feel more comfortable knowing the recruiter has a monetary incentive to negotiate the best salary.

For client companies, keep in mind, the larger a search firm is, the more corporations on their client (a.k.a. "hands-off") list. Also, negotiate for certain levels of service instead of leaving the search open-ended. Ask retained firms what percentage of searches have been completed.

Interviewing Headhunters

Potential Clients and Candidates might want to ask the following (not all issues may be important to you):

How does the recruiter determine which corporate clients to accept?
Do they visit the companies in person?
How does he or she screen candidates?
Does the recruiter meet his/her candidates?
Has the recruiter ever rewritten a resume? (If so, this could signal that they might repackage and subsequently misrepresent candidates.)
How many fee disputes or lawsuits have they been involved in?
What are their strengths?
What projects are they not good at?
How many "fall-offs"(placements that do not last) have they had?
How many searches do they work on at one time?
What is their "resume policy?" Does that fit your needs for discretion or screening? (see "Notes to Potential Candidates" at end of this page.)

In addition, Hiring Officials might want to address these concerns:

Does the headhunter recruit from clients?
How does the recruiter define a client?
What happens if a client's employee solicits the recruiter?
With which companies do they have a "hands-off" policy?(You may have a conflict.)
How many offers fielded through the recruiter are turned down?
How much repeat business do they do?

Checking References if you are a job-seeker:

Suggested Questions:

Ask for references of people the recruiters have placed, and those they did not, who can testify to their discretion and professionalism. Some recruiters even change their names every few years! Many change "desks" or specialties. Ask for references from a recruiter's early days. If he or she is not in touch with anyone that far back, why not? Ask for references demonstrating a client's repeat business. Ask for references until you are satisfied that this is a person you can trust.

Was their time respected
Were phone calls returned?
Were commitments kept? Were they misrepresented, strong-armed, or mishandled in any way?
What does the reference think this recruiter is particularly good at?
Will they work with this recruiter again?

How to Motivate Your Recruiter

Note to Potential Clients: Do not enlist the help of a recruiter if you plan on penalizing candidates for the fee attached. Only if you are going to assess all candidates fairly should you actively seek out a recruiter. The fee should be something you are prepared to pay for the best candidate.

Exclusives: It is a good idea for both candidates and clients to provide incentive by giving the recruiter an exclusive for a specific period of time. Be wary of a recruiter, or office, who claims to have the whole market covered; but know it is a reasonable request that you work with only one recruiter at a time to avoid duplication of efforts. When two agencies are fighting over date stamps on resumes, no one wins. (Ask the recruiter what he does in that situation.)

Notes to Potential Candidates: Discretion should be mandatory! We often hear stories of accidental exposure: a resume ending up on an H.R. rep's desk, and his next door neighbor turns out to be your current boss! We also hear often of the same resumes being sent by two or more agencies in an afternoon to the same company. Weigh the risk/reward ratio of your current situation and decide what level of discretion is mandatory for you. Then shop for the recruiter that best suits your style.

Deposits: Verbal commitments, though well-intentioned, mean very little to headhunters today. So many projects and requisitions are canceled or postponed at the last moment that deposits for top-rated service are becoming the norm even in the contingency search business. Entice a good recruiter to prioritize your assignment with a deposit or mini-retainer for a set period of time. Negotiate for discounts in return for deposits. Clarify what you expect from the recruiter (hours, face-to-face screening, company visits, reference checks before presentation, etc.).

Ask recruiters about their resume policy. When do they send them, if at all? Are they simply submitting resumes into H.R. departments, or are they actually arranging introductions with the hiring executive or manager? Check their references on this topic especially. We are hearing lots of complaints from HR that resumes are being submitted without the candidate's interest or permission. Depending on your situation, the answers to these questions/references may or may not matter much to you. Keep in mind, however, how small Silicon Valley is. It is reasonable to demand that interviews be scheduled before resumes are sent for confirmation. Do not work with recruiters that bundle resumes to companies unless you do not care about your exposure. Be aware, in that case, that an employer will probably pass on your candidacy if there is a conflict.