How to Find A Headhunter?

NextJobPro

December 16, 2023

How to Find A Headhunter?

How To Find A Headhunter to Get You A Job

The primary goal of some corporate hiring services, such as headhunters, is supporting industries to search for the most suitable talent possible. Now you, being a candidate, should know how to find a headhunter?

Are you searching for answers to the below-enlisted questions? 

How do I reach out to a placement agent near me?

Which one is the best employment recruiter for management positions? 

Easily you would be able to learn how to find a headhunter after reading this article. Start to get the support of recruiters with a better understanding.  

If you browse the internet, you will find out that there are pretty clear answers to this question? The traditional six (6) answers to this question are: 

  • You can check with others in your network for a referral.
  • Search message boards
  • Connect with a trade or industry team
  • Read business news stories 
  • Choose a person who is specialized in your company field 
  • Ask employers in your business

Now what job seekers don’t realize is there are six (6) more highly effective but least known and least practiced methods in addition to those points about how to find a headhunter for a successful job. Let’s now learn one by one about those methods.

There are six (6) other methods that are less know but are highly effectively in finding a best recruiter to get you a job

Six (6) Effective Ways To Find A Headhunter

1. Use A Directory

Today we can see few more critical online methods for you to identify the best searching methods for the geographic area, your company, and your specialty. The most famous service of free recruiting is exactly the directory of recruiters.

Two such examples of headhunters directory are I-recruit and Headhunters Directory.

2. Use Social Media

From my point of view, this is the easiest method to find a headhunter for the job. 

Use Twitter

You can search on Twitter for "hiring now" or "recruiter looking for" will give the searching result of many profiles related to your industry. 

Use Facebook

You can also use Facebook to know about a few professional recruiters through their company’s Facebook page.

Use LinkedIn

If you are a LinkedIn user, you may find many corporate people and very loyal head-hunters in your first, second, or third-degree connections. 

LinkedIn is a goldmine to find out the executives, decision-makers, recruiters, and even headhunters. This is why keep LinkedIn in your arsenal when you are looking for a head-hunter.

Thumbs up for LinkedIn to find headhunters in any industry

There are two approaches to find headhunters on LinkedIn:

  1. You start fresh on LinkedIn search
  2. You already have a list of headhunting companies and now you are looking for the exact person in these companies.

Here is the step-by-step approach to finding a headhunter on LinkedIn when you don’t have a list of headhunting agencies:

  1. As the first step, just enter an arch string “headhunter” in the search box of LinkedIn which is located at the top left corner and hit ENTER. 
  2. Now you have options to filter the results to display based on several preferences
  3. Select “People” from the filters and this will display all the people who have headhunter in their designation.
  4. Further drill down to select the location and industry
  5. If you come across a profile that you find most relevant to you, just add the person with an intriguing note or simply follow him to know more about his activity.

And here is the step-by-step approach when you have developed a list of headhunting companies and now want to find out and possibly connect with the headhunters there:

  1. Type in the name of the company in the search bar and hit ENTER
  2. Click on the “Companies” filter
  3. You will get the company name, click on the name of the correct company
  4. You will see “XXX employees” just above the “Follow” button. Click on it.
  5. Browse the list of employees and add or follow the appropriate personnel with the designation that contains “headhunter” or similar in nature.

Now if they have accepted your connection request, you will have access to speak with them either in LinkedIn private chat or you can also get the contact details from their contact details section. 

Most job seekers put more emphasis on getting the contact details but forget that the problem isn’t getting the contact details anymore; it’s what to enter in your leading reach out.

Reaching out to people you don't know could be amazingly rewarding and can be a bit tricky. As we know, the first main impressions are vital, especially in the professional world. This is why cold emails need to be crated with care.

You should also remember that reaching out to the people you don’t know can be extremely rewarding too, especially if you never benefited from scoring an introduction through mutual contact.

The customization and research is the main thing here to create the first approach.

3. Use Google

Most of the time, google search is the most ordinary thing we do when searching for something that we don't have an exact idea about. Easily you can search by typing terms like “search firms” or “executive headhunters,” and then you can put the name of the industry and place.

4. Reading Blogs And High Profile Publications

If you search for related publications and companies, you will get the answer to how to find a headhunter? 

At present, headhunters have been actively involved in publishing articles and getting more clients. Apart from that, they contact candidates and increase their networks.

Sometimes browsing through publications that have high profiles in your company will often land you on an article written by a headhunter or a representative of a search firm.

Various publications such as Forbes have ranked the best recruiting firms in their various articles. A similar list is available in other publications. With the help of these lists from the publications, you can then head to LinkedIn and select profiles of headhunters who most fit your needs. Apart from that, you can follow them as well as watch their job listings.

5. With The Help Of Career Finder Service

Agency wise you will meet some companies which work as hunters. They will select suitable jobs, complete the applications for you, search references and other various contacts to fast track your interviewing procedure, and even support you with interview preps.

6. Ask For Recommendations

Remember that there is a network of your own. As you would prefer eating at a hotel your friends rave about, get a chance to discuss their experience about working with a professional head-hunter that is tried and tested by their network.

In addition to that, you can reach out to alumni, LinkedIn contacts, or friends and family to see whether they have a recruiter to accept. The chance of this method is that you’ll be recommended to job recruiters who may be approaching you before you even reach out.

Career hunters also scout databases of applicants on career boards. Keeping a straight profile on category fields will get them to connect with you if you’re okay.

Creating a satisfied LinkedIn profile with all the qualifications and a well-written summary is a crucial step to developing your visibility. It is also essential to be present at conferences, publish content, or participate in the industry.

Should You Pay To Headhunter?

No.

The most exciting thing is, working with a headhunter or a recruiter is free. 

If you are wondering about how they are compensated for their time and effort; you should know that the employer pays headhunters a commission after successfully placing a candidate in a job. 

This commission ranges from 20% to 30% of the candidate’s first-year annual salary. Therefore if the candidate is making more money in terms of salary, then the headhunter will also get a higher amount.

This is true for the headhunters. But, some recruiters are working with staffing agencies as their employees. They earn a regular salary.

You should know that headhunters and recruiters are two different roles as far as the representation is concerned to the employing organization.

It is necessary that you know the difference and approaches them accordingly.

Should you pay to headhunter to get you a job? - NO

Who Are Headhunters?

When you are finding the answer about how to find a headhunter, this is the first thing that you should know about. Mainly the headhunters are the recruiting world’s version of bounty hunters. 

Sometimes the headhunter works as an individual, or they can work with a staffing agency. They are known for their massive network. In addition, they have access to the top talents even in the competing organizations and who may not even be checking for new roles.

Who Are Recruiters?

The primary responsibility of a recruiter is providing external support to their department of human resources. The principal aim is to find related applicators for open positions at their business.

Difference Between Headhunter And Recruiter

The significant difference between a head-hunter and a recruiter is that recruiters recognize themselves as working for their organization. In case of that, recruiters will define themselves as workers of the business they’re hiring for.

As recruiters are working for the organization directly and have close coordination with the hiring managers, they know more about the openings. 

On the other hand, businesses reach out to headhunters to fill their specific hiring needs. These needs may include the search for executive-level positions or to fill a vacant position on an emergency basis.

What You Should Look For In A Headhunter

When you start receiving recruiter calls, ask main questions about the search firm he works with and conduct quick research to check if you can work with them. Make sure to inquire about the headhunter’s own experience and procedure. 

Usually, headhunters listen to you and are interested in your background and what you are checking for. 

The most important part here is making sure that the recruiting headhunter can understand your requirements to ensure a successful match. Otherwise, a headhunter will not work for you.

Headhunters are Executive Recruiters - You can call it.

Key Takeaways - How To Find A Headhunter

In this article, we have learned that there are six (6) methods that are commonly known to job seekers about how to find a headhunter. 

However, there are six (6) more methods that are least known and least practiced. These unique and innovative methods are practical and highly effective.  

We have also discussed these methods to great length and explored several ways to use them effectively.

We have also learned the difference between a headhunter and a recruiter and how they work in the industry.

You are equipped with additional innovative methods about how to find a headhunter, it’s now a time to reach out to them and start a new career in your dream company