When you hear the term headhunter or headhunter, do you really know what the job is and the role it plays in the transaction of job change or improvement of a company and its relationship with professionals and business leaders?
Possibly you think that the headhunter will help you find a new job, it may be so, although the chances are not that great and depend on the work, ability and network of contacts of this professional with their real clients: companies.
Let's understand that currently, the percentage of searches through headhunting firms is not the highest, contrary to past years. The emergence of professional networks such as LinkedIn has made it possible for companies to directly reach out to the pool of professionals that are part of it.
Even so, the work of the headhunter is of great value, since platforms such as those described above will never be able to adequately qualify whether or not a person is suitable for a job.
Among the main objectives of this professional, the following stand out:
1. Identify and analyze the right talent in the market or interested company.
2. Qualify and assess assertively if the contacted professional is ideal for the position. Whether your past behaviors are predictive of future tasks. Check their behaviors and soft skills, among other fundamental attributes.
3. Attract to the company, in a certain time, the most qualified candidates (short list) and who are willing to make a professional change. In many companies this task cannot be carried out or it is not convenient for the human resources department to carry it out.
It is important to note that, unlike career counselors or consultants, headhunter clients are companies seeking to attract new knowledge (talent). Therefore, it is the companies that negotiate the search conditions with the headhunting firm.
This analysis constitutes a whole consultancy where the client company will be able to learn more about the market, salaries and availability of professionals.
The services of a headhunter to a candidate or job seeker are absolutely free and such a service can add significant value to the candidate, especially in acquiring new market knowledge, required skills, business changes and salary bands, among other topics.
In some countries, a true headhunter is dedicated or specialized in some industry or sector. In Central America and the Caribbean, due to its size and economic nature, professionals in this branch cover all industries. However, in countries like Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Chile there are consultants whose firms are dedicated to analyzing some specific markets, such as mining, the automotive sector, retail, logistics and technologies.
In the United States there are firms with executive headhunters in industries and sectors as dissimilar as sales, real estate management, aerospace, research and development, and the chemical industry. They are trained as specialists in each field and are generally professionals who have worked in those sectors.
How do headhunter firms work?
Companies or organizations pay for this service for several reasons:
1. The change in the contracting company is of a strategic and confidential nature.
2. The company has not been able, using its own means and contact networks, to find the ideal candidate.
3. Companies want to know how they are doing in the market in terms of available talent, salary levels and other conditions, they want to know if they are competitive.
4. They are looking for a profile or professional who is available, with extensive experience in their sector, including the environment of other companies that are part of the competition.
Headhunting companies generally charge anywhere from an executive's hiring salary, to percentages of annual salary, plus bonuses. Likewise, within the contract, guarantee periods are stipulated on the contracted person, ranging from three months to one year.
In all cases, these contracts are made within the framework of absolute confidentiality and adherence to the ethics of the firm, since a good headhunter must know the environment and the reality of the client to manage a better evaluation of the market.
Another vital aspect is that the highest percentage of candidates presented will come from the active workforce or who are leading processes. These candidates are called passive candidates, as they are not diligently looking for a new place of employment. Then the emphasis of the consulting firm will not be on the unemployed professional, but on the active one; this reality, of course, does not mean that attracting unemployed candidates is not considered.
So what services can unemployed candidates expect from a headhunter? Some will receive advice and assistance in preparing their resume or CV, advice for the interview with a potential employer, advice for negotiating a salary and, above all, understanding how the dynamics of an effective job search work.
The best opportunities always come to those who are best prepared. You should be in charge of talking with the headhunter and letting him know what you can do very well, being perceived as someone who gets results, who has the necessary skills, background, experience for new challenges and, above all, who knows how to manage talent to achieve goals. results.
In order to be easily reachable, you must make sure to keep all your information up to date, contact telephone numbers, personal email, in the LinkedIn profile as well as in your resumes. It is useless for you to demonstrate very good actions and results in a visually attractive resume if at the time of a call you are not available or reachable.
It is very important that in order to be considered selectable and available, you let the headhunter know your genuine interest and motivations. Once a process is started, which can take up to six months in some cases, it will look very bad if you decide to withdraw. It will leave you in a bad light with the consulting firm and may not be considered for other opportunities.
Remember, candidates never pay to be on the headhunters' radar.
