HeadHunter Permanence

Building strong relationships with both individual professionals and firms is key to a recruiter's success.

Seeking out business that may benefit from their services, recruiters must actively work to find professional candidates to fill open positions.

Recruiters are usually paid after a match is made and receive a percentage of the new hire's salary.

What do they do?[/b]

• · Generating business
  
• · Finding talent
  
• · Making a connection
  
• · Placing a candidate with a company
  
• · Networking is a must
  
• · Reaping the benefits
  

Successful recruiters receive hundreds of resumes daily

Using a large number of recruiters does not lead to a more successful search

Recruiters have access to the big picture of workforce management.

Recruiters generally charge 25-33% of the placed candidates’ first year salary

9% of big companies use search firms to locate new employees.

3 types of recruiters[/b]

1. Retained recruiters
   
2. Contingent recruiters
   
3. Corporate recruiters
   

Advertising is rarely used to find the right candidate.

Most Influential Headhunters

Ulrich F. Ackermann, Managing partner, board member, Transearch Intl. Deutschland

Alfredo José Assumpção, CEO, partner, FESA Global Recruiters

Jim Bagley, Managing director, Russell Reynolds Associates

Ignacio Bao, Chairman, Signium Intl.

Jean-Michel Beigbeder, President, CEO, Jean-Michel Beigbeder & Partners—CEO Search SA

Robert L. Benson, Chairman, Robert L. Benson & Associates, Inc.

Linda Bialecki, President, Bialecki Inc.

Robert J. Brudno, Managing director, Savoy Partners

Dennis Carey, Senior client partner, Korn/Ferry Intl.

Jim Citrin*, Senior director, Spencer Stuart

Christopher John Clarke, President, CEO, Boyden World

Michael James "Jim" Conroy, Chairman, founding partner, Conroy Ross Partners

Peter D. Crist, Chairman, Crist Associates

Robert Damon, President, North America, Korn/Ferry Intl.

Julie Hembrock Daum*, Practice leader, North American Board Services, Spencer Stuart

Peter de Jong, Managing director, regional VP—EMEA, Stanton Chase International

Sylvain Dhenin, Managing partner, CTPartners

Bruce Dingman*, President, The Dingman Co.

Theodore L. Dysart, Managing Partner of the Americas, Global Board of Directors Practice, Heidrick & Struggles Intl.

Janice Reals Ellig, Co-CEO, Chadick Ellig

Courtesy: Business Week

 

[einstien]

nice.......

 

[sunandaC1]

thnx hitesh

 

[LekshmiGPilllai]

This is an insightful breakdown of headhunter roles and the nuances of executive search. I especially appreciate the clarification on the different types of recruiters and how advertising isn’t the primary strategy for high-level placements. The list of influential headhunters adds great value—it’s helpful to see the key players driving recruitment globally. Thanks for compiling and sharing this, Sunanda!

 

[Priyani Gupta]

The article provides a concise yet insightful overview of the critical role recruiters play in today’s workforce ecosystem. At its core, the piece rightly emphasizes that building strong relationships—with both individual professionals and corporate clients—is fundamental to a recruiter’s success. This relational foundation enables recruiters to effectively match the right talent with the right opportunities, which is a nuanced process requiring skill, strategy, and persistence.


One practical takeaway from the article is the clear depiction of recruiters’ dual focus: they must actively seek business that could benefit from their services while simultaneously scouting professional candidates who meet the needs of their clients. This two-pronged approach highlights the recruiter’s role not just as a mediator but as a proactive business developer and talent hunter. The transactional nature of recruitment—where payment is contingent upon a successful placement and often a percentage of the candidate’s first-year salary—adds further motivation for recruiters to be thorough and strategic. It also explains why their success hinges on quality connections rather than sheer quantity, as the article notes that using numerous recruiters does not necessarily yield better hiring results.


The article also demystifies some common misconceptions. For example, it states that advertising is rarely used to find the right candidate, which might surprise many. Instead, recruiters rely on their extensive networks and industry insights to uncover talent that may not be actively searching but could be a perfect fit. This underscores the importance of networking, a skill recruiters must master to maintain access to the “big picture” of workforce management, including trends, talent pipelines, and market demands.


The differentiation between the three types of recruiters—retained, contingent, and corporate—adds useful clarity. Each type has unique approaches, payment structures, and client relationships, which impact how they operate within the recruitment landscape. This segmentation is critical for companies to understand so they can align their hiring strategies with the recruiter type that best meets their needs.


Additionally, the article’s mention of influential headhunters adds an authoritative dimension, implicitly illustrating the prestige and specialized knowledge involved in high-level recruiting. These leaders have shaped the profession, reinforcing that recruitment is both an art and a science requiring experience, judgment, and leadership.


In conclusion, this article offers a practical and realistic portrayal of recruitment. It highlights that success in this field depends on relationship-building, deep industry knowledge, strategic candidate sourcing, and an understanding of workforce dynamics, not simply volume or advertising. For anyone interested in or reliant upon recruitment services, this piece serves as a valuable reminder of the complexity behind what might seem a straightforward process.