Expansion-Stage Hiring: Why You Need a Headhunter on Your Recruiting Team

Is there a difference between a recruiter and a headhunter?

I recently read this article – and it definitely got me thinking. Previously, companies used agencies to do the headhunting and their internal human resources departments were more of an administrative function. This is no longer the case. Companies have moved recruiting factories in-house, creating strategic teams that have drastically reduced recruiting costs.

You might ask yourself – aren’t all recruiters headhunters? And the answer is no.

Let’s break it down into very generalized responsibilities:

• Researching
• Sourcing
• Screening
• Outreach
• Interviewing
• Guiding the hiring process
• Feedback
• Offers
• Onboarding

Depending on the company, position and hiring environment, a recruiter can be responsible for one, all, or a mix of those responsibilities depending on the company, position, and hiring environment.

When recruiting a recruiter, this is where the lines get blurred. Titles are interchangeable (recruiter, headhunter, talent acquisition, etc.) but it is vital to the success of your recruitment team to hire recruiters with the right experience for your company. If you are an expansion stage company you need a true headhunter as part of your team. 

This means you need a proactive outbound recruiter, not just a sourcer, not just a screener, not just someone to manage the hiring process, but a someone who is going to be both strategic and proactive in their approach.

This person will do due diligence on each requisition, source, screen, and interview candidates to ensure they are the right talent for the opportunity, and guide the process from beginning to end. This recruiter is someone who has experience going out and finding talent through outreach. Not someone who has only been responsible for inbound applications and referrals.

Why is this type of recruiter what you need?

1. They find the best talent because they build relationships: They connect with candidates (passive, active, etc.) and build on those relationships. They are pros at networking and probing for referrals.
2. They focus on the metrics: Many recruiters with headhunting qualities have recruiting agency backgrounds and therefore are very familiar with metrics, what they mean, and why they are important. But with companies investing in internal strategic recruiting functions, recruiters/headhunters will now also have corporate backgrounds. Either way, these recruiters understand recruitment metrics and use them to continuously tweak searches and improve their skills.
3. They create relationships with hiring managers: A good recruiter will know that the relationship with the hiring manager is the key to feedback and to hiring for the requisition. The recruiter will learn what the hiring manager wants, what they don’t want, and what processes/strategy will work to find top talent. He or she takes a partnered approach with hiring managers and relies on honest feedback to improve tactics for searches.
4. They know how important the candidate experience is: Part of their approach is ensuring a positive candidate experience. As I mentioned in my last blog, with all candidates, it is important to keep the lines of communication open for future opportunities, networking, and run-ins. It’s also important to your company’s reputation.

So, if you are implementing a talent factory in your expansion-stage company, be sure to have a recruiter with headhunting skills on your team.