Read Before Choosing: How to Pick a Headhunter Agency

The talent war is real, and it's still hitting strong. Companies are struggling to find qualified candidates while juggling other responsibilities and ensuring stellar results.

That left many with no other solution but to hire a headhunter agency. However, business owners and HR departments shouldn't see that as a defeat or a failure.

Instead, it can be a power move, giving them the upper hand in recruitment and beating the competition.

However, headhunter agencies aren't only helpful for companies hoping to combat the talent war and get the best match. They are also a good solution for HR departments with an increased workload and tasks, with no time to commit themselves to finding a suitable candidate for a new job opening. Sometimes, hiring external help can make a world of difference for a dynamic company or a scaling-up startup.

Since 93 percent of employers are doing some form of recruitment in 2022, it's no surprise many will need professional support throughout the process. After all, these agencies specialize in carefully and strategically acquiring top talents for businesses of all sizes.

Their primary concern is matching the right person with the right job. Because of that, many companies also use them for high-profile roles, going above their budgets and hoping to find professionals with specific and rare skills.

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Who Works with Headhunter Agencies?

Headhunter agencies consist of highly skilled professionals, typically knowledgeable about niche industries. Thanks to that, their recruiters are specialists, goal-oriented, and experienced. But even though one doesn't need a reason to work with these agencies, some employers need it more than others.

Many employers have been undergoing unprecedented challenges since the Great Resignation started, encouraging people to quit their jobs. But this phenomenon also inspired job seekers to stand up for themselves and set higher expectations.

Yet, that made the recruitment process harder for companies and HR departments. It is no longer enough to offer generous salaries or have a stellar company brand.

Instead, companies must provide a carefully crafted candidate experience, better job descriptions, personalized employee perks, flexibility, and smooth onboarding. That is a lot of work for HR departments to maneuver and conduct efficiently.

They might have to seek help outside the company to provide excellent results consistently. That's where a headhunter agency enters the picture.

These companies are focused on helping employers hoping to outsource their work, hire faster, tap into a more comprehensive network of professionals, and win the talent war. Moreover, they are ideal for finding quality candidates among passive job seekers.

As external firms working with both employers and job applicants, these agencies specialize in different niches, have an array of high-profile skills, and can boast having numerous contacts from various industries. That gives them access to skilled talents, business leaders, and top enterprises.

Moreover, companies hire these agencies to identify and reach top-notch professionals in a competitive talent market and ensure they meet the specific job role requirements. They must also establish synergy with a headhunter agency to create a well-rounded recruitment process and maximize efficiency.

Because of that, companies of all sizes can work with these agencies, although they might be more suitable for mid-sized businesses and large enterprises. That collaboration will help companies reach their objectives faster and stay ahead of their competition.

Who wouldn't like a headhunter agency with those benefits on their team? Therefore, every company can reap benefits from collaborating with them.

In a nutshell, these are the principal reasons employers work with headhunter agencies and what they get out of this collaboration:

• Committed Service – Headhunter agencies typically work directly for a company and have specific contracts. These contracts are a formal commitment, ensuring the client gets what they paid for. Moreover, a headhunter agency ensures they will deliver the desired results and find a good match for the designated job role. Thanks to that, companies can be confident that the recruiters will do their best to complete the project and identify the most suitable candidate. Finally, a contract also guarantees that a headhunter agency will focus on one client at the moment instead of having their attention split and working with multiple companies.
• Well-defined Processes – Collaboration with headhunter agencies push companies to define and assess their recruitment practices and ensure all involved parties understand their responsibilities and business objectives. That generates greater productivity and efficiency.
• Share Hiring Data and Strategies – Headhunter agencies share their best hiring tips, tricks, strategies, and marketing data with the HR department and vice versa. As a result, both parties can grow, learn, and become more innovative. Thus, the recruitment outcome is better when HR departments and headhunter agencies come together and unite their knowledge, experiences, and contacts.
• Save Money, Time, and Resources – Companies save resources, money, and time by outsourcing their strategic job applicant acquisitions to a headhunter agency. Besides not relying on their own infrastructure and efforts, HR departments can be confident the other party will put their maximum effort into delivering stellar results and finding the best candidate.
• Access to More Resources – Even though most companies have a significant talent pool and network, a headhunter agency is specialized in the recruitment process and committed to adopting the latest techniques and technology to provide the best results to their clients. Thanks to that, HR departments gain invaluable access to influential contacts, candidate databases, and recruitment technology they might not have otherwise. That reinforces their ability to find the right job applicant and match them with a compatible vacancy.

But before reaching out to a headhunter agency, companies should understand what makes them different from traditional recruitment firms.

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The Difference Between a Headhunter Agency and a Recruitment Agency

Although both agencies are an efficient and cost-effective solution for streamlining the recruitment process and finding a suitable job applicant, these two are different. Here's how they differ:

‍Job Applicants

A recruitment and headhunter agency typically seeks different types of job applicants. Recruitment agencies center their efforts around active job seekers, aiming to match them with compatible vacancies.

On the other hand, headhunter agencies look for professionals who aren't actively looking for new jobs and opportunities. Therefore, they seek candidates with rare skills for specific job roles or those hard-to-fill, typically white-collars.

Hence, headhunters often approach already-employed professionals from a specific industry or niche. These professionals are highly skilled and can help companies find people even for the most intricate and unique job roles.

Recruitment Processes

A headhunter agency approaches the hiring process differently from recruitment agencies. For instance, a recruitment agency usually turns to job ads and nurtures an extensive job applicant database to find the most qualified professionals.

However, headhunters receive requests from HR departments and companies for specific (typically hard-to-fill) job roles. They sweep the entire market looking for the right persona and often contact people who already have jobs if they match the ideal candidate profile.

Job Positions

Most recruitment agencies work with multiple companies simultaneously, striving to address their hiring needs. Because of that, they look for job applicants with a broader range of abilities and experiences which can fill various positions as they appear.

A headhunter agency tends to have a more narrow approach, seeking professionals for specific positions. Therefore, they look for candidates with unique, hard-to-find skills and competencies.

Recruitment Time

Since recruitment agencies typically hire multiple candidates for various clients. They must focus on quantity rather than quality. As a result, they will spend less time in one position and move on quickly to the next one.

But headhunter agencies look for candidates for a specific job, making their jobs more demanding. Since the professionals they aim to hire are not easy to find, headhunters typically spend significant time on a single job role to ensure they're hiring the best match.

If you're looking to hire a headhunter agency, here's how to select the right one.

4 Tips on How to Select the Best Headhunter Agency

1. Understand Your Recruitment and Business Needs

When purchasing a product, you understand why you're doing it, how the item should improve your life, and what problem it should solve. Things should be the same when considering new professional partners or, in this case, a headhunter agency.

Before you reach out to headhunters, ensure you know the ideal candidate profile, job requirements, and whether this collaboration is essential. For instance, some companies might discover their budget prevents them from working with external recruiters.

Because of that, be confident you know your recruitment and business needs and possibilities. Determine what skills your new employee should have, whether you're open to remote workers, and what they should achieve in the designated job role.

Ensure you want to hire a headhunter agency and not a regular recruitment company. For instance, some employers prefer to work with temp agencies or executive firms.

Also, consider your recruitment strategy to decide what kind of agency aligns the most with your practices and expectations. Remember to include the costs in your decision, as different types of agencies might have different rates.

Set your budget and stick with it, or you might be unable to finalize the contract. Identify details and approach the right headhunter agency confidently.

Otherwise, you might choose a firm without experience in your field or over your budget. Clarity about the job opening and business possibilities is crucial to find an agency that's on the same page.

2. Research Your Options

Start with researching the internet and looking for available options in your city or region. Reach out to your business partners and ask them whether they can refer to a headhunter agency that might suit your needs.

Discover what's available and how much data you can find about each company—research their history, past collaborations, results, and approach to the recruitment process.

Find relevant testimonials and check whether they have worked with similar clients. You can also narrow down your list and contact the ones you'd like to collaborate with, as that's the best way to understand when they could start and if they can meet your needs.

Moreover, discover what kind of technology they have at their disposal. It's recommended that a headhunter agency uses top-notch platforms to streamline recruitment and collaboration, such as an applicant tracking system offering a dedicated portal for hiring managers.

Finally, understand what it's needed on your part and how often they would meet with you and send updates and reports.

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3. Assess Their Industry Expertise

A headhunter agency typically specializes in a specific industry and has niche skills, knowledge, experiences, and contacts. However, that's not always the case. Hence, research to learn more about their background.

Finding qualified candidates might be more challenging if you work in a smaller industry. Because of that, you need recruiters with good contacts and an understanding of where to start looking.

They should also understand your industry's unique aspects, needs, and trends, as that helps them find a job applicant with relevant knowledge and competencies. Moreover, a headhunter agency will have an easier time identifying skilled candidates if they know what it takes to be successful in your niche.

Moreover, you can reach out to the agency's past clients from the same industry and hear their insights. That could help you identify the company that matches your recruitment expectations and objectives well.

4. Conduct Interviews and Check References

Treat a headhunter agency like you would your candidates. - After shortlisting ones that match well your standards and goals, set up an interview.

Before interviewing an agency, check their references, and ensure everything is correct and aligns with the information they provided. The interview process should be similar to the one you conduct with job applicants.

Prepare standardized questions and aim to get answers that will help you identify who you should hire. Tap into their skills, experiences, and ability to find the right candidate.

But treat everyone respectfully and be transparent about your expectations and needs. After you choose your headhunter agency, ensure you can maintain regular communication.

Click here to learn more about Manatal’s Applicant Tracking System  

5. Use Your Recruitment Tech to Maintain Regular Communication

The success of collaborating with a headhunter agency and their recruitment efforts depends on your communication to a significant extent. You should always be on the same page and share updates regularly.

For efficient communication, you can use various recruitment technology, such as an Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) complemented with a Vendor Management System (VMS).

You can track your recruitment and commercial activities and see the headhunter agency's progress in a single platform. Besides, you can use an ATS to check how candidates are moving through the pipeline and participate in the process when needed.

Take your collaboration and the recruitment process to a higher level by taking advantage of stellar SaaS technology. Try Manatal's AI recruitment software and benefit from its ATS and CRM systems.

If you don't feel ready to commit, experiment with its features and functions first. Start your 14-day Free Trial and discover how this software can help you recruit more efficiently.