Employers who want to hire staff within their organization use specialized external companies such as recruitment agencies (also called employment agencies) or headhunters. Why do they choose one or the other? What are the main differences between recruitment agencies and headhunters? Do they do the same job and provide the same services?

Here are some fundamental differences between these two types of specialists in finding skills in the job market. Their methods and mandates are very different. It should be noted, however, that headhunters can evolve in recruitment agencies and work within a company offering these two types of services. But even then, their approaches are very different.

Here are 6 important differences between the mandates of headhunters and those of recruiters working in recruitment agencies.

1. “Hunted” candidates are rarer

Organizations that are looking for middle and senior executives are dealing with a headhunter. These are rarer skills. The pool of people whose skills precisely meet the requirements of this position is too small to expect to have good results while waiting for possible responses to a job offer.

In addition, experienced executives often have specializations in a particular sector. It can be a technical talent that is in short supply, rare or specialized, such as in information technology (IT) or in another specialized field such as the medical sector or pharmacology. In general, headhunters have very specific mandates. Rather than passively waiting for applications following the publication of a public job offer, the headhunter reaches the candidate directly , most often by phone. They are often executives already working in companies.

On the other hand, organizations that need large volumes of workers do business with recruitment agencies. These are important banks of CVs in their database and can be very effective in finding these skills. These many positions of power are often at the base of an organization’s hierarchy. One can think of a chain of stores that needs salespeople, a construction company that needs tradespeople, a hotel chain that needs hotel staff, or a large service company that needs to regularly recruit office workers. In all these cases, the volume of staff is sustained and important. This is the area of expertise of the employment agency.

In either case, headhunters and recruiters work closely with the organization’s human resources (HR) department, if there is one. In the case of small businesses and SMEs, where often there is no organized HR department, the headhunter will have an even more decisive role as a human resources advisor. In Quebec, the headhunter is a professional recognized by a professional order (CRHA) and is governed by a code of ethics.

2. The hierarchical level of positions is higher

The positions to be filled by headhunters are usually management or executive positions that are at the top of the hierarchy of a company or organization.

These management or management positions are strategic functions that are decisive for the success of the company. Their remuneration is higher since several people work under their responsibility. The decisions made by these leaders and team leaders have immediate impacts and therefore they must be carefully selected. A headhunter can help an employer recruit better because they are tailor-made. It makes a happy marriage between the values of a company and the unique experience of this or that executive. These multi-skilled individuals hold positions such as:

· President

· Vice president

· Managing director

· Chief Operating Officer

· Director of Procurement and Procurement

· Production Manager

· Maintenance Manager

· Logistics and Transport Director

· Sales Manager

· Director of Marketing

Recruitment agencies generally do not develop a specialty at these high hierarchical levels. Rather, they offer their services to companies and organizations operating in different fields where labor needs are important: administration, commerce, health, etc.

3. The recruitment methodology is different

The profiles targeted by headhunters are often unconventional and the most interesting of them will not respond to the job offers that are published since they already have a good job. Headhunting helps to flush out talents where they are. It’s a personalized approach.

For its part, to attract candidates and recruit, the “placement” agency will publish an ad on specialized job sites such as Indeed or other media. This announcement is mainly aimed at active job seekers and many of these applications (those that are not relevant for this position but nevertheless interesting) will fill their banks with candidates for future needs. Candidates who respond to these ads are often fully available and quite numerous. In parallel, the agency will also use its banks of candidates.

The headhunter’s direct approach methodology is different because the profile of the executives is different. The headhunter uses the direct approach to go and find specialized talent where they are and make them an offer. This can be in a competing company, sometimes even in another sector or even internationally. For a potential candidate joined at work, answering a headhunter’s phone call is always a unique experience that can enrich a career. The current executive must take it as a recognition of his talent.

Before joining this rare gem, the headhunter (or his search service) conducts intensive searches on websites like LinkedIn. It identifies particularly interesting executive profiles, makes a first list of potential candidates and tries to contact them. Following an initial conversation, he will organize a virtual meeting with some candidates to clarify certain points and confirm his hypotheses. Gradually, his short list of candidates will take shape. Each time, the headhunter asks himself the essential question of his quest: “Is this the right person for the position to be filled?”

What distinguishes the direct approach is that it allows you to engage in a person-to-person conversation. The headhunter chats with his interlocutor during a virtual job interview and “sets the stage” for a future job interview with the employer. Its purpose is to offer the employer, i.e. his client, a short list of the best candidates and their requirements.

Already, at this stage of the recruitment process, there is a lot of brush clearing work done on the headhunter’s side. Acting on behalf of the employer, and knowing their needs and corporate culture, the headhunter has already selected personalities and skills that can really give value to the company. Afterwards, the employer will meet with them one by one during the job interview.

4. The headhunter acts as a negotiator

In a position to be filled at the bottom of a company’s hierarchy, the conditions are usually non-negotiable. Salary and other conditions have already been established. The situation is different for a management position where negotiation between the parties is more important, especially if the candidate already has a job, and his skills are in high demand.

That is why the headhunter also acts as a negotiator between the parties. This requires strong communication and negotiation skills in order to persuade the potential candidate to change positions. He may also have to persuade the client company to offer a little more in terms of total compensation (working hours, benefits, etc.) to attract this rare pearl.

To carry out his recruitment mandate, the headhunter must:

• Learn in detail about the candidate’s skills, achievements, personality and adaptability.
• Have sufficient knowledge of the client company’s culture and strategy to see if the two are compatible.
• Bring together the employer’s budgetary requirements and the potential candidate’s salary ambitions.
• Present the right arguments to convince the candidate to accept the position.
• Be familiar with the job market and salaries of executives in the sector at the time of the mandate.
• Facilitate exchanges between the candidate and the client company throughout the negotiation.

That’s a lot of work and complex tasks to complete before you get to the day of hiring an executive. This is also why collaboration between the employer and the headhunter is so important throughout the hiring process.

5. Terms of office are longer

With all these stages of research, selection and negotiation, employers who use the services of a headhunter expect this type of mandate to take longer to complete. Only in research, dozens of hours are necessary to come up with an interesting first list of candidates. A headhunting mandate at the top level of an organization can easily last for months. Let’s summarize them.

Research time

First, to select a first list of potential candidates in a given sector, the headhunter spends long hours researching media like LinkedIn, then in a personalized interview to select the best of them. To facilitate this research and selection work, the headhunter expects the employer’s cooperation to be full. If the collaboration is not complete, or if there are blind spots in the mandate, it will further delay the constitution of a good list of potential candidates!

Selection time

Then there is the selection itself. Each potential candidate must be listened to carefully. Everyone is at a different stage of their career plan. They each have dreams and ambitions, but also families and personal projects to reconcile with their professional life. It is necessary not only to select them, but also to convince them to listen to the employer’s offer and to meet him. We must offer them a global offer that meets their requirements to meet this new challenge. Their roadmap is already full, but an exciting new challenge may still interest them.

Negotiation time

Finally, it is rare for an employer and a candidate to agree on the conditions of employment the first time. There are always small adjustments to be made on both sides. At this stage, the headhunter may, at the request of the employer, bring the parties closer together. The headhunter can serve as a transmission belt to the company to make known new requirements of the candidate and vice versa. There will often be a back and forth in the final proposals before arriving at the long-awaited day of hiring.

It is not surprising that headhunting mandates are longer since each profile and each position of executive or leader is unique. The process of finding and recruiting a director, vice president or senior executive can take months. Finding competent staff in a recruitment agency is much faster, as there are already long lists of candidates who meet the required requirements.

6. The services offered are different

The services of headhunters are fundamentally different from those of recruitment agencies. They include:

• Search and selection of profiles
• Personalized interview of candidates
• The final selection of the best profiles
• The direct approach of candidates in their workplace
• Preparing the candidate for the job interview
• Assistance in negotiating the contractual agreement

The depth and breadth of services offered in a placement or recruitment agency is much more limited. They are not necessary for the type of position the employer is seeking to fill.

It should come as no surprise that mandates duly completed by headhunters cost more because of the complexity of the tasks, the duration of the mandate and the strong value creation in the company that hires the successful candidate. How much does a headhunter cost? Headhunters’ rates are often set on the basis of a percentage of the candidate’s salary, but there are many scenarios. Learn more and compare.

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