Understanding Headhunters

Before we talk about Headhunters one must understand their motivation. They are paid a commission which is usually a percentage of your salary or they are on a retainer fee with bigger clients. So how they 'pitch' you to their clients depends on what their relationship is with their clients and the fee structure they are remunerated on.

Those headhunters which are not on retainer will not get paid until the job seeker they recommended has been hired and they must stay in the job for at least x months. These jobs are usually for mid-level positions and typically companies give the job opening to multiple headhunters and let them fight it out. This is good for the company as they will get many resumes and there is less risk involved as they will only pay when the job is filled. Unfortunately not for the job seeker as these headhunters will just pitch as many job seekers they can to their clients hoping one will get hired. You can easily spot these type of jobs when you find multiple jobs with very similar descriptions.

For those headhunters on retainer they get paid a fee upfront regardless if the position is filled or not and they will get paid more once the job is filled. These jobs are usually for senior positions and these companies only work with one headhunter who provides a more end-to-end service. Is this type of headhunter better for job seekers? In some ways I guess as they have a track record and a longer term relationship that they have to maintain with their client.

A word of caution. These headhunters are working for the organisations who are their clients and not for you dear job seeker. Remember it is not you who are paying their fees but the client, so when you do contact headhunters please do so with eyes wide open!