17 Feb How Do Executive Headhunters Work?
Organizations with first-hand experience navigating the complex waters of executive search are often baffled at executive headhunters’ ability to consistently penetrate hard-to-crack talent pools.
After experiencing the painfully long time-to-fill, ever-rising hiring expenses, and headaches and hassles related to trying to organize interviews, assessments, and call-backs, many decision-makers and business leaders are left with one question – how do executive headhunters work?
Read on for the answer to this question and more in this quick guide to how headhunters consistently provide exceptional executive hiring experiences.
What Is A Headhunter?
Headhunters, also known as executive recruiters or executive search consultants, are specialists that provide their partners with top-tier access to exciting executives for their most pivotal leadership roles.
Headhunters may operate as a solo recruiting operation or work as a part of a team of executive talent acquisition specialists at an agency known as an executive search firm. Executive search firms partner exclusively with companies requiring access to stellar candidates for high-level placements in C-suite and other leadership positions.
Headhunters have a rare and actionable understanding of the global executive talent market. They thrive at matching candidates with organizations based on the skills, experience, and cultural fit their partners desire. Their access to specialized tools, strategic practices, and data-driven methodologies provides an edge that allows them to secure prized talent in the most fiercely competitive industries.
What Is Executive Search?
Executive search refers to the strategic process headhunters deploy to consistently find world-class executive talent for their partner organizations.
Executive search has little in common with the conventional recruiting process. Instead of relying on tools like job boards and word-of-mouth to generate a roster of qualified and interested candidates, executive search relies on customized strategies, strong relationships, and extensive, diverse networks to identify promising candidates.
Executive search allows organizations to open dialogues with top-tier executives that they otherwise would struggle to identify and engage. The best executive search firms even provide their partners with access to industry-leading executives that aren’t actively pursuing a new role or opportunity.
The depth of executive search firms’ networks positions them to discreetly yet effectively head hunt the absolute best executive for your vacancy – not the best executive currently available on the market.
What Is an Executive Recruiter?
The term executive recruiter dates back to 1926, when talent acquisition pioneer Thorndike Deland created the world’s first executive search firm.
Over the last nearly 100 years, executive recruiters have gone by many names: executive search specialists, talent agents, and business scouts have all enjoyed a period of popularity. Another common term for an executive recruiter? Headhunter.
Executive recruiters also partner with organizations to penetrate the hyper-competitive global talent market and generate placements that drive revenue, boost growth, and enhance company culture.
What Is The Difference Between Headhunters And Recruiters?
As we mentioned above, headhunters and executive recruiters are essentially two sides of the same coin.
Headhunters and executive recruiters both fill a vital role in the business landscape by empowering their partners to quickly and cost-effectively fill leadership vacancies with top-tier, transformative talent. They also deploy similar strategies, leverage comparable tools and techniques, and aim to generate the same outcome for their clients – the perfect executive hire.
It is worth noting that most executive talent acquisition specialists work for an executive search firm or agency. In contrast, specialists with the title “head hunter” may work as freelancers or solopreneurs.
Why Should You Trust Medallion Partners with Your Executive Placements
Medallion Partners has more than 15 years of experience generating exceptional placements for our partners in industries, ranging from aerospace to banking to consumer goods.
Our world-class roster of executive recruiters and headhunters has an industry-leading track record of tapping into exclusive talent markets to secure candidates that represent our partners’ ideal cultural, performance, and leadership fits.
As a boutique executive search firm, we pride ourselves on providing a tailored search experience for each client. We leverage our data-backed search process to make the entire process streamlined and stress-free.
To learn more about why Medallion Partners is a leader in executive search, reach out to one of our specialists today.