Headhunter: 10 reasons to hire this professional

There are two options when it comes to personnel selection processes: to carry out the search using our own resources or to hire a headhunter or headhunting company. Both alternatives have their pros and cons, but What are the benefits of outsourcing for these talent acquisition professionals?

What is a headhunter

The headhunter is a recruitment and headhunting specialist, Therefore, delegating to this professional the search and selection phase of new employees entails the following consequences benefits for the company.

Benefits of working with a headhunter

1. Efficiency. As they are fully familiar with the channels, methods and processes of personnel selection, they offer a high degree of speed when it comes to carrying out a survey of the labour market, both generic and in a specific field, providing suitable profiles for any job vacancy and avoiding common mistakes in recruitment.
2. Outreach. Given their experience and network of contacts, the headhunter can access a much wider range of profiles with potential for the position in question than the organisation's in-house team.
3. Comfort. The expert is in charge of the entire process (survey, contact, filtering, pre-selection, confirmation of references...), providing the company with a short list of potential candidates on which to make a final decision, which saves the company a great deal of effort and time.
4. Strictness. Their specialisation allows them to apply rigorous techniques and methods in search and selection, which they also accompany with other services, such as reports on candidates or the market, job competencies or exclusion factors, as added value, allowing for a more exhaustive result adapted to the vacancy that needs to be filled.
5. Impartiality. The personal ties of the members of the company's HR department may interfere with internal promotion processes. On the other hand, the headhunter will act more objectively when selecting a company's executive profiles from among the staff. In addition, he or she is also independent of possible external commitments from management.
6. Confidentiality. The headhunter carries out his or her activity under a strict confidentiality policy, being able to maintain the anonymity of the company that is looking for personnel. In this way, this professional also has the ability to contact working professionals from other companies without disclosing who is the offeror.
7. Costs. Although carrying out the own resources recruitment is economically cheaper in the short term than hiring an external service, it is also true that getting the right profile can save the company large training or new recruitment costs, if the employee does not adapt to the company, not to mention the benefits in terms of innovation and productivity that a professional can bring if he/she is suitable for the job.
8. Guarantee. It is also common for these recruitment professionals to offer certain guarantees about their process to the client, such as carrying out a second phase free of charge in the event that, within a reasonable period of time, the first candidate chosen does not fit the position.
9. Vanguard. A good headhunter will not only be up to date in his or her field of activity, but will also know what the market trends are in relation to certain strategic positions, which is valuable information for the company.  
10. Compatibility. In any case, the Human Resources departments and the headhunting companies They do not necessarily have to work in isolation; in many cases, the two can coordinate with each other, with the latter providing external advice and the former doing the implementation.