Hi,Are there any employers/hiring managers out there who can explain why they would choose to use a headhunter over a recruiter?

Possibly for partner level hires / create a new practice etc. but for the more run of the mill stuff I just wouldn't see the point.

Headhunters are not just relevant to very senior roles - search and selection is a good tool for hard to find specialisms, rare experience, or to counteract a very tough market. Recruiters who do not use search methods are really just bringing CVs to their clients from the active jobseeker marketplace (which is fine if that is all the client is looking to do).

excellent definition an completely accurate - finally someone gets it. generally the criticisms of head-hunters are actually criticisms of recruiters. If you are a hiring company and the approach is "I am a Head-Hunter/Search Consultant and I have lots of lovely CV's for you" you are talking to a recruitment consultant. If you are approached as a candidate with "I saw your CV on Monster" or "you sent your CV in response to my ad on Top-Consultant" you are talking to a recruiter (ecxept in exceptional circumstances, Tony, before you jump in!)

I find these days I tend to do both - I use search but dont discount the value of the people out there in the active marketplace, especially where I am working to place through the reporting chain. But I only charge search fees for search mandates, and contingency fees for contingency mandates. Everybody wins.

Hate to agree with someone who is probably a competitor but I actually do. You need to be multi-dimensional is you are sector focused. In the bad old days, people would sell search for the sake of selling search (and to get revenue on the board of course). These days clients expect you to pitch the right solution. I have actually turned down a retainer before because the madate did not suit search methodology - fortunately our MD was not in that meeting!!

So a headhunter searches and fills a specific role on a retained basis and a rec consultant fills lots of roles on a pay by placement basis?Surely, as is the case generally in life, there is more incentive to work hard on something if you aren't rewarded up front?

Competitor or not agreement in the industry can only help us in discouraging the cowboys. A good recruiter will have numerous tools in the box, just like a good MC, and use what is applicable. Retained search can be a powerful tool in the right circumstances, but not in all cases, and I sometimes find search on a success only fee basis (contingency search?) is the best solution for the client. I win my fees by being good at what I do, being trusted by clients, and being available and open to candidates, not by selling whatever service I think the client will buy to get the best price for my revenues.

Mars a Day - are you looking? We want you.

I'm flattered A Question? And possibly.

Wow, this approach to headhunting via message boards is truly ripping apart the economics and modus operandi of the industry. I have noted your firm's ability to dissect the enemy's forces as well as the market discontinuities in a very specific fashion.

Use your own name - this previous entry is NOT from A Mars A Day...

Hey, I'm A Mars A Day... too!!We're all A Mars A Day... !!!!

Whichever industry you work in you are a discredit to it. I take it you have nothing of any value to say.

Hehe, there is a dynamic going on here which I don't think a mars a day has caught onto yet... and it's nothing to do with the flood of people with the same name

To "Question?". Thank you for noticing my talents on these boards. I'd be very interested in discussing possibilities with you further. Please ignore the imposters.

I'm the real one. Please ignore the imposters. I would very much like to increase my salary by joining your firm.

How mediocre. Some people much be so desperate to escape their firms before the partners fire them for not delivering anything more than some badly written adverts for fake jobs. Oops I have exposed 90% of the recruitment industry!

Why would an agent write an advert for a fake job?

Its a nefarious practice among some recruitment firms to attract CVs, especially in areas where either candidates are scarce, or where they have no track record with clients and need some speculative CVs to punt across in a particular niche. Reputable recruiting firms, whatever their methodological persuasion, ban the practice among their staff. For the record, a reputable recruiter/headhunter with real client work will get straight down to business when you talk, and position the role clearly and concisely, asking for your views on the organisation and role in question. Where the role is fake they are likely to be evasive about details, and probably not able to tell you how and why you would be a good fit into the culture of the client organisation. Any other search/recruiter people out there got some handy insights to add? the more we are transparent and set the standards in public, the quicker we can drive out the rogues!

As a rec cons I think you your posts are embarassing. It's no wonder people think we are arrogant twats. The orginal post by A.M.A.D. is sensible and logical - the rest of you are obviously cowboy recruiters that we have to battle against in the market before people take us seriously.Grow up.

I'm Spartacus

In response to the person who "exposes 90% of the recruitment industry", all I can add is that you are lucky to work in an industry where some sugar daddy partner hands you lots of interesting work to do, whilst telling you that you are wonderful/amongst the elite etc on a daily basis. Imagine if you had made mistakes in the case interviews or not perfored to your best on the interview day, you could have traded this in for sometimes even longer hours, a phone, a desk and a sales target. You would have a wide boy manager telling you you are cr@p on a daily basis and you would have to win all your projects yourself.How much consulting would you get done if you only worked on projects you won yourself? I am not defending bad practice but you have to undertstand the context.

And to think this thread started off so nicely...

to day it could be you: i sympathise with your situation, it does sound pretty bad. but many consultants also have it bad too. unrelenting feedback, hyper-competitive colleagues, charlatans, long hours, dreadful travel... its not an easy job either

Sounds as though the worst aspects of recruitment and MC are very similar. Like all sectors each has its villains and heros. But there is no point looking for perfection - it dosen't exist.