How to Hire a Headhunter

Your instinct told you that Joe would be a great hire. His resume looked flawless, he had years of relevant experience in your industry, and it seemed like his personality was a perfect fit with your existing employees. Unfortunately, once he got the job, Joe seemed lost. He was arrogant, irritable, and completely unable to do the kind of work you needed him to do. It was a complete waste of your time and money.

To help avoid these incidents, many business owners find it helpful to hire a headhunter. This is especially true if the position in question has a highly specific set of qualifications. You could spend weeks looking through hundreds of resumes on your own, or you could spend a day or two selecting a headhunter and let him take care of your current and future employment needs.

Unfortunately, the worst part of hiring a headhunter is that you still have to go through the hiring process. There are a ton of different headhunters, and they operate on widely fluctuating terms and prices. It's important to understand those terms before you embark on what could be a very costly project.

Above all, make sure that you understand the price when you're hiring a headhunter. The cost could range anywhere from 10-40% of your new hire's salary, so it can be an expensive endeavor, depending on the salary of the position you're trying to fill.

In addition to the rate, consider the incentives that are created by the cost structure of the firm you choose. Some headhunters are only paid when they fill the position. That kind of setup can tempt an otherwise ethical firm to endorse a candidate that is less than qualified in order to fill the position and collect your fee.

In other cases, the headhunter is paid whether he or she fills the position or not. This kind of payment structure could very easily lead to slacking on the part of the headhunter, so it's important to stay in close touch with an agency that uses this kind of plan.