Headhunting is an apprenticeship business; hence, you will not find any good books about how to become a headhunter. You learn how to do it by working with experienced headhunters. As in any profession, the world of executive headhunting is filled with both: legitimate professionals and unqualified amateurs. The trouble is that there are more unreliable headhunters than there are solid, successful ones, who really know the business. Nevertheless, professional headhunters are vital in keeping major enterprises operating well.
The wealth of a company, its stockholders, employees and often the community, in which the company is located, dictate the top positions at any organization. A good executive headhunter can guarantee that the right executive is chosen- the one, who possesses skills, required for the position and challenges ahead. Nonetheless, modern executive headhunters face challenges to be effective.
To start with, a geographic net has become much wider. A recruiter can no longer hope to find the right candidate exactly in the place of his residence. Actually, an ideal candidate might be located in another country or even on another continent and at the same time he or she might be only minutes away by the Internet.
The Internet has an ambivalent effect on the job of an executive headhunter. As far as a negative side is concerned, the increase in the work content is worth mentioning, as headhunters have to post requirements in more places and look through more potential candidates to find the right person.
When it comes to a positive effect, online communities and bulletin boards, such as Monster.com, where everybody can place ads for positions, are a real godsend for headhunters. Directories like this help recruiters to attract clients; thus, they can spend more time, recruiting and less time on business development. In addition, online resources are more easily searched than papers. Employers can enjoy the advantages of online headhunter resources as well. Such headhunter directories give them a chance to search by geography, by vocation or by the type of position. It means they can find a recruiter that specializes in pharmaceutical sales, travel executives, accounting or whatever. Moreover, executive headhunters spend less time answering questions to people, who will never be their clients. Therefore, a headhunter obtains resumes from only those people, who are likely candidates for the types of positions he works on. A travel headhunter, for instance, will not get a resume from someone, whose background is in aeronautical engineering. Hence, the Internet is making it easier for headhunters to receive resumes, targeted to their field of expertise, saving them time, let alone overexertion of their tongues.
In the mean time, an executive headhunter still confronts with the problems of yester-year. He still has to be in touch with potential candidates, conduct preliminary interviews, set up meetings with the company, attend to minute details, instruct an interviewer and there is surely a revision, required after every interview, both with a client and with a prospect. It is a busy job!!!