By Chris Hillman, Recruiting Professional
SearchPath of Chicago, Inc.
searchpathofchicago.com
Maybe you have an HR department and wondering why you’d ever consider working with a headhunter when you have a whole department dedicated to human resources. Well, here’s your answer. Human Resources have multiple responsibilities and can only spend a fraction of its time to corporate recruiting. Plus, if they have dedicated corporate recruiters on the team, they may be handling 30+ requisitions at one time. Everyone knows that handling 30 projects may be manageable but doesn’t allow someone to dedicate a lot of time to one. This is where Headhunters can hep – maybe they can split the load with your team or take on executive level roles to help expedite those hires. Here is how they can be helpful:
- Passive candidate market – since there is a talent shortage (link to talent shortage blog), we know that candidates are being picky or may not even be applying for jobs. When that happens, you must rely on grit and finding passive candidates that aren’t looking for positions and convincing them to take an interview for this position. Headhunters are highly skilled at this task and have a candidate database that they can tap into at any time. Their connections go beyond just a LinkedIn search and one of the most invaluable benefits they bring.
- Industry knowledge – headhunters typically focus on specific industries and immerse themselves into the industry and all the companies operating in the space, attend industry tradeshows, new products, and trends. This knowledge allows headhunters to understand positions very quickly and allows to the already ‘speak the language’.
- Reach into competition – Since headhunters work in specific industries, you can imagine that they have already searched and secured hires for similar, if not the same, position that you’re looking to fill and high likelihood that they’ve done that competitive companies. This means that they have reach within competitors and know the top players in the industry that might be the next top talent you’re looking for.
- Knowledge of compensation – In the same vein as all the above, they understand compensation expectations. This allows you to gain that knowledge and recalibrate any salary packages that might help your next hiring round.
While you have an HR department, nobody in that department have the experience that headhunters bring to the table. It’s experience that could help elevate your hiring process and help you build your A team.
For additional information, please email Chris Hillman or call (815) 261-4403 x 100
