Become a Corporate Headhunter

Everyone wants a high-paying, prestigious corporate job, but how do you find one? They aren’t advertised in the Want Ads or even on the Internet. How do you put your name on the applicant’s list? You don’t. These jobs find you, with the help of a headhunter.

A headhunter, or an executive recruiter, recruits high-level professionals to work for the world’s top corporations. Headhunters have a knack for matching talented individuals with prestigious job opportunities.

Headhunting is a $10,000,000,000 industry.

In the corporate world, there are always positions to be filled in the C-Suite. The C-suite is a company’s most important positions – CEOs, COOs, Presidents, Board Members. (See Related: C-Level Jobs) These are the employees who make the big decisions – the ones who run the world’s largest corporations. When companies need to fill these positions they hire a corporate headhunter who recruits the best individuals for each specific job.

Essentially the headhunter pre-screens all the candidates and only presents the very best individuals to the company. He eliminates the need for the company to advertise the position and saves the company from sorting through unqualified applications. The headhunter collects a finder’s fee when a match is made.

Most headhunters come from business backgrounds that may include executive, corporate, or human resource positions on their resumes. After working in the corporate world, they learn how the industry works, what corporations are looking for, and who might be a good fit with each company.

Headhunters are networking geniuses who make connections with people, professional associations, and companies. The more people you know, the better your chances of making matches. As you progress in the industry, you’ll begin to generate lists of potential candidates for a variety of job sectors – financial, consumer goods, technology, retail, or manufacturing. Most headhunters specialize in a niche.

After a headhunter places someone with a company, they have established a working relationship. If the relationship works out, the headhunter will most likely get the call again and again. Once a headhunter establishes a reputation, his career can really skyrocket.

If you ever get a call from a headhunter, remember that the headhunter is only trying to help. A headhunter not only matches candidates and jobs, he also negotiates benefits, trainings, commissions, or salaries. He may help coach you on things to ask in an interview or helpful comments to make. A headhunter is essentially offering a free service to anyone he tries to recruit.

To get started in this career, get your toes wet with a job in a human resources department. Learn to see what job ads say, who gets those jobs, and what is on their resume. Many headhunters start out as researchers for an established headhunter. Some gain experience as recruiters for local companies or staffing agencies. Others try to jump right into headhunting and find it to be a rocky road.

Headhunters do their job for a finder’s fee. When an individual who they recruit lands the job, they are paid a percentage of his annual wage.

Most of the recruits will be paid at least $150,000 per year and the headhunter can get as much as 30%. Headhunters make $64,000 to $92,000 per year, but the average is $77,000. Not bad money for playing matchmaker.

Matching exceptional people with world-class corporations can be challenging, but it is also rewarding. It is a headhunter’s job to find the right man or woman for the job, and they are the reason why you’ll never find a six-figure job listed in the classified sections.

Quick Facts About Headhunting Jobs

Job Title: Headhunter, Executive Recruiter
Office: Offices around the world
Description: Match top-level professionals with high level employment opportunities
Certifications/Education: No formal education required, Background in human resources
Necessary Skills: Networking, Know a large pool of potential candidates
Potential Employers: Recruiting Companies, Large Corporations
Pay: $64,000 to $92,000 per year, average is $77,000 per year

Helpful Corporate Headhunter Employment Links:

Search Antiques Dealer Jobs on JobMonkey
National Association of Executive Recruiters
Ask The Headhunter
The 100 Most Influential Headhunters
Headhunter’s Directory
Society for Human Resource Management