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How to 'head hunt' effectively

A definition:

Recruitment = ‘refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified people for a job at an organisation or firm.’ – wikipedia

This is one of a series of articles by Andrew Fisher – CEO of Media C2C

What are the benefits of 'head-hunting'?

Confidentiality - no one needs to know you are recruiting apart from those you approach
Targeted - you only approach those individuals that are useful as either ‘sources’ or ‘potential candidates’
Cost effective – if managed internally no recruitment fee costs and no advertising costs
Fast – you approach who you want to hire – they say yes and you hire (no wasted interviews)

How to ‘headhunt’ effectively

The ‘headhunting’ or recruitment search industry has long tried to keep a mystique around what is involved. There is little mystique – just good research and sound process. The key elements are as follows:

Research
This is always the first stage of any successful assignment - this includes name gathering and mapping the market.  Sources of information include trade bodies, competitor websites and conference / event attendees. The internet together with business networks and social networks has made much more information easily available. In addition there are specialist job boards that carry extensive CV databases many of which can be accessed and searched using the very latest in search and match software to find the best fit candidates.

Approach (by email)
Once the research is complete - the style of approach depends on a number of factors including how you found their details and whether a relationship with the individual is already in place. If the targets have been found through a job board database it is often possible to email them directly. This first approach should be polite, direct and stress confidentiality. If the targets have been found instead by research or are already known a more subtle approach may be called for explaining your organisation and needs (briefly) and asking them if they could be interested or know of others they can recommend.

Approach (by phone)
Confidentiality and control are key, you must get to the point (but not be blunt), ask for a time to call again or permission to email with further details and say thank you for taking the call.  In some instances a simple ‘Hello I am xxxx and am interested in speaking to your about a role at our company.  When would be good time to chat and / or can I send you some details by email?’ – then come off the phone, take the action required, then follow up in a couple of days.

Selection
Once researched and approached they can then join the selection process. Just because they have been approached it doesn’t mean they forgo the standard recruitment process you have in place. It does however mean they are more likely to proceed successfully as you have already pre-selected them.

Media C2C is the employer only job board and candidate database specialising in Media Jobs in the UK.

To learn more: http://www.mediac2c.co.uk/
To upload your cv: http://www.mediac2c.co.uk/candidates/register.aspx
To advertise and search: http://www.mediac2c.co.uk/recruiters/register.aspx