A confusing variety of personnel service providers
Behind the terms recruitment agent, personnel consultant, headhunter and executive searcher are hidden a variety of professional profiles. What they have in common is that they place employees with companies and receive a commission for their success. So, who does what exactly? The use of the terms is not uniform and is also subject to change. Basically, there is an increasing professionalization of providers from recruitment agents to headhunters. A helpful distinction is that of the client. Personnel consultants are active on behalf of job seekers. Headhunters and executive searchers, however, work exclusively for companies. Contrary to the expectations of many applicants, they are not appropriate contacts in the job search. They are hired by companies when the search for personnel via advertisements is not promising. Today, this is no longer the case only for executives. Specialists can also often only be found by direct search.
Sourcer – internal company headhunter
The labor market has changed considerably in recent years. The skills shortage has increased the demands on recruitment. And the emergence of social networks has opened up new opportunities in the search. In the past, headhunters used to be the only way to directly approach candidates who were not looking for a job. Today this is also possible for companies. People present themselves on LinkedIn and are thus approachable. That’s why companies have specialized their employee search. Recruiters must now increasingly master the headhunter tools and operate active sourcing. This development also offers opportunities for job seekers. With a profile on LinkedIn, they ensure that interesting companies can approach them if necessary. It is increasingly important for specialists and managers to be ready for the next career step at any time. After all, the best positions are often open precisely when we are not looking for a job.