What is Headhunting and how does it work?

Selection processes of managerial and middle management profiles: welcome to Headhunting.

The top managers of a company are key figures for the good running of the company, as their actions have a determining role in the results of the organization and the performance and health of the workers.

Since their behavior affects the rest of the staff, they require a special selection process when they are hired. This is known as headhuntingThis is what is known as headhunting, a personnel selection process aimed at the executives or middle management of a company.

Headhunting: looking for top management profiles

Just as it happens nowadays with IT recruiters (recruiters with technical specialization in the technological environment), headhunters must possess a series of skills that allow them to specialize in this sector..

The top and middle management of a company are different from other employee profiles because they allow the generation of sustainable and successful organizations and their influence in the company is greater due to the position they hold. These workers are a real added value for the company and a bad choice means a great expense of budget.

When embarking on the selection process for these positions, the headhunter must look for a suitable candidate, the headhunter must look for a highly prepared executive, with extensive experienceThe headhunter must be able to lead work teams and possess a flexible, socializing and transforming personality.

A slow process...

The process can be slow because it is not always easy to find a profile with these characteristics, and the level of exigency of the candidate is very high.and the level of demand of a recruiter of this type is much higher because of the importance that the employee (or the person to be hired) has for the company.

In order for the headhunter to carry out a successful process, he/she must know in detail the requirements of the position and the organization, and to minimize errors, he/she must establish together with the client the profile to be selected, to properly understand the situation and the needs of the company, the environment the candidate will be in and the problems to be solved.

The professionalism, seriousness, social skills, leadership skills, self-confidence, dynamic personality and initiative of the recruiter are very important in this type of selection process.

How does the headhunter work?

Headhunting is usually an option outsourced by companies, as the recruitment of senior or middle management requires specialized work. There are some companies that, in addition, have specialized in different sectors, for example, the legal field or new technologies. Nowadays, however, headhunters specialize in all kinds of fields.

After getting to know the company's needs, the headhunter must find the right person for the job.. The candidate must not only fit the requirements of the position or workplace, but the recruiter must also take into account what the company is like (its values, its way of working, etc.) so that the person chosen also fits in.

A methodology different from classic selection processes

In the headhunting selection process, candidates are not usually sought among the resumes sent to the company, but an active search is usually carried out to find the right person.

In fact, due to the difficulty of finding such specific profiles that offer guarantees, some professionals in this sector contact active workers in companies with the same level of activity. If a company is successful, it is because it has professionals capable of leading a project.

The headhunter must thoroughly evaluate the candidate.

If the candidate is interested, he/she will be interviewed not only to explain the offer, but also to find out if his/her motivations and needs are a good match for the position and the company offering the job.If the candidate is interested, he/she will be interviewed not only to explain the job offer, but also to find out if his/her motivations and needs match the position and the company offering the job. The headhunter will evaluate the candidate's capacity and competencies thanks to different recruitment tests based on critical incidents, his competence, and his past achievements and results.

In short, their attitudes, motivations, personality traits, values and, in general, their competencies are thoroughly evaluated.

• Recommended article: "Types of recruitment tests and questionnaires".

Choosing the right candidate

Some candidates will meet the requirements and others will be discarded.. In some cases, it is the headhunter who makes the hiring decision. However, most often, the headhunter works together with the company to decide which candidate is best suited to perform the functions that the company and the position require.

Therefore, once the company is aware of the candidates it may be interested in, the headhunter advises the company on who to choose.

The most important managerial skills

The selection of this type of professionals must be made taking into account the importance and influence they have in the company. There is a lot of talk about the difference between being a boss and being a leader, because to be a good manager you need to be a good leader. This can only be achieved by mastering a series of management skills, which are independent of the necessary knowledge of the area in which the professional function is to be performed.

A manager may be a great economist, but he may not possess a set of skills that help motivate his team. So...what are the necessary managerial skills that the top managers of a company should have?

• Problem managementis the ability to manage and deal with problems effectively.
• Self-confidenceis key to any interpersonal relationship and especially to lead work teams.
• Decision-making: a necessary skill for the success of the company.
• Assertiveness: a communication style in which the leader expresses his opinion while respecting the other party.
• Emotional regulation: superiors must be emotionally intelligent.
• Social and communication skills: they must know how to communicate appropriately.
• Vision and strategic thinkingThey must know where the company is and where it is going.

You can go deeper into the different managerial skills in our post:

• "Managerial skills: 12 keys to business success".