4.2 B. Headhunters

➢ What, if anything, do you know about the work of a 'head-hunter?

1. Read the article.

How to Get Headhunted¹⁰

For most of us the summer holidays are now just a memory and a collection of photos carelessly tossed into the back of a drawer or hastily stuck into an album. But what of the big ideas dreamed up on the beach and formulated over yet another glass of the local wine? What of your conviction, so clear at the time, that when you got back you would finally make the big career change and revolutionize your life?

Don’t find escape in maudlin sessions about your dashed hopes. It’s time to put into practice dormant talents and turn fantasies into reality.

But how to make yourself the hottest thing in town? How to turn yourself into a prospect so irresistible that employers will be tripping over themselves in their haste to win you over? The answer is to catch the eye of that most influential and enigmatic of creatures; the head-hunter.

This needless to say, is much easier said than done. The obvious solution is to be so good at what you do that your name precedes you. Become known as a good operator and your name will magically spirit itself onto the head­hunting databases.

Either way, it helps to know your enemy.

Even a cursory inspection shows that their existence is by no means austere. They live in palatial homes, holiday in far-flung places, and generally enjoy the most privileged of lifestyles, which many would like to emulate though few have an opportunity to. Disarmingly, they are often exceedingly nice. Inter­personal skills rate highly in this game. Jonathan Evans of Sammons Associates hunts City scalps by day, and spends his weekends stalking deer. A low profile goes with the territory. Headhunters must be seen to be totally trustworthy, and naturally run shy of journalists. This said, the jobs have much in common; digging around and sounding out leads with friends and associates. The difference is that a headhunter can pocket in minutes what a scribe might earn in a year.

In many respects, headhunting is an enviable profession which encompasses wining and dining, necessitating arduous stints in the Savoy Grill and other fashionable haunts replete with ubiquitous platitudes. Holidaying in Barbados or on the Riviera brings headhunters into contact with still more top executives, generating further juicy leads.

Stripped of its glamour, headhunting is just another sales job; no different to selling timeshare or double-glazing. It relies heavily on cold-calling and holds no guarantees that the money will come in. City analysts and brokers, endlessly fielding calls, tend to regard headhunters as a sort of Jurassic fungus. The full fee is paid over only once the candidate has taken up the new post, and some of the money may be clawed back if the company is not happy six months down the line. Still, two or three 'hits' a year is all it takes.

The big guns of headhunting remain frustratingly out of range from most eager job-seekers, but one can always play them at their own game. Miles Broadbent says: 'Find someone who's been headhunted, got the name of the headhunter, then write to them or ring them, mentioning the connection. Headhunters react well to a familiar name. Putting your CV around won't do any harm, but it's better not to write to them cold.'

Positions are more routinely filled via executive selection, which relies purely on advertising, George Campbell-Johnson, chairman of CJA, says advertising is far more upfront. CJA charges a flat fee of 27.5 per cent when the candidate accepts and keeps the whole process more clear-cut. 'It's better to put the money into a good ad than to have a headhunter go sniping'.

The headhunters disagree. 'An element of judgment is still needed in deciding whether someone is suitable for the job. We are giving advice, not just putting bums on seats.'

If you are in a dead-end job and a headhunter suddenly materializes with an amazing job offer, think before you make a run for the door. Some companies have taken to using a sordid practice of employing headhunters to get rid of employees without having to pay them off. This is known in the trade as reverse headhunting. Flattering it may be, but the joke could well be on you.