Difference between a headhunting company & recruitment agency

Lots of people make the wrong assumption that a headhunting company is the same as or just another name for a recruitment agency. However they are wrong as they are the two opposing ends of the job marketplace.

Bottom line is that a recruitment agency is a bit like a job centre, you go into one or sign up online, give them all your personal and work details then they will match you to the job vacancies they have been given to advertise on behalf of the firms & companies that are lucky enough to have places to fill. The jobs advertised can be anything from a domestic cleaner to a sales assistant.

It is true that a headhunting company also matches people to jobs but that really is where any similarity ends as generally headhunters focus on more executive positions, specialist jobs, board directors, and high paid specialised jobs, but they do not advertise vacancies for people to apply for.

If a company has this type of more specialised/high powered job vacancy to fill, they will employ the services of a headhunting firm so that they get the best candidate(s) for the job. The head-hunter company will use their specialist skills, network base and in-depth knowledge of the particular market the job is in to find out who is the placed person for the job in question. However most of the time the “best person” is already doing the job, or a very similar job, with another company and they probably have not even considered changing jobs!

In the current economic climate and with unemployment levels rising, some headhunting firms will now accept CVs from candidates, but this is not a general rule as they will want to pick those currently at the top of their game to ensure that the very best person gets the job!

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