In the last ten years, actually, change and digitalisation has been so huge that finding potential candidates is usually no longer an issue. There are many effective online channels through which potential candidates can be found quickly. LinkedIn, in particular, has made it possible for a huge amount of information about individuals to be available to all. Digitalisation has brought this information within a few clicks and nowadays a headhunter knows a surprising amount about a potential candidate before even making the first contact. Gone are the days when a person’s title and industry alone was enough to make the first contact.
One big difference between direct search agencies comes down to whether they know how to use all these available tools effectively. How well can they sift through the vast amount of information to find the best and most appropriate ones and, above all, how well can they capture their interest in the new opportunity. That last one in particular is very crucial and usually comes down to the experience, industry knowledge and sales skills of the headhunter team.
But why then are headhunters still used? Here are my top five reasons:
The best are always taken
The simplest reason why headhunters are still used is that the best people in general are already working somewhere. Very often, even the most desirable people disappear from the open market very quickly if, for one reason or another, that has happened that they’ve become available. A good headhunter will help you to catch up with this group.
Criticality for the success of the company
When it comes to a very important position, the help of a headhunter is often appreciated. You want to be sure that the process is handled with quality and that you can make a selection from a pool of very high quality candidates. A headhunter and a professionally managed headhunting process also significantly minimises the risk of misrecruitment and the massive costs involved.
The company’s own recruitment skills
Very often, companies are aware that recruitment, and especially headhunting, is not their core competence. Sometimes it is not the smartest use of time to learn something that is easy to find help for. It is much easier and smarter to leave the process to the professionals and focus your time on what you know and can do.
Company awareness and brand
In Finland, most companies are relatively unknown to a large number of people and therefore do not automatically attract good candidates. A large proportion of the assignments we receive are of this type, where the client says they tried themselves first, but their own application processes and job advertisements have not produced enough quality candidates.
Location of the company
The location of a company is often one of the things that pose a big challenge to recruitment. At InHunt, we have eight offices in Finland and, especially as you go further north, you find a lot of companies in small, remote locations where one of the major obstacles to growth is that the right type of people don’t want to be found. The solution to this is often a skilled headhunter who knows the area and goes a little further afield to find potential candidates. Potential returnees are also always interesting targets from a company’s point of view.
Teemu Ruuska
CEO
InHunt World
