Headhunters vs. Recruiters
When we think of recruiters, we usually think of an internal employee at an organization tasked with finding the best talent possible to join their team. Headhunters, on the other hand, is more of a slang term typically used to describe a third party hired to fill a specific open position as fast as possible. While there are pros and cons to both internal recruiters and headhunters, at CHS Recruiting we have taken the best of both worlds and created a hybrid process that falls somewhere in between.
To highlight the differences of CHS Recruiting, here are the top 3 things that prove we are the perfect mix of an internal recruiter and a headhunter:
Recruiter
Relationship Based
An internal recruiter knows more about the role they’re recruiting and is more likely to care about their work since they are an employee of the organization.
Most Expensive
An internal employee comes with a lot of added expenses. If this employee is full-time, that means the extra expense of benefits, which can easily add an extra 30% on top of their salary.
Exclusive
Since internal recruiters are employees and can easily cost six figures per year to have on staff, most practices keep their recruiting efforts internal and rely solely on their internal recruiters, which drastically limits their reach. Internal recruiters are also a salary burden year-round, whether you’re actively recruiting or not.
Headhunter
Transactionally Based
A headhunter cares most about filling the role quickly and less about the overall quality of the candidate or the potential for a long-term fit.
Sometimes Less Expensive
Most headhunters are contingency-based and you only pay their fees when you hire their candidate. Unfortunately, most headhunter fees are very high and, depending on how many hires you need, could be even more expensive than an internal recruiter.
Sometimes Exclusive
Some headhunters require that the search is exclusively handled by them, which can hurt the search in the long run. Standard headhunter fees are also so high that even if they’re not exclusive, they’re too expensive to hire multiple firms.
CHS Recruiting
Consultative Approach
CHS starts with a phone call to find out as much information about your role as possible. While we want to fill it as quickly as we can, we also have a guarantee period on all placements and want to make sure we find a quality candidate who will go the distance.
Least Expensive
CHS is contingency-based, but our fees are far less than most headhunters’. We have low, flat placement fees that are agreed on before the search begins, so that any suggested salary adjustments are not in our own interest but, instead, part of our consultative approach.
Never Exclusive
CHS is never exclusive and our rates are low enough that we can be used in conjunction with traditional headhunters. Since we are also contingency, our efforts are free unless you hire our candidate. We can be quickly engaged to open searches as-needed and most clients find that if they are hiring 2-3 providers per year, we’re a very affordable solution.