Headhunter vs. Executive Recruiter: What’s the Difference?

A business flourishes or fails on the strength of its executive team. The right executive leadership can make an enormous difference to the performance indicators that business leaders care most about. That’s why there is stiff competition for the most talented executives.

Talent is rare, and, for highly technical positions, it’s even rarer to find an executive who has the right mix of leadership qualities and technical expertise.

Executive recruitment is a challenging field. It depends on being able to find suitable executives, to accurately assess leadership talent, and to match the needs of businesses with the abilities and personalities of candidates. Mid-sized businesses rarely have these skills in-house, so they turn to recruitment specialists like TD Madison to help them to identify and recruit executives for leadership positions.

There is a wide variety of service providers in the executive recruitment space, and they offer a mix of different services. The terms “headhunter” and “executive recruiter“ are often used interchangeably. But, while there is some crossover in what they do, there are significant differences in the services they provide.

What is a Headhunter?

A headhunter is hired by a business to find suitable executive candidates for a role they would like to fill. Headhunters may work independently or as part of a recruitment agency. They use a combination of contacts, research, and industry-specific knowledge to find candidates.

Headhunters may or may not contact candidates that are employed by competitors, but their involvement ends once they hand a list of potential candidates to their employer. Headhunters typically play no part in interviewing, negotiating terms, or otherwise helping to recruit a candidate.

What is an Executive Recruiter?

Executive recruitment agencies carry out some of the same tasks as a headhunter – identifying suitable candidates – but they are much more involved in the recruitment process.

At TD Madison, we have a massive database of industry contacts and, after three decades of recruitment for technology companies, understand precisely what our clients are looking for. However, our role goes far beyond identifying suitable candidates. We also help our clients to recruit the people they need.

For us, the process starts with getting to know the client and developing an understanding of their culture, their business needs, and what they expect of the executive who will eventually fill the position.

We create a comprehensive brochure for the role designed to attract the high-value candidates that our clients are interested in hiring. We identify suitable candidates, and, in consultation with clients, we coordinate and conduct phone and face-to-face interviews to whittle the candidate list down to the most appropriate prospective hires.

The final candidates are invited to panel interviews with executives at the hiring company. Members of our team attend every panel interview to offer guidance and consultation. 

Our role doesn’t end when the client has selected their preferred candidate. We conduct a thorough background check and write a formal reference summary. Moreover, we frequently help with contract negotiations and work as an intermediary for the most sensitive recruitment scenarios.

In Conclusion: Headhunters vs. Executive Recruiters

As you can see, there is quite a difference between the work of a headhunter and an executive recruitment specialist like TD Madison. A headhunter will find potential hires, but we’ll help you to find, assess, and recruit the right candidate.

Read “Our Executive Recruiting Process” to learn more, or contact an executive recruitment specialist today.