When I tell people I am a headhunter, most generally roll their eyes, (at least in their minds). I’ve rarely ever met someone who can’t tell me a story about an annoying recruiter, or more likely, a story about a really bad experience with one.

One of the toughest searches I had had was for a VP of Finance for TFAL (now SEB) Canada. The individual needed not only all the financial qualifications, but also had to speak French. Not Quebec French, but Parisian French.

The people I worked with laughed that I had bitten off more than I could chew guaranteeing to fill this one.

After contemplating how to go about the search, I came up with the idea to call the French consulate and find out how many companies in the greater GTA area had head offices in France. They sent me a list of about 12 companies. After calling them all I came up with a perfect candidate my client loved and loved the client. The placement lasted for years.

Many recruiters, particularly contingency recruiters, (as 95% of them are), are the opposite of helpful, don’t know anything about the job they are recruiting for, and usually present candidates far off the mark, (mainly pulled from job boards such as Monster, Workopolis, Indeed etc…). A lot of professionals in today’s workforce think recruiters waste their time and are anything but polite. Unfortunately most of them have not had the pleasure of dealing with a ‘true headhunter’. 

My mission is to change that!

Like those hard to find candidates, a true and honest recruiter is rare, hard to find, and it’s almost like they don’t exist. Only the best Headhunters are capable of the seemingly impossible. They can create careers, for strangers! They talk to you about interesting opportunities, with pay raises and professional growth opportunities and perky benefits. They grow companies with their most important asset: engaged employees. A true recruiter knows how to find truly talented performers. I spend my time calling competitors or related industries where the candidate you need to improve your business may be gainfully employed however, unhappy with the long range outlook of his/her future. I do not look for resumes posted somewhere of candidates unemployed or searching for a job. Only strong achievers turn companies into success stories. Great recruiters know how to identify and track down these people. True Headhunters are the individuals who bring people together, not only to make a living, but simply because they enjoy doing so.