More than 25% of vacant positions in Singapore have gone unfilled for more than six months. This stat tells us that companies are having difficulty filling jobs with qualified candidates. As it becomes more challenging to hire an employee, companies are implementing changes to their recruitment process.
Rather than taking the time and effort to screen employees themselves, companies outsource their search process to headhunters and recruiters. With many people changing jobs and careers, headhunters and recruiters can help you find talent for your company.
If you are looking to get help finding employees, you might be wondering if a recruiter or headhunter is better. Read on to learn about the difference between the two and the pros and cons of each.
What Is a Headhunter?
A headhunter is a third-party individual or company that finds qualified candidates and passes their information to companies. Headhunters can find people for any position or specialize in an industry. Headhunters are great at finding qualified candidates, and they don’t conduct any of the actual hiring processes.
What Is a Recruiter?
Recruiters are third-party companies that work with clients or directly for a company. In the latter, they are considered corporate recruiters and only fill positions for one company. A recruiters’ role is to help talent and match them with jobs they qualify for.
Recruiters can specialize in a specific industry or work as generalists. They get in contact with individuals about roles.
Recruiters’ jobs don’t end at finding potential employees. They actively participate in the hiring process by pre-screening candidates and conducting some hiring steps.
Comparing Headhunters vs Recruiters
Both headhunters and recruiters play such similar roles that these titles can seem interchangeable. One key difference is that a headhunter’s job ends when they pass off a candidate’s information, but a recruiter will continue to be involved in the hiring process.
Since headhunters focus on recruiting, they are experts at finding unique and qualified talent. As a result, they are great if you want to fill a single important role.
Recruiters are great if you have a lot of roles to fill. They can work directly for your company and are committed to finding the best person for the position. Since they can also handle stages of the hiring process, they can be great to ease the strain on your business.
Since their work is slightly different, headhunters and recruiters are paid differently. Headhunters often work on a commission basis. But recruiters who work directly for your firm might earn hourly or have a salary.
Use Headhunters and Recruiters to Find Top Talent
Headhunters and recruiters specialize in finding employees for your business. Although they do similar jobs, there are significant differences to know if you want to outsource your employee search. Knowing the difference will help you choose the right one to work with to fill positions at your company.
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