Executive search

'''Executive search''' (informally often referred to as '''headhunting''') is a specialized recruitment service where organizations pay firms to actively seek out and recruit highly qualified candidates for senior-level and executive jobs across the public and private sectors, as well as non-profit organizations (e.g., president, vice-president, CEO, and non-executive-directors).<ref>{{cite news |date=6 Feb 2020 |title=Corporate headhunters are more powerful than ever |url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/02/06/corporate-headhunters-are-more-powerful-than-ever |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316165457/https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/02/06/corporate-headhunters-are-more-powerful-than-ever |archive-date=16 Mar 2021 |work=The Economist}}</ref>

Headhunters may also seek out and recruit other highly specialized and/or skilled positions in organizations for which there is strong competition in the job market for the top talent, such as senior data analysts or computer programmers. {{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}

The method usually involves commissioning a third-party organization, typically an executive search firm, but potentially a standalone consultant or consulting firm, to research the availability of suitable qualified candidates working for competitors or related businesses or organizations. Having identified a shortlist of qualified candidates who match the client's requirements, the executive search firm may act as an intermediary to contact the individual(s) and see if they might be interested in moving to a new employer. The executive search firm may also carry out initial screening of the candidate, negotiations on remuneration and benefits, and preparing the employment contract.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}

In some markets, there has been a move towards using executive search for lower-level positions, driven by the fact that there are fewer candidates for some positions, and in some cases increasing levels of demand. {{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}

==Executive search firms== An executive search firm is a type of professional service firm that specializes in recruiting executives and other senior personnel for their client companies in various industries. Executive search agents/professionals typically have a wide range of personal contacts in their industry or field of specialty; detailed, specific knowledge of the area; and typically operate at the most senior level of executive positions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Executive Search Recruiting & Placement Services |url=https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/hire-talent/executive-search |access-date=2026-04-24 |website=Robert Half |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Senior Professional Level Executive Search Firm {{!}} JDG Associates |url=https://jdgsearch.com/services/executive-search/senior-professional-level/ |access-date=2026-04-24 |website=JDG Search |language=en-US}}</ref> Executive search professionals are also involved throughout the hiring process, conducting detailed interviews and presenting candidates to clients selectively, when they feel the candidate meets all stated requirements and would fit into the culture of the hiring firm.<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Baldo | first1 = C. | last2 = Flynn | first2 = D. | last3 = Sanders Via | first3 = C. | year = 2025 | title = Executive Recruitment Process Explained Through Task Analysis | url = https://faculty.utrgv.edu/louis.falk/qrbd/QRBDaug25.pdf | journal = Quarterly Review of Business Disciplines | volume = 12 | number = 1/2 | pages = 12–34 | access-date = 2025-10-14 | archive-date = 2025-09-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250908065406/https://faculty.utrgv.edu/louis.falk/qrbd/QRBDaug25.pdf | url-status = live }}.</ref> Executive search firms typically have long-lasting relationships with clients spanning many years, and in such cases the suitability of candidates is paramount.

When corporate entities elect to use an outside executive search firm, it is usually because they lack the internal research resources, professional networks, or evaluative skills to properly recruit for themselves.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cappelli |first=Peter |date=2019-05-01 |title=Your Approach to Hiring Is All Wrong |url=https://hbr.org/2019/05/your-approach-to-hiring-is-all-wrong |access-date=2026-01-08 |work=Harvard Business Review |language=en |issn=0017-8012}}</ref> Using an outside firm also allows the corporate entity the freedom of recruiting from competitors without doing so directly, and the ability to choose among candidates that would not be available through internal or passive sourcing methodologies. Executive search firms are national and international. Many specialize in a particular business industry sector.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Enhancing Candidate Matching and Mitigating Bias in Talent Acquisition |url=https://www.locksearchgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/AI_Headhunting_White_Paper.pdf}}</ref> The contractual relationship between client and executive search firm falls into two broad categories: contingent and retained. Contingent recruiters are paid only upon the successful completion of the "search assignment."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Coverdill |first=James |title=The Oxford Handbook of Job Loss and Job Search |date=1 Jul 2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=9780199983988 |chapter=Contingency Headhunters: What They Do—and What Their Activities Tell Us About Jobs, Careers, and the Labor Market}}</ref> Retained recruiters are paid for the process, typically earning a recruiting fee in three stages based on the anticipated compensation of the executive.

In 1959 the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) emerged to set the standards of quality and ethics for the executive search consulting trade.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jenn |first=Nancy Garrison |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Headhunters_and_How_to_Use_Them/wCCqaDKu7T4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=1959 |title=Headhunters and How to Use Them: A Guide for Organisations and Individuals |date=2005-04-01 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-86197-734-2 |pages=23 |language=en}}</ref> AESC Members range in size from large global firms and networks to boutique firms spanning more than 70 countries.<ref>[http://www.aesc.org/ "The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011004559/https://www.aesc.org/ |date=2017-10-11 }}, 2017.</ref>

== Types of executive search ==

===Retained=== High-end executive search firms often charge a retainer to perform a search for a corporate officer or other senior executive position.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Executive search (headhunting) {{!}} Research Starters {{!}} EBSCO Research |url=https://www.ebsco.com/ |access-date=2026-01-08 |website=EBSCO |language=en |archive-date=2026-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260119170559/https://www.ebsco.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Retained recruiters work for the organizations that are their clients, not for job candidates seeking employment. In some countries, such as the UK, recruiters are not legally permitted to charge candidates.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Acting as an intermediary between persons seeking work and a hirer |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eas-note-acting-as-an-intermediary-between-persons-seeking-work-and-a-hirer/acting-as-an-intermediary-between-persons-seeking-work-and-a-hirer |access-date=2026-01-08 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref>

===Contingent=== Contingent search firms are remunerated only upon the successful completion of the search, typically when the candidate accepts the position, much like in traditional recruitment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Business advice: Contingency recruitment – work the system! {{!}} Recruiter |url=https://www.recruiter.co.uk/advice/2025/03/business-advice-contingency-recruitment-work-system |access-date=2026-02-06 |website=www.recruiter.co.uk |archive-date=2025-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250725044527/https://www.recruiter.co.uk/advice/2025/03/business-advice-contingency-recruitment-work-system |url-status=live }}</ref> These recruiters may earn from 20% to 35% of the candidate's first-year base salary or total remuneration as a hiring fee. The fee may also be calculated to include the candidate's (that is, the successful hire's) median or expected first-year bonus payout. In any case, the fee is (as always) paid by the hiring company, not the candidate/hire.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

===Pros and cons=== Clients (companies seeking to hire) often tend to work with contingent search firms when filling mid-level positions. As contingent search firms generally rely heavily on their contacts, and seldom work on an exclusive basis, it is not rare for a client to work with a large number of contingent recruiters on the same search at the same time, in order to maximize the volume of candidate (job seeker) resumes they receive.<ref>{{cite news |title=Contingent vs. retained executive search—which is right for you? |url=https://hrexecutive.com/contingent-vs-retained-executive-search-which-is-right-for-you/ |work=HR Executive |archive-date=2021-01-15 |access-date=2021-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115172553/https://hrexecutive.com/contingent-vs-retained-executive-search-which-is-right-for-you/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Moreover, contingent search firms often work with clients on higher percentage fee basis, relative to retained search firms as they shoulder more risk and the process is often more consultative.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Percival |first=Chris |date=2026-01-21 |title=Retained Executive Search Fees vs In-House Recruitment Risks |url=https://www.cjpi.com/insights/how-much-do-executive-search-firms-cost-vs-in-house-recruitment-risks/ |access-date=2026-02-06 |website=CJPI |language=en-GB |archive-date=2025-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251114201215/https://www.cjpi.com/insights/how-much-do-executive-search-firms-cost-vs-in-house-recruitment-risks/ |url-status=live }}</ref> For senior level roles, clients often prefer to work with firms who have performed well in the past for them and usually will end up in the hands of a retained recruiter.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} By working exclusively with one firm on such searches, the client generally develops a much deeper relationship with the recruiter, and receives a much higher level of service.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} With all methods, clients rely on search professionals to provide not just resumes, but also consultative information about the market in general, as well as additional tools such as psychometric profiling during the interview process.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Evolving Leadership Competencies in Rapidly Changing Markets |url=https://ptalentsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Evolving-Leadership-Competencies-in-Rapidly-Changing-Markets.pdf |access-date=8 Jan 2026}}</ref>

== Regulation and standards == There is little regulation or oversight of the executive search industry globally.

In the United Kingdom, a voluntary code of conduct for executive search firms was introduced following the 2011 Davies Review and has been revised on several occasions since.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The standard voluntary code of conduct for executive search firms |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standard-voluntary-code-of-conduct-executive-search-firms/the-standard-voluntary-code-of-conduct-for-executive-search-firms |access-date=2026-02-06 |website=GOV.UK |language=en |archive-date=2025-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620130438/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standard-voluntary-code-of-conduct-executive-search-firms/the-standard-voluntary-code-of-conduct-for-executive-search-firms |url-status=live }}</ref> The "code" has 11 provisions which firms who voluntarily sign up to the code are expected to adhere to.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The standard voluntary code of conduct for executive search firms |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standard-voluntary-code-of-conduct-executive-search-firms/the-standard-voluntary-code-of-conduct-for-executive-search-firms |access-date=2026-02-06 |website=GOV.UK |language=en |archive-date=2025-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620130438/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standard-voluntary-code-of-conduct-executive-search-firms/the-standard-voluntary-code-of-conduct-for-executive-search-firms |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Recruitment Category:Executive search firms Category:Management consulting

pl:Headhunter