by Kristen O'Riordan

Created on: September 06, 2010   Last Updated: September 14, 2010

The difference between a headhunter and a recruiter can differ depending on the organization. Generally speaking, recruiters function as the mediators between job seekers and hiring authorities within an organization or even outsourced to a staffing agency. A headhunter, on the other hand, is specifically targeting candidates with a very unique background. While a recruiter will spend their time setting up interviews and screening job applications a headhunter is spending most of their time searching for a needle in a haystack.

As an employer deciding between hiring a recruiter and a headhunter consider first the difficulty of filling your opening. If you are seeking entry level engineers, administrative help, or other common job categories you can be confident in deploying your search to a competent recruiter. However, if you are seeking a left-handed, registered Professional Engineer who chose to specialize in the design of medical equipment… you are better off with a headhunter.

Headhunters typically charge higher fees than a recruiter will. Most headhunters will charge 25-30% of the employee’s annual salary. This can vary based on guarantee period, payment terms, and responsiveness from client. These fees are negotiated before the search begins and are binding legal contracts.

Recruiters are typically paid an hourly rate depending on employment type. In house recruiters can earn from 35-65k on a salary or $30-50/hour as an independent contractor. This type of recruiter should not be mistaken with college recruiters or even sports recruiters. While the concept is the same the job function is very different and the skills will not transfer easily.

It is common for recruiters to work in tandem with headhunters. When this happens, recruiters function in either the account representative role or the sourcing role. This is a very smart way to function because it allows the same headhunter to cover more clients and more job openings together than either could apart. This scenario works in contrast to the common, full desk recruiting which requires headhunters to have both sales and recruiting skills in a sink or swim environment. This is most typically seen in agencies that do not have the liquidity or time to support a leaner recuiting team.

It is often argued that headhunters are more highly motivated to fill openings because their compensation is typically 100% commission based while recruiters are paid regardless of fills. For this reason many hiring authorities will choose to go with the more expensive choice and hire the headhunter if their needs are urgent.

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