Executive Search, Personnel Consulting, Headhunting...What is the difference?

Companies usually want to attract candidates at the lowest possible recruiting cost and therefore the "passive" recruiting channels, such as job ads, are usually used. Due to the continuously increasing demand for skilled workers and the decreasing response rates to job advertisements, this method is often mocked as "Post&Pray".

If this recruiting channel is unsuccessful or the company does not want to openly communicate its need for candidates to the market, filling the position is usually done by a recruiter, headhunter or executive search consultant.

3 terms - 3 meanings?

Executive search, personnel consulting and headhunting - is there any difference at all, or are these synonyms? If you look for a definition on the Internet or in the specialist literature, you quickly discover that you cannot make a clear distinction. This is also hardly possible, because the terms overlap in many ways in terms of content. Basically, however, all three terms describe the same thing in essence: the search for and selection of qualified and often very specialized candidates by an external personnel consultant, headhunter or executive search consultant. While some call themselves headhunters, among other things to distinguish themselves linguistically from their competitors, others tend to reject this term because it has negative connotations due to its "headhunter" origin.

Unlike ad-based recruiters, personnel consultants, headhunters and executive search consultants specifically go in search of suitable candidates for companies. In the so-called direct search, candidates are approached directly and actively by headhunters in order to motivate them to change companies. This usually happens by phone, e-mail or via various social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Xing. This is exactly what distinguishes the use of recruiters and headhunters and makes them so attractive for many companies. By specifically poaching the best employees, often from competing companies, the quality and recruitment of the right employees is directly influenced and at the same time the effort in applicant management is handed over to the service provider.

Personnel Consulting

Personnel consulting is a service that is assigned to management consulting and comprises various consulting fields. The focus of almost all personnel consultancies is the search and selection of qualified specialists and executives on behalf of companies. In addition to the search for candidates, a personnel consultancy often offers further services, such as the conception and handling of employee assessment measures, the support of organizational and personnel development measures, compensation consulting, personnel marketing as well as questions in the area of human resources.

Headhunting

The translation of the English term "headhunter" is literally "headhunter". The term essentially refers to the search for specialists and managers by means of a direct approach by a headhunter. In other words, the very targeted hunt for very specific and usually very qualified candidates in order to win them over for a career change. In connection with headhunting, the keyword executive search is often mentioned. Often both terms have the same meaning. The only difference is that executive search describes the service itself, while the headhunter is a person who performs the service.

Executive Search

As the term "executive" already implies, this is exclusively about filling management positions. Companies often hire executive search consultants for this purpose in order to benefit from their market expertise and large network. In order to master this task successfully, they focus on the big picture: Whether construction & real estate, finance, life science or another sector, they know their clients' markets and which competencies, skills and attributes are important in which position. Likewise, they know what candidates' requirements are and start their service accordingly with organizational consulting in order to optimize processes in companies in such a way that successful, sustainable recruiting becomes possible at all levels.

Of course, they also undertake the search for professionals, with executive search actually focusing on leadership positions, such as CEO, CFO as well as company successors. In doing so, they rely on their expertise, experience and far-reaching networks. They are representative, winning personalities and their appearance is characterized by personal esteem and discretion. Once they have found suitable candidates, they support their clients as well as the candidates during onboarding. In short, executive search companies are competent contacts in all personnel matters.

Boundaries blur

The boundaries between the three terms are becoming increasingly blurred. Regardless of whether personnel consultant, headhunter or executive search consultant, the added value for the client is not in the job title, but in the search methods applied. Ultimately, it is about determining the best search strategy for a given project. All of them have a large network, their own candidate databases and with all of them name and candidate recommendations are welcome. Basically, it doesn't matter what you call the consultant, because in the end it always comes down to the same thing: searching for specialists and executives on behalf of a company - and at no cost to the candidate.

But one thing should be noted: None of the aforementioned consultants has anything to do with the classic "recruitment agency". This is because they usually have a large database of specialists from specific industries and send candidate dossiers to companies if they might fit the advertised position. A recruiter/headhunter/executive search consultant usually works exclusively on behalf of his client to fill vacancies.