Skip to content
All terms Hiring glossary · Sourcing

Headhunting

Also known as: executive search

Headhunting is proactively identifying and approaching people who are already employed and not actively job-hunting, rather than collecting inbound applications. It is the standard approach for senior, specialised, or hard-to-fill roles where the strongest candidates rarely apply on their own.

Also called executive search, headhunting targets a defined shortlist of people already doing the work well and reaches out to them directly, instead of advertising a vacancy and screening whoever responds.

It is the right method when the best people for a role are passive candidates rather than applicants, and it depends on disciplined sourcing to build an accurate target list before any outreach begins.

Related terms
Sourcing Sourcing is the systematic process of finding and building a list of qualified candidates for a role, usually before any of them have applied. It is the research-and-identification stage that feeds outreach, distinct from screening or interviewing. Passive candidate A passive candidate is someone performing well in their current role who is not actively looking for a job, but may consider the right opportunity if approached directly. Passive candidates are usually the strongest talent for a role and the main target of headhunting. Retained search Retained search is an external recruiting model in which the client pays the recruiter in committed stages across the search, rather than only on placement. It is typically used for senior or business-critical roles and aligns the recruiter's focus with the client's priority.

Need to fill an open role?

Let us source
10 PERFECT CANDIDATES
for it… FOR FREE

Let’s Get Started
Ugis Balmaks, founder of Recruiter Mill