Questions to evaluate a headhunter

The right candidates ask lots of the right questions

Ask the headhunter: How are you going to understand our business?

You want to know if they understand your values, culture and goals. Do they know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that your business faces? If their understanding of your business is surface level, you can be assured that the best possible hires will quickly rule out your opportunity when it is presented to them.

The right hiring processes have the right data

Ask the headhunter: How does your process reduce the risk of making a bad hire?

How does their screening process add value to your hiring process? Will they conduct interviews with you? Do they perform any job-specific testing, like a live exercise on technical capability? Do they utilise cognitive testing? Will those tests be interpreted by a professional? Will they take candidate references before the final interview? What are they going to ask at their initial interview?

The right headhunters understand that the real work begins once the hire is made

Ask the headhunter: What aftercare do you offer?

Once the new hire is on board what type of support can they offer you and your new hire to ensure that a great start is made? Continued contact with you and your new hire can ensure that expectations on both sides are clear and misunderstandings are addressed early. Maximise the relationship your supplier has built with both of you.

Great candidates take time to find, select and hire

Ask the headhunter: How long will it take you to fill this job?

A well thought out and well executed process takes between 8 to 12 weeks. If they will email you CV's/resumes within a few days, you need to consider if they are really doing the depth of search and evaluation you need.