The market in Malta is quite distinct, in the sense that there are more jobs than people. In the constant battle for talent, where salaries can reach great highs and difficulty to retain your talent is on the increase, amidst all this hustle and bustle you find head-hunters. Anyone really within a business can wear the hat of a head-hunter. Typically, a head-hunter would seek candidates with a desired set of skills and attempt to entice them with a new job experience, which fits their skills and may offer better career progression and pay.
Why would a business need a head-hunter?
Specific Roles
In a constantly evolving world, new jobs are being created every day. We also live in a world of specialists, where some jobs are incredibly difficult to fill. Traditional strategies of promoting vacancies to the masses will simply not work when you are seeking a candidate with a very specific set of skills.
Cost-effective
Directly approaching people via specific tools such as LinkedIn, will give you the opportunity to communicate with your interested prospects, via free or InMail messages. This allows you to communicate on a one-to-one basis in a very cost-effective manner, rather than spending a lot of money on adverts.
Finding the preferred candidates
As opposed to traditional approaches where adverts are released on various media and a number of applications are received, you get to handpick the candidates you would like to interview. This would spare you the time of interviewing candidates who you are not really too interested in.
Specialist help
Head-hunters are normally specialists in recruiting and would have experience with the strategies which would work in acquiring a candidate from another company.
The role of a head-hunter may undoubtedly be beneficial for a business to fill in certain roles. With that said, is it right to head-hunt other companies’ talent? Some might argue that one should not do anything to others he does not want on himself. Some companies find it unjust that their talent is poached by bigger companies, offering them better salaries and prospects. This could also be used as a tactic between companies to destabilise the competition. It may be perceived as immoral and unfair. With such arguments, where would one draw the line? Should companies only call for candidates who have sent them their applications? Should they steer away from referrals?
What is your view on head-hunting?
