Frequently asked questions

Working With HeadHunters NW

 

How is HHNW different from other recruiting firms?

RETAINED SEARCHES

  • HeadHunters NW RETAINED SEARCHES specialize in filling challenging positions such as those in remote locations or requiring remote work, roles that require heavy travel, succession planning, and difficult to fill positions.

  • We differ from in-house recruiting departments because we’re not limited to only those actively looking for a new role. Most high-quality candidates are currently employed and therefore require the discretion of a third-party recruiter.

GUARANTEE & PROMISE

  • HeadHunters NW retained searches are guaranteed! We track the success of your new hire for six months after the offer per our contractual agreement.

  • HeadHunters NW delivers the highest-quality talent with a 99% placement rate.

  • HeadHunters NW contributes to your bottom line by supplying the ideal person at the right time.

  • Our retained searches average less than 90 days!

SHOOTING INDUSTRY EXPERTS

  • Our unique combination of shooting industry expertise and state-of-the-art technology allows us to optimize the employer-candidate process and offer talent perfectly suited to your situation.

  • The HeadHunters NW shooting industry talent pipeline includes active candidates AND potential (passive) job seekers.

  • Acting as your eyes and ears in the marketplace, we have the qualified candidates ideal for your company already in our pipeline. Consider us your “insider.”

  • HeadHunters NW is up-to-date on motivators for candidate relocation, remote workers, compensation packages, and market conditions based on geography and existing conditions in the shooting, hunting, and outdoor industry.

  • We also know the talent your competition has.

TECHNOLOGY

  • Technology is key to our success in filling your crucial positions. Our state-of-the-art talent acquisition tools utilize data management to recognize those candidates who will have the most significant impact on your business while lowering the cost of recruitment.

AMBASSADORS

  • As your ambassadors, we strengthen and protect your brand, image, and reputation as we recruit talent perfectly suited to your culture.

  • By identifying and communicating what differentiates your organization, our candidates understand your vision and goals in advance and are well-equipped to produce successful results.

TIME-SENSITIVE

  • HeadHunters NW is accountable to you, so we produce swift results based on your time frame and communicate with you throughout the entire process.

Advantages of HeadHunters NW

 

How does HeadHunters NW add value to hiring practices & HR Departments?

RELIABLE

  • HeadHunters NW knows that building trust and rapport with your hiring manager are crucial, and we are committed to that relationship.

  • We go beyond transactional contributions and become your accountable partner in team strategy and decision-making.

  • When we give our word, it is solid, and we follow through. Your time is valuable, so we don’t waste it.

CONFIDENTIAL

  • Clients and candidates require anonymity. They wish to keep their status unknown among employees, customers, and suppliers.

  • Keeping your competitors in the dark about strategic changes is also vital.

  • We recognize these matters from both the organization and candidate perspective and handle each placement with the utmost confidentiality throughout the entire process.

EXPERIENCED

  • Each search is unique and comes with its own set of challenges. HeadHunters NW is an authority on every type of hiring situation imaginable.

  • Our talent helps you scale faster, whether it is a long-term placement or a contract role.

  • We assist in your succession planning by mitigating risk and by identifying and recruiting a pipeline of leaders.

  • HeadHunters NW’s reference checks discover potential red flags.

Why is technology important in executive recruiting?

SAFEGUARD

  • HeadHunters NW invests in the most advanced SaaS tools in the market that produces impeccable talent choices for our client companies.

  • We invest in education and training for our recruiters on an ongoing basis to stay ahead of our client's needs in technology, diversity, inclusion, trends, and more – all with a global reach.

  • HeadHunters NW can provide our clients with DiSC® predictive assessments to evaluate candidates across various experiences and future potential, revealing positive leadership and cultural attributes.

  • We apply our niche expertise to quantify recruiting success and make business decisions that meet your specific hiring goals and improve outcomes without compromising the candidate's attributes.

COMMUNICATIONS

  • We kick off the onboarding process with our workflow management tools through communications with your HR team. Mechanisms include a collection of proven documentation, feedback reviews, straightforward contracts, and follow-up.

  • Because we manage all communications between you and the candidate, we can gauge and often predict potential issues and resolve them to everyone’s advantage.

Does HeadHunters NW “coach” candidates before interviews?

PREPARATION

  • HeadHunters NW works with our candidates and assists each one uniquely so they can share with you their relevant experience and the solutions you require when seeking results.

  • We prepare them to put their best foot forward.

  • We work with each candidate coaching them on how to show their unique experience effectively.

GOALS

  • The overall objective must be to ensure the candidate you hire is the best qualified to perform successfully on the job, not necessarily the candidate who is the best interviewee.

  • Our talent shows you how they will make a positive impact to achieve your company’s goals.

What to expect with counter offers?

TRENDS

  • The new trend is an immediate counter-offer. It can happen when your chosen hire gives notice, on day 13 of a two-week resignation or 30 days after starting a new position.

  • HeadHunters NW has seen counter-offers extended months after a person leaves because their past employer has not found a replacement for them. (“Retread hires” are a real thing.)

SOLUTIONS

  • We work closely with our candidates discussing the circumstances and results surrounding counter-offers. We educate and coach them toward a mutually beneficial path.

  • Concurrently, we work directly with the hiring manager at the time of the offer.

  • The HeadHunters NW retained search guarantee ensures new employee success throughout the initial transition period, then for an additional six months after their starting date.

When colleagues and friends learn my team has an opening?

MANAGEMENT

  • When you hire HeadHunters NW, we manage 100% of the search. Depend on us as the point of contact for your well-meaning friends and colleagues.

  • Every candidate participates in our vetting process, thereby removing you from potentially awkward situations.

UNDERSTANDING

  • We communicate with all candidates regardless of whether or not they are selected for consideration.

  • HeadHunters NW gently keeps reputations intact and stands on communicating honestly.

  • We understand your company’s reputation is critical. With that in mind, we treat all referrals and applicants with dignity and respect

Hiring An Executive Recruiter

 

When is the ideal time to engage a recruiting search firm?

SUCCESSION PLANNING AND GROWTH

  • Looking to the future – do you have your next leader?

  • Are you growing, upgrading, or changing the dynamic of your organization?

TIME-SENSITIVE

  • You have a tremendous urgency to fill a position.

  • Your organization has advertised a role but is still reviewing resumes trying to match skills without success. Are you settling for the second best?

  • Every week without your role filled is costly.

UNIQUE OR CHALLENGING ROLE

  • You have a unique position to fill, and it requires dedicated headhunting skills to locate the talent you need?

  • The position is critical to the success of your company and the bottom line.

  • The position has the potential of being politically charged. The search requires careful and delicate handling with the utmost professionalism.

CONFIDENTIAL

  • The confidential search is affecting the bottom line revenues daily.

  • You require a transparent, impartial search documented and reporting to the board.

  • Talent from your competition is needed, but you cannot risk a cease and desist demand or corporate raid litigation.

  • You wish to be apprised of top-notch talent as those scalable people surface, regardless of whether there is an opening or not.

UNCERTAIN?

  • If you aren’t sure and want to discuss your unique situation, contact us, and we would be happy to brainstorm with you!

What does a bad hire cost?

EMPTY CHAIRS COST TIME & MONEY

  • Hiring talent that doesn’t fit your company's role can cost upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

  • We fill vacancies and newly created positions that maximize assets and provide measurable results.

  • How much does that ‘bad apple’ cost you and your team in lost revenue and wasted time?

  • What about the person who doesn’t perform to your standards?

ASSET EXPENSES

  • Decreased productivity

  • Compromised quality of work

  • Damaged morale

  • Lost time to recruit and train another worker

  • More time spent assisting bad hire

How does a retained talent search pay for itself?

HOW MUCH $$$?

  • The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that a bad hire can cost 30% of the employee’s potential first-year earnings. For businesses where employees are responsible for various duties, those costs can build to $190K per year!

SAVE THOUSANDS

  • Every day without a position filled is a day your company is not operating at optimal capacity. Hurrying to replace key employees with candidates who aren't the ideal fit results in turnover, lost resources, and precious time.

PRIORITIES

  • Imagine for a moment you, your spouse, or your child have a life-threatening illness. Would you hire a less experienced or inexpensive doctor? What if your loved one was wrongly accused of a serious crime? Would you hire the cheapest lawyer or seek out the best money could buy? The answer is easy. You hire the best!

  • HeadHunters NW only works with customers and candidates who match our culture – the best of the best! Our work is A+ level – ONLY the best EVERY time.

Why is a contingency search a colossal waste of time?

PAY FOR HIRE DOES NOT PAY

  • The business model of contingency recruiting (only pay if you hire) is void of value.

  • You rarely, if ever, get the top talent with contingency recruitment. It’s a flawed business model relegated to entry-level recruiters who learn while you pay them. They throw resumes at the wall until one sticks.

  • This model reveals no appreciation for the experience and investment in long-term relationships, insight, culture fit, skills sets, or precious information required to make critical hiring decisions. You must have that intel before you hire talent, not 90 days later.

Executive Search Process

 

What should I ask before hiring an executive recruiter?

  • Do you specialize in the shooting, hunting, and outdoor industry?

  • What positions have you successfully recruited and filled for your clients recently?

  • How long did it take to fill those recruitments?

  • What trade organizations are you aligned with?

  • How does your firm invest in our industry?

  • What is your process from start to finish?

  • What happens after the hire?

  • Do you offer a guarantee?

  • What are your rates and terms?

When should we out-source recruiting?

IN-HOUSE OR OUT-SOURCE

  • Often it makes more sense to utilize your in-house recruiters to place ads, call people you know, or other general recruitment efforts to fill your role. When those efforts do not result in the top talent in the market, look to HeadHunters NW.

REACH

  • HeadHunters NW’s reputation is well-regarded in the shooting industry. Our influence amongst top talent is broader and deeper than recruiting firms that compete against us and specialize in other sectors.

  • Every day, we build relationships with highly qualified, confidential individuals.

  • When you choose HeadHunters NW, we know who to call. We are the experts in our field, and we move quickly and quietly within the inner marketplace.

  • We rapidly identify the talent pool, recruit the top choices, engage them in the search process, and secure the perfect candidate who will deliver the results needed by our clients.

INVESTMENT

  • HeadHunters NW has the reach inside the unreachable market – we know which organizations to recruit from for you to hire the talent you need.

  • We stay abreast of prevalent compensation packages and what it takes to hire the individual who can push your company to the top.

  • We work with the candidate’s trailing partner and family for relocation to ensure the placed candidate's long-term success.

  • We invest in you and your company – true business partners. We guarantee successful talent placement.

What are common myths about recruiting & talent searches?

PRINCIPLED

  • Contrary to popular belief, or myth, executive recruiters do not "steal" people.

ETHICAL

  • We DO NOT and WILL NOT actively recruit from our client companies.

TRUSTWORTHY

  • We do not work with applicants who are considered job hoppers, job shoppers, or rejects, i.e., those who are consistently looking at the want ads.

  • Our talent comes from the working population who are already happy, well-appreciated, making good money, and not searching for job postings.