Nowadays, and especially in post-covid times, little seems to be working in Executive Search & Headhunting as before. Completely new and creative market players are flooding the established headhunting market by:

• offering instant KI/AI-based market-research – with results in hours
• running digitized campaigns by flooding social-recruiting processes & networks until results
• gaining “perfectly” fitting candidates for vacancies within 2 weeks time
• appearing as employer-branded recruiter for selected industry sectors & vacancy types
• winning new clients by being the public face of recruiting campaigns for client XYZ
• running the entire “headhunting-process” for a fraction of the established business price!

Voilá – a little provocative summary of the last 5–10 years, but trying to melt things down to essentials.

Key Developments in the German Workforce

• 43 million people are working in Germany > representing the biggest talent market in Europe
• German companies are reducing dependency on Chinese & Russian sources > creating ever “new” talent needs for next years in Germany/Europe
• Green-tech targets, new strategies & disruptive industries create additional thirst for leaders, specialists & workers – often in dried-out sectors
• Many 60+ agers are sent to pension – often replaced by younger people (<35 years) with different values & expectations
• Post-covid delivers new-work concepts around home-office, work-life balance and expectation management – often detached from realistic skills assessment

The result: an amazing employer market full of challenges AND opportunities – but also a noticeable migration to Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Scandinavia or Non-EU countries.

How to Choose the Right Headhunter

Ambassador Style & Alchemy with Client

• Links up with biz-leaders on C-level and creates immediate trust with Leadership/HR-team
• Derives talent needs based on future business scenarios, vision & skill needs
• Scouts executive/specialist-level talent as an ambassador for few selected clients
• Embodies an empathetic style to attract, screen & win people for challenging vacancies

Straight Professional & Business Insider

• Talks & acts straight, process- and result-oriented
• Deep insights into client strategy, employer branding & internal challenges
• Understands KPIs, vacancy needs and target candidate perspective
• Minimal sales-talk – realistic and transparent from the start

Passionate Talent Scout & Empathetic Winner

• Proven track record & passion for talent scouting on all org levels
• Process- and result-oriented approach
• Can-do mindset and go-beyond mentality
• In-depth knowledge of talent attraction in selected industries

HR-Mastery & Talent Experience

• Strong understanding of key & digital HR processes in modern companies
• Efficient project management: aligns Business, HRM, Candidates, and internal processes
• Solid assessment skills & understanding of development potential
• Trusted source for critical labor insights – until final placement
• Active partner during onboarding/integration period
• Becomes a trusted external partner for long-term collaboration

Price for an Individualized Service

• Assignments include multi-month processes, service-tracks and guarantees
• Pricing should reflect the vacancy’s impact, not just “job-filling”
• Offers should be comparable with others in terms of service scope & value

When You Don’t Need a Headhunter

Of course, you don’t always need a headhunting agency or Executive Search firm. For one-time needs, you might work with an interim agency, temp firm, or digital recruiter. But if your business needs to fill critical roles in rare talent niches, we highly recommend building a long-term, trusted partnership with a headhunter in your industry.

Conclusion: Back to Essentials

Selective recruitment for specialists, middle management or executive positions has a lasting effect on people productivity and leadership efficiency. We observe a clear trend: “Back to Essentials” – deliberate, strategic hiring decisions and a growing thirst for reliable, long-term recruitment partners.

As CANTOR and Founding Partner of the international CFR Consulting Group, we’ve been passionate about Executive Search & Headhunting for more than 25 years – in Germany and beyond. Let’s talk about how we can support your business with future-oriented HR process mastery and help you win high-performing leaders and skilled talent.

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