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Pippa Hunnechurch is a "headhunter," more formally known as an executive recruiter. A headhunter earns his or her living by recruiting top-notch candidates for hard-to-fill corporate positions. The basic premise of executive recruiting is that worthwhile candidates are happy in their current jobs and are not likely to read (or respond to) want ads in newspapers or on the Internet.
Pippa starts each recruiting assignment by carefully gathering the specific requirements for the job to be filled. She then sets out to locate the ideal candidate using her network of contacts in business and industry. She often relies on these well-established managers and executives to steer her to people who match the requirements.
Executive recruiters are not employment agencies. Like many headhunters, Pippa receives a fee from the client (not the candidate) at the completion of the hiring process, typically 60-90 days after the candidate begins work. This is called a "contingent fee." Some more experienced executive recruiters are "retained" by corporations — they are paid monthly fees for their services. Pippa starts each assignment with a contract that sets forth the terms and conditions under which she works for the client.
Pippa's clients trust Pippa to do her homework and to learn all there is to know, professionally at least, about each candidate's work history. Trust and integrity are a recruiter's stock-in-trade. A headhunter with a reputation for being less than ethical had better find another line of work.
Pippa started her little headhunting business on a shoestring. When Hunnechurch & Associates grew into a more substantial firm, Pippa was able to join NAER — the National Association of Executive Recruiters. For more information about NAER, please visit, http://www.naer.org. And to learn more about the nitty-gritty of headhunting, check out: http://www.asktheheadhunter.com.