Quality human resources is always a valuable resource as well as a challenging matter to solve for any organization. Therefore, many companies and businesses have turned to freelance headhunters for solutions to the problem of quality human resources. That has made this profession become the attraction to many people to pursue. Are you passionate about becoming a "headhunter" but still don't want to be tied to an organization or framework? Let's find out with Navigos Search who a freelance headhunter is? And how to become a “genuine” freelance headhunter.
1. Who is a freelance headhunter?
Freelance headhunters are freelancers. They are free to arrange their work without any limitation on working hours or the workplace. A freelance headhunter can freely work anytime, anywhere, but must meet the requirements of the clients.
Freelancers are free to arrange their own workflow
2. Scope of work of a freelance headhunter
Each freelance headhunter will have a different way of working to "hunt" candidates. However, they definitely have to follow the following tasks:
- Look for clients: When using human resource services, businesses only pay fees for freelance headhunters after recruiting successfully. To avoid wasting time, a freelance headhunter should research and choose to work with potential clients to secure a good income. Potential clients are those who have real recruitment needs, have the financial ability to pay and seriously cooperate in the working process.
- Fully understand clients' requirements and the vacancies to be recruited: Understanding clients' requirements and the vacancies to be recruited will make it easier for a freelance headhunter to find suitable candidates.
- Seek for and interview candidates: There are many methods to find candidates. A freelance headhunter can seek for candidates through the available data sources such as recruitment websites, social networks, Linkedin, Facebook or through referrals from his or her network or from other freelancer headhunters,...
- Then, the freelancer headhunter interviews the candidate to have a full picture of the candidate from their qualifications, past work experience, skills and understand their work motivation, reasons for leaving the last job and other factors. From which, the freelance headhunter can re-evaluate the candidate's suitability for the job position and the client's requirements.
- Exchange information between candidates and businesses: Send the potential candidate's information to the client, arrange interviews and assist the two parties in negotiating to reach a successful agreement.
- Follow up with candidates after being recruited: After the candidate is hired, the freelance headhunter must follow up and support them to help prevent the candidate from dropping out.
Scope of work of a freelance headhunter
3. What to do to become a professional freelance headhunter?
Be highly knowledgeable of all fields, be reliable
Unlike HR, a freelancer headhunter must recruit personnel from many different fields. Therefore, being highly knowledgeable of various industries is an important factor to become a professional in this profession. Based on the knowledge gained, you will screen quickly and communicate with candidates more easily and effectively. From which, you can convince candidates to apply and close the deal successfully.
There are many freelance headhunters who have scheduled interviews with candidates but then delayed or rescheduled for many reasons,... It causes harm to the reputation of the clients. So, be really serious and reliable because the clients reach out to you to solve their problems, it's not their responsibility to provide solutions to your problems.
Focus on building a personal image
If the freelance headhunter does not have work experience and does not have a strong network, it is very difficult to leave an impression on clients. It would be great if you started this job as an expert in every field. But this is not easy and it does not mean that you have given up hope. Because you are completely self-PR to stand out among other freelancer headhunters.
PR your name on social networking sites and stay confident even if you don't feel like it. Because maybe, someone will actively contact you to start a new working collaboration.
Make your mark
Make your own mark to attract clients' attention. When bidding, you need to demonstrate superior skills, the best solution to convince clients to choose you. If you still haven't figured out if you have enough skills, knowledge, and expertise to become a freelance headhunter, please refer to courses such as: HR foundation, HRBP, ... to reorganize your work and have a more accurate overview of this position.
Fee is a key factor in decision making, but if you show your clients more than what they see, you will surely succeed. A freelance headhunter needs to show clients that you are more prominent, capable of doing things that other freelancer headhunters cannot. For example: commitment to deadlines, willingness to take on new projects, reliability in work quality and even coming up with a new unique working method that is mutually beneficial for both parties.
A freelance headhunter needs to create your own mark and personal image
Be mentally strong
In most traditional companies, HR has a labor contract and is paid with stable income as well as a full insurance package. But freelance headhunters are different, without a project, there will be no source of income.
Competition is inevitable in any industry. If you choose to be a freelance headhunter, it means that there are many competitors who have the same job as yours. You are in even more competition in many aspects because there are many people out there who can do better than you at a reasonable price.
Therefore, you must have a strong mentality, constantly strive for development and breakthrough. That way, in the long run, you will attract many clients and have a solid footing on the path of a professional freelance headhunter.
Not only that, in the freelance HR profession, your initial excitement may turn off due to lack of projects after a few months. It is not easy for businesses to deliver projects if you do not have a lot of recruitment experience. In addition, in Vietnam, it seems that large enterprises have their own human resources departments. Therefore, you can reach out to small and medium-sized companies to increase your chances.
Be proficient in technology
When contacting a freelance headhunter, clients always want to find the right candidate in a quick time. Therefore, you need to be proficient in technology, apply in the working process to quickly find the right candidate. If not, the client will look for another freelance headhunter.
Please link and invest in a list of potential candidates' CVs from reputable online recruitment sites, HR communities, LinkedIn,... The support of technology will help you always work with the highest performance and be reliable in the eyes of clients.
Understand clients’ psychology
As a freelance headhunter, you not only convince the client to work with you, but also have to convince the candidate to apply for the job and accept the job offer. Therefore, you need to be good at grasping your clients' psychology to understand what they and candidates need and what difficulties they are facing. Possessing this skill will help you have productive conversations and increase your chances of success.
Understand your clients’ psychology
Set up reasonable working hours
You need to know how to set up clear working hours so that you don't get stressed. Any freelancer, even the ones with a lot of experience, sometimes delays work, leading to inevitable mistakes. Therefore, do not harm your own health by working continuously for many hours because it not only affects your work performances but also reduces your ability to improvise.
By managing time properly, a freelance headhunter must commit to get the job done quickly and efficiently. A long-term cooperation relationship based on the commitment of both parties is the key to helping you have a stable income.
Be independent, be proactive
If one day, your client just vanishes into the air, open up new opportunities for yourself. Continue to build your profile and expand your network to find new jobs, make attractive offers and promotions such as discounts for new customers to attract more partners. You need to build a career plan with clear goals to avoid wasting time and saying "yes" to every invitation and unnecessary work.
Be skillful in communication and networking
Communication is a key skill on any freelancer's path to success. You need the ability to communicate well with clients to understand their needs and wants and effectively communicate how you are helping. If you do not have good communication skills, your clients will surely feel frustrated, your work will become less effective and they will certainly not come to you next time.
In fact, there are many talented candidates who always "hide themselves" because they have no need to change jobs. At this point, you need to build relationships to reach out to these candidates.
Skillful communication helps you close the deal successfully
The job prospects of this profession are now blooming. We hope the above information provides you with a description of who a freelance headhunter is as well as to fully prepare the knowledge and solid skills to continue developing your passion and career path. Thank you for always following Navigos Search, we wish you success!
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