Over the weekend, I had a conversation with my fiancé’s grandma who asked me “what do you do for a living?” I hate this question because I always have difficulty describing it, but after I explained “I am the Associate Director of Membership for a global recruiters network”, she immediately retorted with “oh, headhunters?” I don’t know why, but I felt the need to explain that they were not headhunters, but independent recruiters. For some reason, I associate the word “headhunter” with someone who solicits candidates for paid services. I’m not sure why I think this, or if it is even justified. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the definitions for the two words are as follows:
Headhunter: (n) A recruiter of personnel especially at the executive level
Recruiter: (n) One who recruits
Recruit: (v) To supply with new members or employees
From the definitions above, it seems to me that “headhunter” and “recruiter” have similar meanings. Neither one identified as carrying a negative connotation. Within our executive search network, we have members that refer to themselves as recruiters, and some as headhunters. So, where did this come from and is there merit behind the differentiation? Is it a generational thing? A regional thing? Do you prefer to be called a headhunter or recruiter, and why? To solve this great debate please comment with your thoughts and insight.
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