How to get headhunted on Linkedin?

Hi there!

In general, I'd advise you to not be on the ‘receiving’ end of the recruitment process. 

Your chances look a lot better if you're proactive in terms of the search rather than waiting for opportunities via LinkedIn. 

Getting to your question - yes, it's a combination of key words, but also firms / academic institutions that you were part of. 

These key words are generally part of the brief that the recruitment firm developed with their client. 

They create a pipeline of candidates that they reach out to, have initial discussions with and eventually they then propose to the client to conduct interviews. 

If you want to use LinkedIn more proactively, I'd recommend you:

• Reflect on what are the sort of roles you'd want to be recruited for
• Figure out what are the core features they want for somebody in that role
• Emphasize those features on your profile

So for instance, if you're planning on going for consulting roles, you should definitely have the word ‘consulting’ and evidence of you having worked in consulting firms proeminently on your profile. 

Aside from this, it also helps to have a premium account on LinkedIn. These appear higher in the list during searches and thus have higher visibility for recruiters.

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

adding on to what the other coaches already mentioned..

There's not really any secret sauce. Think about what head hunters look for and how they might use LinkedIn filters to do pre-screening - it's usually a combination of both these factors that you mention. 

The more substance and relevant overlap your profile has with what headhunters filter for, the more likely you will get attention.

• Company brand names
• Relevant industry exposure to in-demand industries
• In-demand skills and functional experience
• Sufficient years of experience (headhunters usually look for experience, not fresh grads)

Hope this helps.

Regards, Andi

Hi there,

It all has to do with BRAND.

The moment I had BCG on my resume, I was getting headhunted for strategy roles. Prior to that - nothing.

The moment I had Appian on my resume, I was getting headhunted for Appian coding, product management, etc. roles. Prior to that - nothing.

Get experience and put that on your LinkedIn profile. (Think from their end: They're going to filter on companies/titles).

Remember, your network is the best way to move your career forward. At work, build up a reputation for being great and nurture those relationships over many years.

Hi,

Some great points already made by Ian and Cristian. 

If you are talking about strategy related roles, then brand comes first followed by role (because they are hiring consultants and not say HR/Finance). 

Especially for corporate strategy, brand name plays the biggest role. In Asia, there are some companies that will only hire from MBB, and not T2. 

The other thing you could do, which I did myself, is to reach out to several headhunters (either cold search or through referrals) and ask them to help you. Most of the time, I found that they are pretty receptive and helpful, especially if they feel they have an opportunity to actually place you.

All the best!

Hello,

I think the advice you're getting here is spot on - it's all about brand names, experience, and roles. So it's hard to game in a sense: for instance, once you have an entry-level or post-MBA role at MBB, you're likely to see some headhunters reaching out soon. But if you're looking to make a career pivot, there's nothing wrong with being a bit more proactive and trying to connect with headhunters on LinkedIn yourself to try to initiate a conversation.