Questions to Ask a Headhunter
Questions to ask a headhunter who has approached you about a role, or one you are thinking of working with. When you are being headhunted, the external recruiter on the phone knows far more about the job than you do, so the questions cover whether the search is real and who is paying for it, the job and the company behind it, the money, what happens to your resume and your name, and how the process runs through to an offer. The guide below lists the questions headhunters ask candidates, so you can have your own answers ready.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The search
How did you come across my name?
Why ask it
A recruiter who cites a specific project, publication, or referral has done research and probably has a genuine brief. One who says they found your profile in a search is likely working a keyword list, which usually means volume outreach rather than a targeted shortlist.
Which company is this for?
Why ask it
A headhunter with a real assignment can usually name the client, sometimes after asking you to keep it to yourself. On a contingency search the name may be held back so that you do not apply directly, and on a confidential one it may wait until you agree to be considered. If you still cannot get it after that, there may be no assignment yet.
Are you retained on this search, or working it on contingency?
Why ask it
Retained means the client pays the firm in stages whether or not anyone is hired, which usually comes with exclusivity and direct access to the hiring manager. Contingency means the fee is paid only if their candidate gets the job, so expect more speed and often less detail about the role. Neither is a mark against the recruiter, but it tells you how to weigh what they say next.
Have you spoken with the hiring manager directly, or are you working through HR?
Why ask it
Recruiters who have debriefed the hiring manager can tell you why the last person left and what would get someone rejected in round two. Those routed through a coordinator will pass along a job description you could have read yourself.
Why is this role open: is it new, or is someone leaving?
Why ask it
New headcount, a resignation, a firing, and a backfill after a reorganization are four very different situations. A recruiter who does not know, or who gives a smooth growth answer for a job that has been posted for five months, has not been briefed properly.
Do you have a signed agreement with this client for this specific role?
Why ask it
Some recruiters pitch roles they found on a job board hoping to place someone and negotiate a fee afterwards. If the answer is vague or about a longstanding relationship rather than this search, treat the timeline they describe as guesswork.
Is your firm the only one on this search, or are other agencies and the company's own recruiters working it too?
Why ask it
Exclusivity tells you how much weight this recruiter's recommendation carries with the client. When several firms and an internal team are racing each other, expect speed over care, and make sure nobody else has already put your name in front of the same company.
Why did the client bring in a search firm for this role?
Why ask it
Companies pay a search fee for a reason: the hire is confidential, their own recruiters have already tried, or the people they want are not looking. Each one changes your position. A failed attempt in-house, for example, can mean the pay or the spec is out of line with the market.
Why would someone who is not looking leave a job like mine for this one?
Why ask it
Being headhunted means the client expects to tempt people who are settled, so there should be a ready answer: a bigger remit, a step up in title, a better-funded business. If the pitch is only that the company is exciting, the recruiter has not been told what the role offers over the one you have.
How long has the search been running, and how many candidates are in process?
Why ask it
A search open six months with no finalists often points to an unclear spec, a budget below the market or a hiring manager who is hard to please. If three people are already in final rounds, your timeline is compressed and you may be there mainly to give the client a comparison.
Is the search confidential, and is someone still in the job?
Why ask it
A quiet replacement means the person you would succeed may not know yet, which explains a withheld company name and limits who you can meet early on. Ask how and when the incumbent will be told, because the way an employer handles that exit says a good deal about how it treats people.
Is anyone inside the company being considered for the role?
Why ask it
When an insider is in the running, outside candidates are sometimes interviewed mainly to confirm a choice that is already made. Ask what the client thinks the internal person lacks, and listen for whether the recruiter actually knows.
What has been the hardest part of this search so far?
Why ask it
Every search has friction: slow scheduling, a decision maker who keeps changing the spec, a first offer that came in low. A headhunter willing to name it is being straight with you, and the answer is a preview of what the next few weeks will be like from your side.
Role and company
Can you send me the written brief for the role?
Why ask it
A firm on a proper assignment usually has a specification agreed with the client, and it tends to say more than a job posting does. Reading it lets you check the phone version against the written one. If nothing exists on paper, or it cannot be shared even with the company name removed, ask why.
What would the client need to see in the first year to call this hire a success?
Why ask it
This turns a list of responsibilities into something you can be measured against. If the headhunter cannot answer, the client may not have decided, and you would be taking a job whose goals get set after you arrive.
Who would I report to, and how long has that person been in the job?
Why ask it
Ask how many people have held this role under the same boss as well. A manager who arrived six months ago, or who is on a third hire in three years, changes what you would be signing up for more than the title does.
What is the hiring manager like to work for?
Why ask it
You are asking for what the headhunter has seen first hand: how the manager ran the briefing, how fast they respond to candidates, whether they have changed their mind about the spec. It is one outsider's view, so ask as well whether you could speak to someone who has worked for them before you accept anything.
Which requirements in the brief are fixed, and which will the client bend on?
Why ask it
Briefs describe an ideal person who rarely exists. Knowing that the sector experience is fixed but the degree or the team size is not tells you whether to go forward at all and which parts of your record to lead with.
What in my background made you think I fit this brief?
Why ask it
The answer is the story the recruiter intends to tell the client about you. If it rests on something minor or ten years old, correct it now, before it shapes the pitch and the interview questions that follow.
Where does my profile fall short of what they asked for?
Why ask it
A headhunter who is being straight with you will name the gap and say how they plan to present it to the client. One who insists you are a perfect fit is flattering you into the pipeline or has not read the brief closely.
What kind of background got the last few candidates rejected?
Why ask it
Rejection patterns show the unwritten spec: a client that says it is open-minded but keeps passing on anyone from outside the industry, or anyone who has not managed a team. Hold the pattern up against your own record before you spend an evening preparing.
What can you tell me about working there that is not in the brief?
Why ask it
Specifics about hours, travel, how decisions get made or a recent reorganization suggest the headhunter has spent time with the client. Culture language you could find on the careers page suggests the brief is all they have.
Where is the job based, and how firm is the client on office days, travel and relocation?
Why ask it
Settle this before any interview. Ask what the client enforces today, not what the posting says, and whether help with a move exists if one is involved. A recruiter who says it can all be worked out later is guessing.
How big are the team and the budget, and what would I inherit on day one?
Why ask it
Headcount, budget and open vacancies are facts a briefed recruiter has to hand. Ask too whether you would take over a settled team or a list of problems the last person left, because those are different jobs under the same title.
What could this job grow into in two or three years?
Why ask it
Useful for telling a real step up from a sideways move with a better title. Push for an example of someone promoted out of this seat or one like it. A general line about a growing company is not an answer.
How is the company doing financially, and who owns or backs it?
Why ask it
For a private or investor-backed employer, the headhunter may be your only early source. Ask about recent layoffs, the last change of funding or ownership, and what the client said about the next two years, then check what you can for yourself.
Pay and offer
What is the compensation range the client has actually approved?
Why ask it
The word approved matters, because the top figure quoted on a first call is sometimes a hope and not a budget. Ask for the base band, the bonus target and whether equity is included, and what the last person in the role was paid if the headhunter knows.
What will you tell the client about my current pay and my expectations?
Why ask it
Whatever number you give a headhunter is likely to reach the client, sometimes rounded in a direction you would not choose. Agree the exact figure and wording they will use. Rules on asking about salary history vary by state and country, so ask how it works where the job is.
From what you see in the market, is the pay I am hoping for realistic?
Why ask it
A headhunter who fills jobs like yours sees offers you never will, so this is a rare outside read on your number. Keep the bias in mind, since a candidate with modest expectations is easier to place. Ask for the range recent hires at your level have landed in, not a single figure.
Is there a sign-on payment or a buyout for the bonus or equity I would leave behind?
Why ask it
Leaving mid-year can mean walking away from an unpaid bonus or unvested shares, and some employers will make part of that good. The recruiter knows whether this client has done it before, which is worth more than hearing that everything is negotiable.
What do the contract terms at this level usually look like: notice, severance and any restrictions after I leave?
Why ask it
An executive recruiter has seen what this client agreed with its last few senior hires and can tell you what is standard there and what was negotiated. Take that as background only. What a notice clause or a non-compete means for you depends on the country and the wording, so have a lawyer read the actual contract before you sign.
If an offer comes, who negotiates, and will you represent my number or the client's?
Why ask it
A recruiter paid by the client can still be a useful channel, but you need to know whose position they will carry. Ask what they would do if you asked for more than the client wanted to pay.
Will the client wait out my notice period, and what if my employer counters?
Why ask it
Notice runs from a couple of weeks to several months depending on the country and the contract, so say what yours is and ask whether this client has waited that long before. On a counteroffer, expect the headhunter to argue against taking it. They have a fee riding on the answer, so hear the reasons and decide for yourself.
Has this client lost a candidate at the offer stage before, and why?
Why ask it
A pattern of offers declined over money, title or a slow contract shows where this client gives ground late and where it does not. Ask what changed afterwards, since a search that has already lost a finalist is sometimes more flexible the second time.
If I reach the end and decide to stay where I am, how will you handle that?
Why ask it
You are allowed to say no, but the recruiter loses a fee when you do, and some apply pressure in the final week. Hearing the answer early makes it easier to hold your ground later. A good one will respond by asking what would make you turn it down.
The recruiter
What sectors and levels of role do you usually recruit for?
Why ask it
A headhunter with a narrow desk knows the salaries, the people and which employers are worth joining. A generalist can still place you, but weigh their market advice accordingly and ask for two recent searches that resemble this one.
How long have you been recruiting in this field, and how long at this firm?
Why ask it
Years on the same desk mean relationships with hiring managers that outlast any one search. Someone a few months in may be working from a call list handed down by a senior colleague, which is fine as long as you know who actually holds the client.
Have you placed anyone at this company before, and are they still there?
Why ask it
Prior placements are the difference between a recruiter who knows the culture and one reading the same job description you can see. The second half matters more, because placements who left within a year tell you something about the environment.
What is your fee arrangement with the client?
Why ask it
Fees are commonly a share of first-year pay, though terms differ from firm to firm and some recruiters will not discuss them. If that is how this one works, the recruiter gains from a higher offer for you, but only if the deal closes. Remember that when the advice is to accept quickly.
Will I ever be asked to pay you for anything?
Why ask it
With a headhunter the hiring company normally pays the fee, so a request for money for registration, resume rewriting or coaching means you are dealing with a different kind of business. Career services can be worth buying, but they are not a search, so ask exactly what is being sold.
Is there a guarantee period if the job does not work out in the first few months?
Why ask it
Many search agreements refund part of the fee or rerun the search if a placement leaves early, though the terms are between the firm and the client. Where one applies, the recruiter has a stake in the job suiting you, which is why a careful one may talk you out of a role.
Does your firm also work for my current employer?
Why ask it
A firm that recruits for your employer has often agreed not to hire people away from it, and you would have no way of seeing that agreement. Better to find out now than after two rounds of interviews. It also tells you whether word of this call could reach people you work with.
Do you expect to be the only recruiter I work with?
Why ask it
Most headhunters do not ask candidates for exclusivity, and you are usually free to speak to several. What they do need is to know where your resume has already gone. Read anything you are asked to sign, and ask what it would stop you from doing on your own.
Could I speak to someone you have placed in a role like this?
Why ask it
Reasonable when you are choosing a headhunter to work with over months, heavy-handed on a single call about one job. A recruiter with a long record will know a candidate or two willing to describe how the process and the offer were handled.
If this role is not right, what else are you working on, and what would you keep me in mind for?
Why ask it
The answer shows whether you are a name for this one job or someone they would call again. Ask what kinds of searches usually reach their desk, and say what role, level and location would make you pick up next time.
Your details
Before you send my resume anywhere, will you check with me first?
Why ask it
Say this explicitly and get an explicit yes. Contingency recruiters sometimes blanket-submit candidates to establish a fee claim, which can burn you with a company you were already talking to and can leak your search to your employer.
Have you already submitted me anywhere, or presented my profile to any client?
Why ask it
Worth asking outright if you were contacted out of nowhere. If your name is already with a company you know, you need to sort out ownership now, since duplicate submissions can get a candidate dropped rather than fought over.
I applied to this company myself a while ago. Can you still put me forward?
Why ask it
An external recruiter is paid for introducing someone the client did not already have, and many agreements set a period during which an earlier application counts as the company's own. The length differs from one contract to the next, so give the date you applied and let the recruiter check before your name goes in twice.
Can I read the summary you send the client along with my resume?
Why ask it
Search firms often send a covering write-up, and it is the first thing the client reads about you. Asking to see it catches a wrong date, an inflated title or a salary expectation you never gave.
Will you change anything on my resume before it goes out?
Why ask it
Some firms move resumes onto their own template and remove your contact details, which is routine. Rewriting your achievements is another matter. Ask to approve the final version, since you are the one who has to defend it in the interview.
Who inside your firm will see my details, and how long do you keep them?
Why ask it
A big firm may hold your record in a database that every office and practice group can open, so a remark about why you want to leave can travel. Ask whether your file can be marked confidential, how long it is kept and how you would get it removed. Your rights over that data depend on the country, so ask how it works there.
How will you keep my current employer from finding out we have spoken?
Why ask it
Leaks tend to come from small things: a voicemail on a work line, an email to a work address, a resume passed to a client where your boss has friends. Agree on a personal number and email, and name any company or person your details must not reach.
At what stage will references be taken, and will you tell me before anyone is called?
Why ask it
A referee contacted too early may be the first person to learn you are looking. Find out whether the recruiter or the client makes the calls and what they ask, and get enough warning to brief each person yourself.
The process
How long can I take before I tell you whether I want to be considered?
Why ask it
An approach out of nowhere rarely needs an answer the same day, and a recruiter with a real shortlist date will simply tell you what it is. Take the evening to read the brief and talk to whoever else the move would affect. Pressure to decide on the call is more often about the recruiter's week than the client's deadline.
What is the interview process from here, and how many rounds?
Why ask it
Ask for the stages, who sits in each, and whether there is a case study, panel, or presentation. Six rounds over ten weeks is a real cost if you are employed, and it is fair to know before you take the first call.
Will you interview me yourself before you put me forward, and what will that cover?
Why ask it
On a retained search the headhunter interview is often a round in its own right: a long conversation about your career, the reason for each move and your results, written up for the client. Prepare for it as you would for meeting the employer, and bring your own questions while the recruiter has set the time aside.
Will I be asked to sit psychometric tests or an outside assessment?
Why ask it
Senior searches sometimes add a personality questionnaire, a reasoning test or a session with an assessor, and these can arrive late, when you already think of yourself as a finalist. Ask who sees the results and whether you get a copy, since a report about you is worth reading whatever happens with the job.
Who makes the final decision, and who else has a say?
Why ask it
On a senior hire the manager, their boss, a board member and an investor may each hold a veto. The list tells you whom you still have to win over, and a recruiter who cannot name the person who signs off has been kept at a distance from the client.
What is the client's timeline for an offer and a start date?
Why ask it
Ask what is driving the date: a departure, a budget year, a board meeting. A client with a real deadline moves interviews along, and one without may let the search drift for a quarter. Either way you learn how long you would be keeping this quiet at work.
How will you prepare me before I meet the client?
Why ask it
Preparation is where a well-briefed headhunter is most useful to you: who is in the room, what each of them cares about, what tripped up earlier candidates. If it amounts to a forwarded calendar invite, do your own research and assume their brief is thin.
Will you give me the actual feedback after each stage, including if it is unflattering?
Why ask it
Left alone, feedback after an interview often arrives as a polite non-answer, because the recruiter is softening what the client said. Asking for the real version in advance, and saying you will not take it badly, makes it more likely you get something you can use in the next round.
If the client goes quiet, what will you do, and when will you tell me it is over?
Why ask it
Searches stall for reasons that have nothing to do with you: a budget review, a reorganization, a first choice who is taking time to decide. Agree on a date after which silence means no, so you are not holding other options open for a role that has quietly closed.
If I take the job, will I hear from you after I start?
Why ask it
Some firms check in with both sides during the first months, which gives you someone with the client's ear if the job turns out different from the brief. Ask whether what you tell them at that point goes back to the client, because the client is still the one paying them.
What happens next, and what do you need from me in the meantime?
Why ask it
It ends the call on a concrete step and shows whether they mean to follow up at all. A headhunter who asks for an updated resume with numbers, or a list of companies you would and would not join, is planning to do something with your name, not just file it.
How to Work with a Headhunter
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Handling the first call
You are not obliged to be a candidate yet
A first call can be exploratory on both sides. Say plainly that you are happy to learn about the role but are not in an active search and do not want to be submitted anywhere yet. Recruiters hear this constantly and a good one will respect it.
Do not lead with your salary history
If asked early, you can give a target for the new role instead of your current figure, and say it reflects the scope of the job described. Whether a recruiter or an employer may ask about pay history depends on the state or country, so check how it works where the job is. Either way, the first number mentioned tends to anchor the rest of the process.
Take the call somewhere private
Recruiters often ring during the workday. If you are at your desk or in an open office, offer a specific time later rather than stepping into a stairwell for a rushed conversation about leaving your job.
The questions headhunters ask you in their interview
- Are you open to hearing about something new? You can say yes without becoming a candidate. Ask for the company and the brief before you say how interested you are.
- What does your current job cover? They are measuring you against the brief, so give the team size, the budget, who you report to and one or two results with numbers.
- Why would you consider leaving? Talk about what you want next, not what is wrong where you are. Assume the answer will be repeated to the client.
- What are you earning, and what would it take to move you? Decide before the call whether you will share your current figure, and have a target for the new role ready. Whether a recruiter may ask about pay history depends on where you are.
- What is your notice period, and are you under a non-compete or a similar restriction? Answer exactly. A surprise here at the offer stage costs everyone weeks, and whether a restriction would hold is a question for a lawyer, not for the recruiter.
- Would you relocate, travel or change your office days? Say what is truly possible, not what keeps you in the running.
- Are you talking to anyone else, and has your resume already gone to this client? Answer the second part precisely. The first you can keep general: you do not have to name the other companies.
- Who else do you know who would be good for this? Asking for names is ordinary sourcing. You can decline, or offer to pass the recruiter's details along and let the other person decide.
- What would stop you from accepting if an offer came? A good headhunter asks this early. Mention a partner's job, a child's school year or a bonus date now, while there is still time to plan around it.
Retained and contingency, and why it changes your answers
- Retained: the client pays in stages whether or not a hire happens. The recruiter usually has exclusivity, a written brief and access to the decision maker, so their account of the role is usually the better informed one.
- Contingency: the recruiter is paid only on a placement and may be one of several working the same job. Speed counts for a lot, so agree your submission rules before your resume goes anywhere.
- Internal or in-house recruiter: an employee of the hiring company. They know the process well but represent the employer, not you.
- Staffing or contract agency: places temporary and contract workers, often at an hourly bill rate. Ask what they bill the client versus what you are paid if you go this route.
- If you cannot tell which type you are speaking to, the fee question sorts it out quickly.
Protecting your search
- Give written instructions by email after the call: no submissions without your approval, no contact with your current or former employers without permission.
- Keep your own list of which recruiter sent you where and on what date. If two recruiters submit you to one company, that list is what resolves it.
- Hold your referees' names back until a late round. They are useful contacts to a recruiter, and you want them called once, about a job you actually want.
- Be careful with the reason you are leaving. A candid complaint about your boss can travel further than you expect in a small industry.
- If a recruiter pressures you to interview for something you have declined, or gets your details in front of a client after you said no, stop working with them.
Reading the recruiter
Signs they have a real mandate
They name the client, know why the role is open, can describe the hiring manager's style, and are specific about the process and timeline. They also tell you when you are not a fit rather than keeping you warm.
Signs they are fishing
The role is described only in generalities, they push for your resume in the first two minutes, they ask a lot about who else in your team is good, and they cannot say when the client last interviewed anyone. Sourcing calls are not always dishonest, but treat them as information gathering rather than an opportunity.