When is the last time you had a "grease monkey" work on your car? If you are under the age thirty-five, you might not know even know what a grease monkey is. In the interest of being respectful of all occupations and politically correct, employment terminology and colloquialisms are constantly evolving. You would never call your skilled auto mechanic a grease monkey. At least I hope not. It's just not done!

In the employment industry, there's one particular term that has equally negative connotations. So negative, in fact, that you shouldn't use it at all. The term is "headhunter." You might be surprised to hear this, as "headhunter" is such a commonly used word for executive recruiters. About the only people who don't use the term "headhunter" are recruiters themselves.

When I was an executive recruiter, this word really got to me. It got to my peers, too. Since I opened my resume writing firm some years ago, I haven't been much in the recruiting game. So, I spoke to a few of the current breed of recruiters to get their point of view. They all agree that using the term "headhunter" is a real no-no for job seekers.

What's Wrong with "Headhunter"?

"Being referred to as a head hunter is like calling an attorney an ambulance chaser," commented one recruiter who asked to remain anonymous. "It has a very negative connotation."

Recruiters never refer to themselves as head hunters and do their best to dispel the negative associations involved. In fact, objections ran so high that Headhunter.net, one of the biggest job boards during the dot-com boom, changed its name to get away from the negative connotation.

Webster's defines "headhunter" as "A member of any tribe or race of savages who have the custom of decapitating human beings and preserving their heads as trophies. The Dyaks of Borneo are the most noted head-hunters." Not a pretty picture. On the other hand, Dictionary.com defines "headhunter" as "A person who engages in headhunting; a personnel recruiter for a corporation or executive recruitment agency; an executive recruitment agency". Why the difference? And when did the terms evolve from recruiters to executive recruiters to headhunters?

Why Do People Say "Headhunter"?

While we can't pinpoint exactly when the terms shifted, it's a safe bet that the change in the corporate environment over the past twenty years had a lot to do with it. In the eighties and nineties when massive layoffs became common, recruiters would descend on downsizing companies' employees to find the best and brightest to place with other companies. The outplacement industry was born and recruiters became people who were, to some degree, associated with layoffs and aggressively hunting down unmoored professionals.

In addition to the negative association with layoffs, use of the term "headhunter" may be prevalent because most job seekers don’t understand how recruiting as a function works. So, job seekers' expectations of what a recruiter can and should do for them is often inaccurate. When job seeker expectations don't match recruiters' reality, feelings may get bruised and bad blood arises between the two. Some job seekers I've worked with in my resume practice come away feeling as if recruiters are "only in it for the money"; they seem uncaring, inhuman, and unprofessional. Such a negative impression is a direct result of misunderstanding how executive recruiting actually works.

Recruiters are paid by a company to find the very best candidate that fits the parameters of the job they're given to fill. Generally, recruiters from executive search firms (as opposed to in-house, corporate recruiters) are retained for filling job vacancies that are high-level or unique in some way. There is a common misunderstanding that the recruiter's fees actually come out of the selected candidate's salary. That is a myth. Recruiters are paid a percentage of the amount of a candidate's salary. For example, if a candidate is hired through a recruiter at a salary of $100,000, the recruiter is paid a percentage of $100,000 (it can be up to thirty-percent). That percentage does not come directly out of the candidate's salary, but is factored into the company's budget and paid to the recruiter as a fee.

Recruiters aren't sharks who descend on desperate job seekers or take advantage of them. A good recruiter would never place someone in an inappropriate job just for the commission. Instead, recruiters are professionals who are seeking the perfect candidate for the particular job they've been given to fill. As a job seeker, keep in mind that not every recruiter will have the perfect job at the perfect time when you, the perfect candidate, are looking. That does not mean the recruiter isn't good at their job or that you're not a strong professional. Understand that timing is everything and you will have a more positive experience working with recruiters throughout your job search.

As a job seeker, a great way to stick your foot in your mouth is to call a recruiter a headhunter to her or his face. Think about it – you wouldn't call an attorney an "ambulance chaser" or a psychiatrist a "shrink". Executive recruiters are professionals who keep our businesses growing with talented employees. As a job seeker, it's a smart move to cultivate relationships with good recruiters -- they can be fantastic resources as you build your career. Many recruiters have placed the same candidates in progressively higher positions based on these relationships. A partnership with an executive recruiter can really take you places.

Just remember - don't call them headhunters.