Tom Sorensen | NPAworldwide

A self-described “executive search” firm recently dropped this line that deserves a trophy for professional comedy:

“Real executive search firms advertise roles.”

I couldn’t believe it. Are you kidding me? Was it a joke? Perhaps beginners' ignorance and stupidity?

You can jump straight to the full blog - click here.

By that logic, the global giants of executive search, Egon Zehnder,  Heidrick, Korn Ferry, Russell Reynolds, Spencer Stuart, and even Thailand’s leading executive search firm, Tom Sorensen, are all fake. Their mistake?

They don’t post confidential CEO searches on LinkedIn under a stock photo of a handshake. Oh yeah?

That sentence alone, "real search firms advertise roles", tells you everything about the sad state of the recruitment market. Loud confidence. Zero understanding.

What was once a marker of senior expertise has become a misleading shortcut for self-promotion.

• Headhunting no longer signals expertise. It signals marketing. Headhunting was once earned. Now it is claimed.

The term “headhunter,” once a premier term, has been around for decades and is now being reused by people still learning the basics of recruitment.

When beginners use an old elite label to mask inexperience, the market pays the price. Clients struggle to tell the difference between real search and surface-level sourcing.

There is much more to read under the headlines below. Click here to continue reading.

• Headhunting was once a reputation you earned
• What real Executive Search looks like
• The dilution of headhunting by inexperienced recruiters
• Advertising is not evil but it’s not search
• The cost of confusion
• Who’s still doing it properly?