noun/verb · neutral
headhunter
UK/ˈhɛdˌhʌntə/US/ˈhɛdˌhʌntər/HEAD·hun·ter
a recruiter paid to find suitable people for senior or specialist jobs
Examples
“A headhunter contacted me about a senior marketing role last week.”
“Start‑ups sometimes use headhunters to attract experienced executives from larger firms.”
“He was headhunted into a competitor, which surprised his colleagues.”
Band 8 sentence
“A good headhunter doesn't just match CVs to job specs; they persuade passive candidates to consider a move.”
Collocations
- be headhunted
- use a headhunter
Word family
Common mistakes
He was head huntered by a company.→He was headhunted by a company.
I called a head hunter for a job.→I called a headhunter about a job.
Say it for a higher band
5recruiter→6recruitment agency→7+headhunter
Synonyms
recruiter
Easily confused
recruiter
“The recruiter handled campus hires, while the headhunter targeted senior executives.”
Related words
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In Work & Career
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