canadian headhunter

Even Headhunters Get Cold Feet

The bane of every recruiters existence are two scenarios: The counter-offer acceptance where your candidate has accpeted an offer but then when he or she goes to resign the company makes a counter offer and the candidate accepts it.

The other is the fall-off (or fall-out as some recruiters call it). That is where the candidate accepts a job and starts working at the new company but after a short period of time returns to his or her old firm.

This is worse than a counter-offer acceptance in my book and most headhunters consider it to be very dishonorable. But it turns out even headhunters do it :

A week after well-known Houston recruiter Tom Simmons announced he was joining Korn/Ferry International as its new managing director, he changed his mind and returned to Spencer Stuart.

Simmons decided the challenge to build his one-time competitor wasn't for him after all.

Although Eric Nielsen who left Spencer Stuart to join Korn Ferry along with Simmons won't be changing his mind:

"I've made my decision and once you have walked across the bridge and become public with it, it's hard to go back with any credibility," said Nielsen.

My feelings exactly.