How do head hunters interview process work?

This is the first time I’ve been in an interview process with a head hunter. How do they typically work? After they feel you are a good fit, do they schedule the interview between the applicant and the firm, or do they select the applicant themselves? I just had one round of interview so far. What should I be expecting next?

Thank you guys for the help.

No, the final decision is with the firm. The recruiter interviews to see which are the best people they want to put in front of the company. Then they recommended to the company who they think are the best. It’s possible you could be a top pick of the recruiter, and don’t even get an interview with the firm. Once the firm says no to a candidate, the recruiter will probably start ignoring you completely. Remember, the recruiter only makes money by landing someone at the job,. So they only give a damn if you may have a shot

in my experience some of these headhunters will interview as many “heads” as they can lure off the internet with generic job postings just to build a database of potential hires.

so they might not even have a job or be representing an employer

^ Actually, that’s true as well.

Thanks guys for your advice. Looks like I won’t be holding my breath for this job haha.

On a related note, which area do you think would be more likely to lead to PE or VC. Value equity research or growth equity research?

VC is almost always a growth proposition, and growth ER is about trying to figure out what growth opportunities are real and what are just imagined.

As for PE, growth is probably a little closer, although the LBO people often take a value perspective.

Remember that growth investing is still about buying assets at a bargain price and selling those that are richly valued, it’s just that you are trying to find companies which are underpriced relative to their (harder to estimate) growth prospects.