Headhunting
Headhunting is the proactive recruitment of named individuals—typically employed elsewhere or not actively job-seeking—to fill a specific role. It comes up when you need niche skills, executive positions, or specialized roles in tight Swiss labour markets. Your main obligation is transparency: any headhunter or recruiter you hire must comply with Swiss data protection (revDSG) when contacting candidates. The most common mistake is using a headhunter without clarifying exactly which roles they're recruiting for, leading to wasted fees and confused candidates.
Headhunting means contacting and recruiting a specific person—by name—rather than posting an open job and waiting for applications. It's active recruitment, not passive. The headhunter (often an external agency or internal recruiter) identifies a target candidate, reaches out directly, and tries to interest them in a role.
In Switzerland, headhunting happens most in sectors with tight labour markets: tech, finance, specialized engineering, senior management, and healthcare. It's also normal for roles requiring 10+ years in a niche field, or C-suite positions where the candidate pool is tiny.
When you need headhunting
You typically turn to headhunting when a job posting alone won't work. This includes roles requiring rare certifications (CPA, specialized medical credentials), senior positions where candidates aren't browsing job boards, or niche technical skills (rare programming languages, process engineering for specific industries).
Headhunting also makes sense when you've posted a role for weeks with poor results, or when hiring locally (Zurich, Basel, Geneva) where good people aren't unemployed. It costs more than posting, but saves months of wasted recruitment time.
- Executive and C-suite roles (CFO, CTO, Head of Operations)
- Specialized technical roles (rare software stacks, blockchain developers, actuaries)
- Roles requiring specific industry experience or certifications
- Filling urgent gaps when standard recruitment has failed
- Building talent pipelines for future seasonal or growth positions
- Replacing a key employee who gave notice with a tight handover window
Your legal obligations
If you hire a headhunter—internal or external—they must follow Swiss data protection law (revDSG). This means they can contact candidates by phone, email, or LinkedIn, but must be honest about who they are and why they're contacting the person. They cannot lie about the role or employer.
You have no obligation to use a headhunter instead of posting publicly. But if you do, the headhunter's conduct is your responsibility. A lawyer should confirm the details of any headhunter contract, especially regarding data use and non-compete clauses in the role itself.
- Headhunters must clearly identify the employer and the genuine role being filled
- Candidates must be able to opt out of future contact (revDSG compliance)
- You remain liable if your headhunter breaches data protection or misrepresents the role
- No legal requirement to disclose salary bands in headhunting outreach, but transparency helps
- Headhunter fees are usually 15–25% of first-year salary for senior roles
- Written contract with headhunter should specify which roles they can recruit for
The most common mistake
You hire a headhunter without a clear brief. The recruiter doesn't know which role, what salary band, what seniority level, or how many people you want. This leads to wasted fees, candidates contacted for the wrong reasons, and frustrated job-seekers.
Also common: hiring the same headhunter for too many roles at once, then losing focus on priority positions. Be specific: give each headhunter one to three named roles, exact salary ranges (in CHF), seniority level (e.g., 8–12 years experience), and a firm deadline. Agree upfront on fees and who pays for initial candidate screening.
- Vague role descriptions ('senior engineer') instead of specific skills (Rust + PostgreSQL, 10+ years)
- Not setting a budget or fee structure before the search starts
- Using multiple headhunters simultaneously without coordination, causing duplicate approaches
- Failing to brief internal staff, so candidates get conflicting information
- Not defining 'success': how many candidates do you want? In what timeframe?
- Ignoring data protection: not clarifying how candidate data will be used or stored
Frequently asked questions
- Is headhunting legal in Switzerland?
- Yes, headhunting is legal and common in Switzerland. The headhunter must comply with revDSG (data protection) and be honest about the role and employer. They cannot harass candidates or misrepresent the job. Consult a lawyer about specifics in your canton and industry.
- How much does headhunting cost?
- Typical fees range from 15–25% of the hired candidate's first-year gross salary, though this varies by role and recruiter. Some charge a flat fee or hourly rate. Always agree on the fee structure in writing before the search begins, and clarify whether the fee is refundable if the hire leaves within a set period.
- Should I use an external headhunter or recruit internally?
- External headhunters are useful if you lack internal recruiting capacity, need niche expertise in a specific sector, or want access to candidates outside your network. Internal recruiting works better if you have stable roles, a strong employer brand, and can dedicate staff time. Many SMEs use both: internal for volume, external for specialist roles.
General information for Swiss employers, not legal advice. Have a lawyer confirm anything with legal consequences.