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Hiring top managers can be tricky, especially if the top candidates are employed by customers. 'We've
had recruitment firms offer their services, but they're too aggressive," says the president of a fat-growing technology consulting company. "We
weren't certain they'd be discreet, and their fees were ridiculous."
Instead, he assigned one of his own employees to be a part-time undercover headhunter. Company
executives make not of talented people they meet and actively maintain the contacts. When a positions opens, they pass the name to the
in-house headhunter, who makes the inquiry, using an obscure company name and a different phone number.
"Where we're unsure of our client's reaction, this is the best approach," says the president. "If we strike
out, nobody knows we called." Should the potential recruit be interested, the headhunter reveals his true employer. Then negotiations
begin in earnest.
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