Marketing Consultant
Executive search
With many organisations increasingly reliant on strong product leadership to drive innovation, growth and customer success, hiring the right product management has never been more critical or more challenging.
This is where headhunters and executive search specialists come in.
But what exactly is a headhunter, and how do they work – especially when it comes to finding product leaders? This guide breaks down the role of headhunters in product management recruitment, explains how they’re paid and provides tips on when and how to engage them.
What is a headhunter?
A headhunter is a recruitment specialist who identifies and approaches highly-skilled individuals for roles, typically senior, strategic, or hard-to-fill positions. Unlike general recruiters who may rely on job boards and inbound applications, headhunters proactively seek out candidates, often those who aren’t actively looking for a new job.
Headhunters are often referred to as executive recruiters, and the process they engage in is known as executive search. Their work is especially valuable in competitive, fast-evolving sectors like product management, where top performers are rarely on the open market and demand far exceeds supply.
What do headhunters do in the product management sector?
1. They focus on strategic hiring
Headhunters are typically brought in to fill high-impact roles such as:
These positions require not only strong technical knowledge and leadership skills but also the ability to drive strategy, influence cross-functional teams, and deliver measurable business outcomes. Finding someone who can do all of that, and do it in your particular context, is a specialist task best handled through executive search.
Read our blog ‘How to hire a Product Director‘
2. They identify passive candidates
Many of the best product professionals are not actively job seeking. They’re embedded in successful teams, shipping high-impact features, and building long-term roadmaps. Headhunters use their networks, research tools, and industry knowledge to identify these individuals and initiate confidential conversations.
3. They tailor their search to your business
An experienced headhunter doesn’t just take a job spec and start cold calling. They work with hiring managers to understand your organisation’s goals, culture, challenges and stage of growth. Are you a B2B SaaS start-up looking for someone who can build from scratch? Or an enterprise looking to scale and streamline product operations? The right candidate profile will differ dramatically.
4. They manage the process discreetly
Product leadership searches often need to be handled confidentially, especially if you’re replacing an existing leader or making a strategic hire ahead of an announcement as part of an executive search. Headhunters, particularly those operating in executive search, act as intermediaries, maintaining professionalism and discretion on both sides.
Read our case study on placing a Product Director at evaluagent
How do headhunters get paid?
Headhunters are paid by the hiring company, not the candidate. There are two common fee structures:
1. Contingency search
In a contingency model, the headhunter is only paid if their candidate is hired. The typical fee is 20% to 30% of the candidate’s first-year salary. This model is more common for mid-level roles but can be used selectively at senior levels.
Pros: Lower financial risk for the company.
Cons: Less time investment and priority from the headhunter, as they only get paid on success. No ownership of candidates, who could therefore also be in multiple processes with other clients of the headhunter. Fewer project reviews, meaning the client isn’t able to influence how the search is being conducted.
2. Retained executive search
In a retained model, typically used for senior product hires, the company pays the headhunter an upfront fee, often in three instalments, to conduct a dedicated and exclusive search.
Pros: Focused attention, deeper research, better-calibrated candidates. The client has ownership of the candidates until they reject them, higher levels of accountability from the headhunter, more frequent reviews and ability for the client to influence outcomes.
Cons: Upfront cost, although often offset by better results.
3. Container model
This hybrid approach includes a small upfront payment, with the rest paid on placement. It combines elements of both retained and contingency search and is increasingly common in modern executive search.
Pros: Commitment from both sides, giving the headhunter motivation to prioritise the search, less financial risk upfront than a fully retained search.
Cons: Not all headhunters offer this model, may not include the same depth of research or exclusivity as a full retained search.
What should you look for in a headhunter?
Not all headhunters are created equal, especially when hiring in a complex field like product management. Here’s what to look for:
- Specialisation: Do they focus on product roles or technology leadership? Executive search is most effective when the partner deeply understands the discipline like Intelligent People a leading executive search headhunter in London specialising in the product management sector.
- Market knowledge: Can they speak fluently about product frameworks, methodologies, and team structures?
- Credibility: Are they known and trusted in the product community? Good headhunters are embedded in their niche. They should have a good selection of case studies and testimonials to review.
- Consultative approach: Do they challenge your assumptions, help shape the brief, and offer insight into the talent market?
- Transparency: A reliable executive recruiter shares salary ranges, outlines their process and communicates clearly from the outset.
What headhunters shouldn’t do
Some behaviours are clear red flags:
- Pitching roles without understanding your business context
- Failing to explain the brief, client or compensation
- Going silent after initial contact or failing to manage the process
In the world of executive search, professionalism and candidate experience are critical – especially when hiring people whose role will be to lead and inspire others.
What are the alternatives to executive search?
If you’re hiring a product leader and don’t want to engage a headhunter, your alternatives include:
1. In-house recruitment
For mid-level roles, your internal talent team may be able to source strong candidates. However, executive hiring often requires deeper networks and specialist assessment.
2. Referral networks
Tapping into your leadership team’s contacts can work – but this relies on a strong and relevant network, which many companies may not have in product.
3. Job boards and inbound channels
Senior product leaders are rarely actively looking and often don’t respond to public job posts. The best are typically found through targeted executive search.
Final thoughts: when to engage a headhunter
Hiring the right product leader is one of the most strategic decisions a business can make. If your role is critical, hard to fill, or requires a unique blend of skills and experience, partnering with a headhunter or executive search firm can significantly increase your chances of success.
Not only can they access a wider pool of talent, but they can also ensure you’re hiring the right person, not just the best available or on the market.
Looking to make a senior product hire?
At Intelligent People, we specialise in product-focused executive search, helping scaling companies find and secure world-class product leaders across the UK and Europe. Visit our I need to hire section to find out how we can support your next strategic hire.
