headhunt

verb

head·​hunt ˈhed-ˌhənt 

variants or less commonly head-hunt or head hunt

headhunted also head-hunted or head hunted; headhunting also head-hunting or head hunting; headhunts also head-hunts or head hunts

transitive + intransitive

: to recruit (personnel) especially for executive, elite, or specialized positions : to engage in headhunting

With access to an entire pool of resumes belonging to talented job seekers, hiring professionals are able to headhunt the perfect candidates to fill every vacancy.

—Stuart Gentle

Once an employee is trained, they either search elsewhere or are headhunted by other employers for their position.

—Christian Alejandro Ocampo

… covering everything from data analytics and stock market speculation to television, Bloomberg L.P. headhunts from campuses across the state.

—Noah Daly

He also plans to step up efforts to headhunt for the best and brightest at competing F1 [=Formula One racing] teams, like new technical director Steve Nichols, who was poached from McLaren.

—Jerry Garrett

Examples of headhunt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Corporates and industries headhunt good engineers and not many see a career path in global health. —Madhukar Pai, Forbes, 22 May 2022

More than that, the right perks can get employees to stay with a company while other businesses headhunt them. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 6 May 2021

Nonetheless, some with deep expertise in specific industries or corporate functions have thrived, says Nancy Garrison Jenn, who helps multinationals headhunt the right headhunters. —The Economist, 6 Feb. 2020

There have been headhunting expeditions against Bret Stephens, Bari Weiss, and Sarah Jeong, among others, and the Times mostly has held firm. —Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 27 Aug. 2019

Pay for the highest ranks could top $3 million this year, a few hundred thousand dollars more than a year ago, according to a survey by headhunting firm Options Group. —Gunjan Banerji, WSJ, 28 Nov. 2018

Following early success at EMI Classics, Foster was headhunted by Richard Branson to be the founding managing director of Virgin Classics, before going on to lead BMG Classics UK. —Regina Cho, Billboard, 26 Jan. 2018

Intelligence service offers ’exciting career change’ Facebook page has wider reach than website, Mossad says Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency is turning to Facebook for headhunting help. —Alisa Odenheimer, Bloomberg.com, 21 Dec. 2017

At the same meeting, a veteran teacher my school can’t bear to lose admitted he was being headhunted by a better-paying district close to his girlfriend’s house in Silicon Valley. —Andrew Simmons, The Atlantic, 28 June 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1969, in the meaning defined above