--- title: "Headhunting Candidates by Phone: the Method | Skipcall" description: "Approach an employed candidate by phone: discretion, a twenty-second opener, the right time, a voicemail that gets a call back, qualify without interrogating." url: https://skipcall.io/en/academy/recruiting/phone-headhunting language: en --- [Recruiting firms](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/recruiting) # Headhunting candidates by phone An employed candidate is not waiting for you and cannot speak freely. Phone headhunting is the art of getting a call back in twenty seconds without putting them in a difficult spot. 7 min +60 XP 1/2 [Academy](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr) 0 % Rookie · 0 XP ## A candidate is not a prospect like any other When you call an employed candidate, they may be in an open-plan office, next to their manager, or in a meeting. They can neither say “yes, I am looking” nor ask questions. The first rule of headhunting is therefore discretion: you name neither the role nor the client company in the first ten seconds, and you leave an immediate way out. “Hi, this is Thomas Berger from Talentis Search. I am calling about a confidential opportunity in your field. Can you talk for two minutes, or should I call you back at an easier time?” The candidate chooses, and you have already obtained the most important thing: a slot when they are free. ## The right time, and the voicemail Employed candidates pick up before 9am, between 12:30 and 2pm, and after 6pm: outside the hours when their manager sits next to them. The site’s “When to call” tool gives local time and the hours to avoid if you headhunt across borders. Tuesdays and Thursdays are often calmer than Mondays, but your own list will tell you. You will hit voicemail half the time. The message that gets a call back fits in fifteen seconds: your name, the firm, “a confidential opportunity in your field”, your number said twice, slowly. Not the role, not the salary, not “feel free to”. A text an hour later with the same words doubles the call backs. - Before 9am, 12:30 to 2pm, after 6pm: the slots where people talk freely. - Fifteen-second voicemail, number repeated twice, no detail on the role. - Follow-up text an hour after the message, same words. ## The conversation: qualify without interrogating On the call back, the candidate wants to know two things: which role, and why them. Answer in that order, in three sentences, then ask an open question: “What would make you look at an opportunity today?” The answer tells you whether they are listening, and about what: pay, scope, management, remote work, mission. Then qualify through conversation, not through a checklist: current situation, what they like, what is missing, constraints (notice period, location, current pay). A candidate who feels interrogated hangs up; a candidate who feels heard talks. ## The next step, and respecting the no The next step of a headhunting call is not an interview, it is a thirty-minute conversation at a time when the candidate is free, often by video in the evening or at lunch. Offer two slots, confirm by email with a ten-line description of the role, and be on time to the minute: you are judged on that. A candidate who says no is not lost: they know someone. “I understand. If you think of someone for whom this would be the right time, would you give me their name?” And log everything in the CRM: situation, motivations, call-back date. Today’s candidate is next year’s placement. ## Key takeaways - Discretion first: no role or company in the first ten seconds, and an immediate way out. - Call outside the hours when the manager sits next to them; a fifteen-second voicemail with the number said twice, then a text. - On the call back: the role, why them, one open question, then listen. - The next step is a thirty-minute conversation at a free time, confirmed by email. - A no is worth a referral and a call-back date in the CRM. ## Check what you remember Question 1 of 4 One correct answer per question. The explanation appears after your choice. What do you say in the first ten seconds to an employed candidate? ## Go further - [When to call your prospects Local time and hours to avoid, useful for cross-border headhunting.](https://skipcall.io/en/tools/when-to-call) - [Recruiting cold call objections What candidates and clients object, and how to answer.](https://skipcall.io/en/blog/recruiting-cold-call-objections) - [The twenty-second voicemail The SDR track exercise, timer and playback.](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/sdr/twenty-second-voicemail) - [Skipcall for recruitment firms How firms use the tool to headhunt and grow.](https://skipcall.io/en/solutions/recruitment-firms) A term you are not sure about? [The cold calling glossary](https://skipcall.io/en/academy/cold-calling-glossary)