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The Headhunter's Edge
One of the world’s top headhunters reveals his most valuable techniques for getting the best jobs and finding the right people.
The most important thing you’ll ever do if you are trying to build, rebuild, or even turn around an organization is hire the best people—and keep them. Jeffrey E. Christian has learned this lesson by working on hundreds of executive search assignments and building his own headhunting firm into a nationally recognized company, one of the top ten in the nation. In The Headhunter’s Edge, he reveals his secrets for excelling on either side of the desk—as a leader trying to build a great company, or as a job seeker in search of the next big position.
In this practical manifesto, Christian shows how essential it is to have the most talented people on your side. But how do you find the best? And how do you become the best? Christian’s solution: Think like a headhunter. He gives readers the benefits of his twenty years of experience interviewing thousands of CEOs and potential CEOs, and tells you
• how to conduct an interview and spot great leadership qualities in job candidates
• exactly what to do and say to keep a valuable employee from resigning
• how to expand your network to find the best emerging talent
• key strategies and instructions for choosing and getting the most out of a search firm
• what it takes for ambitious and talented people to get noticed and get the next big job or promotion
Practical, impassioned, and wise, The Headhunter’s Edge is an indispensable guide to advancing your career—and making your business more successful and profitable.
From the Hardcover edition.
The most important thing you’ll ever do if you are trying to build, rebuild, or even turn around an organization is hire the best people—and keep them. Jeffrey E. Christian has learned this lesson by working on hundreds of executive search assignments and building his own headhunting firm into a nationally recognized company, one of the top ten in the nation. In The Headhunter’s Edge, he reveals his secrets for excelling on either side of the desk—as a leader trying to build a great company, or as a job seeker in search of the next big position.
In this practical manifesto, Christian shows how essential it is to have the most talented people on your side. But how do you find the best? And how do you become the best? Christian’s solution: Think like a headhunter. He gives readers the benefits of his twenty years of experience interviewing thousands of CEOs and potential CEOs, and tells you
• how to conduct an interview and spot great leadership qualities in job candidates
• exactly what to do and say to keep a valuable employee from resigning
• how to expand your network to find the best emerging talent
• key strategies and instructions for choosing and getting the most out of a search firm
• what it takes for ambitious and talented people to get noticed and get the next big job or promotion
Practical, impassioned, and wise, The Headhunter’s Edge is an indispensable guide to advancing your career—and making your business more successful and profitable.
From the Hardcover edition.
- GenresBusiness
272 pages, Hardcover
First published August 27, 2002
3 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 25, 2025
For a CEO the first 3/4ths of the book are the most important.
That said it boils down to: get the right talent in the right positions at the right time and let them do the work the right way!
However this has tons of interesting information from a retention plan to a counter offer plan which were both things we pulled insights from for our company.
Great read
That said it boils down to: get the right talent in the right positions at the right time and let them do the work the right way!
However this has tons of interesting information from a retention plan to a counter offer plan which were both things we pulled insights from for our company.
Great read
August 5, 2021
Read for work. Message is: success is ultimately about the best people. Helpful illustrations and questions.
June 12, 2019
A must read for search execs... but meh
Definitely packed with some great questions and specific insight on search and assessment strategies, but I found it to lack depth. A few paragraph summary of each chapter would have captured the vast majority of the value.
Definitely packed with some great questions and specific insight on search and assessment strategies, but I found it to lack depth. A few paragraph summary of each chapter would have captured the vast majority of the value.
August 28, 2012
Insightful book on how recruitment works. Inspiring in the way the author evangelises the importance of talents. I am a new convert. I have built my career on manipulating data into useful information and, occasionally, knowledge. After reading this book, I want to change my focus to finding great people and surrounding myself with them. One of those books that may trigger paradigm shift.
Want to read
November 27, 2008I want to know more about headhunter
December 28, 2013
Very interesting!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews