Headhunted - what are my chances?

[Howdoichangeanamehere]

So I have been headhunted by HR person from a very big company (think something like Google). I was very suspicious of scam, but turns out it's legit, I've applied through their official website and they have scheduled an interview with me next week.

Honestly, I don't look like the ideal fit for the job because I'm coming from a different industry, but the job sounds interesting and I really really want it. I have been looking for a new job in my industry for months and can't find anything, so I'm very much up to a change.
I'm doing my research/practice at home to ace that interview, however I sheepishly want some sort of external reassurance. 😂
Do you get better chances at landing a job if you have been headhunted by the company itself? What was it like in your experience if you have been headhunted?

I have only been headhunted once before (also by the organisation itself) maybe 7-8 years ago and guess what? They saw my profile on the recruitment site, asked for my CV, checked it and decided they didn't want me for an interview anymore. 😅

Well you have a slightly better chance than a randomly chosen applicant, because the recruiter thinks you meet the job spec and some applicants won't. Beyond that, it completely and totally depends on who else is in the frame. You could be the only viable candidate or there could be 50.

@SylvieLaufeydottir you're totally right. Fingers crossed there are not too many candidates

Over the last 10 years I’ve been headhunted by several companies. The memorable ones are:- 1st got the job and accepted- it was horrendous lasted less than a month. 2nd got the job, the salary wasn’t high enough, they increased by 25k but it still wasn’t enough, so I declined the post. 3rd and 4th interviewed and got to final stage but didn’t get them.

To me, headhunted means the organisation tracked you down specifically because you were the person they wanted to hire.

An organisation trawling through online profiles speculatively contacting people and asking them to apply for a job isn't headhunting. It's just recruiters being recruiters.

So you have the same prospects as anyone approached by a recruiter.

"To me, headhunted means the organisation tracked you down specifically because you were the person they wanted to hire.

An organisation trawling through online profiles speculatively contacting people and asking them to apply for a job isn't headhunting. It's just recruiters being recruiters."

I'd agree with that. It just means they have someone in-house that does the recruiter role. I would guess they're trying to build a short list, so if I had to guess your chances, I'd say 1 in 3 or 1 in 4.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone!
I've passed the 1st round and I'm on to the last one, let's see how it goes🤞🏻

Nobody probably cares but here's an update -

I didn't do well on the very last interview and there was a more successful candidate who had more experience than me (I didn't actually realise how senior the position was and somehow I skipped the salary bit in the job advert. Don't know how, don't ask me).
They still liked me enough to make another offer - a position not this senior but which nevertheless pays about 25% more than what I currently make. I have accepted and will be starting with them soon.💼

Ahh well done OP! Fortune favours the brave and all that. 🥳

I’m a headhunter!
I’d say a higher chance than a random applicant yes but the headhunter will have been tasked with finding a shortlist not just you. Unfortunately it can happen that they want good people to benchmark the internal candidate against. Not saying that’s the case here.

Congratulations OP! That's fab :)

Oh sorry didn’t RTFL- well done
and congratulations!