At a time when the market stands out for the high number of qualified professionals for the most diverse functions, it is increasingly relevant to ensure that we recruit or help to recruit the right professionals for the right place.

It is not just a process of matching technical skills and job requirements, but a more complex and profound process that implies a series of variables that must be considered with due time and attention. Our advisory often questions the way the team is organized, even suggesting changes to the structure, which can enhance the attraction of better talent.

Today, all stakeholders in the process, Recruiter and Candidate, must have a proactive role during the Recruitment process, both being responsible for its success. A successful recruitment process depends on the success of the position. The position success depends on a good recruitment process.

Headhunting: What is it and how does it work?

Headhunting (also known as Executive Search), can be considered as a more strategic form of Recruitment from Recruitment & Selection, since it is aimed at attracting talent for strategic positions and of great impact on organizations. Not being a recent methodology at all, it clearly differs from traditional recruitment, done through the job advertisement. The challenge is to attract talent through immersion in the market, making an exhaustive analysis of it, directly identifying potential candidates within the target sectors. Subsequently, it’s important to meet the best professionals in the market, in-depth and holistically, to select those who in addition to the match with the job description, meet the fit with the culture of the company in question.

In which sectors, and for which functions, is there a greater dynamic trough this recruitment?

Currently, the tourism, real estate and financial sectors are having a lot of dynamism. In functional terms, we witnessed a huge demand for people linked to the areas of Risk, Security, Digital Marketing, User Experience, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Business Intelligence. Human Resources and Internal Communication professionals have also been in high demand, due to the growing need for companies to retain and develop talent.

In terms of business, we will witness a profound transformation of the financial sector, with the emergence of Open Banks, mergers in the Insurance sector, and with the progressive growth of online sales channels, to the detriment of face-to-face channels. We will consolidate ourselves as a country that aggregates global service centers and witness the growth of some industrial hubs in the interior, center and north of the country.

How should the professionals who want to attract the attention of headhunters prepare (what characteristics should they gather)?

Careers have never been more diverse than they are today. The market is in complete flux of talent, more and more companies are looking for the right people for the right places. For this reason, it is essential that whoever thinks about changing their lives, think about what makes them happier, what makes them more fulfilled and where they can be of more value.

In this way, it is necessary to consider not only the technical skills, but mainly the motivations of each one. All people, without exception, face different moments during their professional career. There are challenges that bring more fulfilment than others; there are challenges that motivate new discoveries and professional preferences. There are times when personal life changes and gives another perspective on work.

In addition, changing careers may be an attractive challenge for some people, but for others, something that brings enormous discomfort. For this reason, it’s important to have the notion that these changes are increasingly common, and they bring benefits to both parties: company and candidates. For the former, when hiring new professionals, they are making the Organization gain other perspectives, skills and experiences, and for the latter, by accepting a new challenge - the most appropriate for them – they are getting fulfilled personally and professionally.


In any job search situation, a person's authenticity is central. This authenticity is inherent in the ability to make a prior critical reflection of the skills acquired in the various experiences (successful or not) of your personal and professional path, as well as an acceptance that each person has strengths and aspects to develop, liable to improvement. In this way, the exercise of personal reflection, the articulation of their experiences with the acquired learning, and being able to communicate them clearly, assertively and succinctly, in the context of an interview, is something that contributes to its success.


This was the reflection of our Partner Partner Filipa Leite Castro on Headhunting, for a special section of Jornal Económico. Full story here.