Хедхантинг
Headhunting
Headhunting is the search for and poaching of valuable specialists or partners from competitors through direct contact rather than open job postings.
What is Хедхантинг (Headhunting)?
Headhunting in high-risk verticals means the targeted search for people who already deliver results at other companies: team leads of arbitrage teams, media buyers, affiliate managers, payment compliance specialists, and product analysts. Recruiters reach them directly through messengers, LinkedIn, closed professional chats, and personal referrals.
## How it works
A recruiter or the employer builds a candidate profile: which campaigns and geos they ran, which networks and offers they worked with, and what experience they have with KYC verification, license checks, or ad moderation. This is followed by a careful first contact and an offer, often emphasizing a share of the results, better offers, or a flexible work format.
## Where it happens
In gambling and betting, companies poach employees of operators and affiliates who have working setups with specific game providers or licenses. In crypto and fintech, they look for people with AML experience and PSP work. In dating and nutra, those who understand platform requirements for moderation and supplement advertising are highly valued.
## What it affects
The departure of a key person can halt launches, devalue established setups, and lead to leaks of knowledge about traffic and schemes. That is why companies protect themselves with non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), retention terms, profit shares, and loyalty programs.
## Common mistakes
Poaching that uses a competitor's trade secrets, such as partner databases or internal reports the candidate has access to. It is also a mistake to promise compensation that does not exist in the real pay structure, or to skip checking a candidate's reputation: the industry is small, and past conflicts surface quickly.
A change of employer is legal in itself, but when non-compete and confidentiality agreements are in force, the risk of legal disputes is real. Before contacting a competitor's current employee, assess their contractual obligations.
FAQ
Is headhunting legal?
Searching for and inviting specialists is legal in itself. Risks arise if the candidate is bound by active confidentiality or non-compete agreements, or if the move involves using a competitor's confidential information.
How does headhunting differ from regular recruiting?
Regular recruiting relies on open vacancies and applications, while headhunting involves actively searching for specific people who already work in the industry and are not looking for a job themselves.
Why is headhunting common in traffic arbitrage?
A team's results often depend on a few key people and their setups, so poaching such specialists directly affects competition for volume and margin.