1/3 of a year's salary (headhunter fee) is rarely justified by just sorting through resumes. The headhunter has to provide one of the following: 1) Confident

1/3 of a year's salary (headhunter fee) is rarely justified by just sorting through resumes. The headhunter has to provide one of the following: 1) Confidentiality in the search 2) Access to people not currently looking 3) Access to candidates that are perfectly suited for the job 4) Strategic advice For better or worse, most are only capable of #1. The ones that can do #3 and #4 are worth their weight in gold.