Head Hunters in Indonesia: How to spot Real from Fake 🤥

Fake Head Hunter

One of my daily life frustrations, as a pioneer Executive Search Head Hunter in Indonesia, is seeing low cost Recruitment Agencies continually pop up… and Falsely promote themselves as “Head Hunters” 🤮.

They just love the word 💓. It seems that every type of “Recruiter” in Indonesia thinks they are a “Head Hunter”.

I believe Indonesia Recruitment Agencies don’t actually realise that they are totally misusing the title “Head Hunter“, as it is still such a young industry locally…

But the knock-on effect is total market confusion and big headaches for a 100% authentic Real McCoy Executive Search Head Hunter Agency like ProCapita.

Recruitment Agencies 🐈 and Headhunter Firms 🦁 are very different beasts.

Each follows its own distinct recruitment methodologies and process.

Recruitment Agencies are great when you want to fly Budget ✈️, need to hire at the Junior or Mid Level – where “speed” and “general fit” are the ultimate priorities… and Active Job Seeker Candidates identified via Online Job Ads are more than enough ✅.

An Executive Search Head Hunter Firm on the other hand is required when you want to fly Business 💼, when you must hire “the Best of the Best Senior Talent possible”

And when 99% of qualified candidates are happily employed.

A Head Hunter is a company’s weapon of choice 🥷🏻 when facing any senior, complex or critical hiring need that requires an “ideal fit”, access to Passive Candidates, total discretion and confidentiality.

When the candidates of most interest are employed, require a lot of personal focus to get excited & motivated to explore a new job opportunity… and successfully close.

When the candidates of most interest are NOT looking for a new job on LinkedIn, because they are busy working.   

Naturally Recruitment Agencies are Much Cheaper to Use than a Real Headhunter Agency… because they do much less! ⬇️

It is Very Wrong for a Budget seat to be Falsely marketed as Business class – as people start to have No Clue… is this “Real Business” or “Fake Business?” ✈️.

And at that point the focus becomes Cost Alone…. Low Cost Recruitment Agencies are used to do a Head Hunters job…

Critical leadership roles remain vacant for huge periods of time…

A company’s brand name simply declines ⤵️ in the market.

So, do you want to know a quick tip 💡that will allow you to spot a real McCoy Head Hunter Company in a flash

And also… what is just a Normal Recruitment Agency hiding under a FAKE linguistic disguise 🥸?


This is the magic 🪄 1 second rule to decipher “Business” from “Budget” in Indonesia Executive Recruitment, a country where every “Recruiter” is happy to use the term “Head Hunter”: 

𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 Publicly 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐉𝐨𝐛 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧, 𝐉𝐨𝐛 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐏ortals, 𝐨𝐫 on 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞…

𝐈𝐬 𝐚 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐓𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘.

They are Not a Head Hunter Company

If you go to any country with a deeply established Head Hunter industry, you will see that 𝐍𝐎 Executive Search Head Hunter Firm would ever market it’s client vacancies in Any Type of Public Forum.

Why? Because it simply isn’t Executive Search Head Hunting Etiquette or Work Methodology; We always sit quietly, 100% behind the scenes…

Because you Can Not Hunt the King of the Jungle… Top Tier Senior Candidates… while walking through the trees, screaming on a Loudspeaker “Hello hello, come to me!”.

What Are The Big Benefits Of Using A Real Head Hunter Company

VS a Low Cost LinkedIn Recruitment Agency?

Benefits of Using a Real Head Hunter
  • Access to Top Talent: A Head Hunter has a vast, fully comprehensive network of candidates. This “deep network” allows them to instantly & directly tap into a pool of highly qualified passive candidates, people that are a great fit for their clients needs.
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  • These senior professionals are – 99% of the time happily employed – they are not looking for a new job.
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  • In essence a Head Hunter gives client companies access to Grade A executive talent fast, people that LinkedIn Job Ads would never reach or excite.
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  • The opposite is actually true, senior candidates interpret public LinkedIn Job Ads as a very cheap, tacky way to recruit for key leadership talent, it just smells desperate. They want to work for firms that take their Executive Recruitment Seriously.
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  • Executive Recruitment Expertise: Head Hunters are experts in their field and have a deep understanding of Start-to-Finish executive recruitment best practices, process management, general market conditions.
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  • They provide invaluable insights and advice to both their client company and all senior candidates involved in their executive recruitment process, they guide all parties… which drastically helps to make a Key Hire of Value Actually Happen.
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  • A Head Hunter only uses Professional, Direct Approach Candidate Marketing: Head Hunters target and then directly approach all relevant candidates, they NEVER use Pubic Online Job Ads.
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  • That means that employed “passive candidates” learn about a clients job vacancy, people that would never otherwise hear about a company’s opportunity. Typically it is passive candidates that are actually needed by a business for any senior Key Hire of Value.
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  • Time and Cost Savings: Recruiting for high-level positions can be very time-consuming and in turn a very costly process. Having key senior positions left vacant for months and months on end costs a huge amount of $’s in terms of opportunity cost.
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  • Head Hunters take on the burden of sourcing and screening candidates fast, saving their clients a lot of time and in turn money. 
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  • Companies that “try to do it themselves” will usually fail, waste months and then finally ask for a Head Hunters support. You should partner with a Real Head Hunter from Day 1.
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  • Confidentiality: In a lot of cases, businesses do Not want to publicly advertise their high-level job vacancies. They do Not want the market to hear that they are hiring.
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  • A Head Hunter is their Trusted Partner, they work 100% behind the scenes, discreetly maintaining confidentiality throughout the executive recruitment process. They quietly approach and manage all potential candidates, protecting their client and candidates reputation and privacy.
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  • Negotiation Assistance: Head Hunters are skilled negotiators and can assist with salary and benefit negotiations between a client and a selected executive candidate. This helps to ensure that both parties are satisfied with the terms of the financial offer and that a successful close can actually be reached.
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  • Strategic Advice & Guidance: A Head Hunter will understand their local market inside out, they will talk and think like the people that actually work in their clients industry. They understand their clients industry.
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  • They will offer deep local market expertise and guidance. They will work relentlessly, providing balanced logical commentary… to keep both their client and executive candidates on track, to help ensure a successful outcome.

List of Real Head Hunter Companies in Indonesia

Headhunter Company in Indonesia

There are very few Real Head Hunter Companies operating in Indonesia, businesses that provide Old School Direct Approach Only Head Hunter Services.

But there are countless Recruitment Agencies that falsely call themselves “Head Hunters”…

3 market leading Head Hunter Companies are:

1) ProCapita Headhunter Indonesia

ProCapita Headhunter Indonesia has been operating since 2014 & has completed 1,000+ Executive Level Hires.

It is Jakarta’s real McCoy Head Hunter Company.

Led and managed by James Umpleby, a British national who has been leading Indonesia Executive Search Recruitment since 2010.

Prior to establishing ProCapita, James was a Senior Business Leader at Korn Ferry International, the worlds largest Retained Only Executive Head Hunter Firm, based in Jakarta.

James’ mission is simple – to make Indonesia Executive Recruitment Simple.

ProCapita offers companies senior, highly experienced Head Hunter Consultants that have closed executive hires across all industry sectors and for all job functions in Indonesia.

They are masters of the art of Indonesia Executive Recruitment.

ProCapita’s Professional Network is the largest in Indonesia, standing at 450,000+ Executive Level Candidates.

ProCapita offers Success Fee Only Executive Recruitment Head Hunter Services in Indonesia (Contingency) and can assist businesses that need to hire from the C Level down to the Manager Level.

2) Korn Ferry International

Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm that offers executive search head hunting, leadership development, and other talent management solutions.

Korn Ferry has been operating in Indonesia since the 1990’s.

They have a team of highly experienced Head Hunters who specialize in various industries and functions.

Their Head Hunters come from professional corporate backgrounds and understand their industry of focus very well.

Korn Ferry offers Retained Only Head Hunting Services in Indonesia.

3) Egon Zehnder

Egon Zehnder is a global leadership advisory firm specializing in executive search head hunting, leadership development, and board consulting.

They have a team of highly experienced Head Hunters who work closely with their clients to identify and attract top talent in Indonesia.

Their Head Hunters come from professional corporate backgrounds and understand their industry of focus very well.

Egon Zehnder offers Retained Only Head Hunting Services in Indonesia.

ProCapita – Indonesia’s Top Ranked Head Hunter Agency

ProCapita Headhunter Indonesia is Jakarta’s leading Executive Head Hunter Agency.

ProCapita are local market Executive Head Hunter Experts; your trusted partner for securing top talent in Jakarta and across Indonesia.

Having completed 1,000+ Head Hunter Hires since 2014 and with an unmatched understanding of the local Indonesian market and a vast network of professional connections…

ProCapita excels at delivering tailored executive search head hunter solutions that align perfectly with any client company’s specific needs.

Do You Need to Hire Senior Talent in Indonesia?

Please Contact ProCapita Headhunter Indonesia

Your Partner for Success

To learn more about our Head Hunter Services in Jakarta and Indonesia, how our executive head hunters can help your organisation to find, attract and secure top tier senior talent, please Contact ProCapita.

Senior Executive Head Hunter shall respond shortly.

While you are here, for businesses that are looking to make a Senior Appointment in Indonesia, please have a look at This Article which gives an overview about why so many companies Fail when they perform Indonesia Executive Recruitment.

Similarly, please check out This Article which gives our Head Hunter Tips on how to successfully handle a C-Level Hire in Indonesia.

And if you want to read more about the BIG Differences between a Head Hunter Agency and a “Normal” Recruitment Agency please have a look at This Article.

James Umpleby, MD & Owner of ProCapita, Indonesia's Top Ranked Head Hunter Agency
James Umpleby, MD & Owner of ProCapita, Indonesia’s Top Ranked Head Hunter Agency
ProCapita Indonesia