The selection and recruitment process of new staff can at the best of times be a lottery. Business Managers are often expected to select staff for recruitment on the strength of one of two short interviews/meetings. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.

When it doesn't it can be disruptive, costly and detrimental to a business particularly when we are talking about a SME rather than a large multi-national company. It is therefore hardly surprising that many companies are turning to the use of professional headhunting companies to carry out most of the groundwork and pre-qualification activities that form part of the recruitment process.

One such company which offers effective headhunting services is a Milton Keynes based concern called Aster Interim Solutions. Paul Wilson, Managing Director of Aster takes up the story. "A lot of business managers have the impression that headhunting is always an expensive option. In truth it can be if the client does not clearly specify their requirements. However, when the client does gives us a detailed person specification and job description we can not only save a lot of precious time in finding the right candidate but also tailor our costs to reflect the complexity of the search.

We also use psychometric analysis and job mapping on each headhunting assignment as screening techniques to maximise the chance of the interviewee being compatible with the clients' "ideal candidate profile". This ensures we not only present a shortlist of candidates to the clients who are technically qualified for the role but they are also more than likely to fit in with the clients