Where did we get the term 'headhunter' (proffesional employment searcher)?

Jack Flash

Headhunting relates to the seeking out of a person already in employment and offering him or her a post, usually at a higher level or salary. The agencies who do this are known as headhunters ie they are hired to find the best person for a particular job rather than simply select from candidates who have replied to a vacancy advertisement. In the light of this it seems that the expression is merely descriptive of this particular activity and has nothing to do with tribal practices in Sarawak where the term headhunting originated. Mar 06 02, 8:00 AM

Gnomon

I think the term has everything to do with tribal practises in Sarawak. The person who first used the term 'headhunting' would have been using it jocularly, well aware that both he/she and the audience knew the normal (tribal) meaning of headhunting. The use of the word caught on and eventually some people forgot the other use. This is the normal way that new words are invented. 'Surfing' the web for example is rarely now associated with standing on a surfboard, but originally it was intended to convey the idea of being on one wave for a few moments and then switching to another. People who have never been surfing just use it as the word for looking at stuff on the web now. The language is richer if you remember the original meanings while using the new ones. Mar 06 02, 8:26 AM

Jack Flash

Point taken, Gnomon. What I was trying to say was that headhunting as used nowadays hasn't naturally arisen from headhunting as practised by the natives in Sarawak. But of course the metaphorical sense is there, as you have said. Mar 06 02, 9:36 AM

Brainy Blonde

I agree with Gnomon, that it is derived from the tribal practices of the Sarawak and any other tribes in the world with this custom, past or present. It has just been applied to so called modern behavior in the corporate world. headhunter n 1: (informal) a recruiter of personnel (especially for corporations) 2: a savage who cuts off and preserves the heads of enemies as trophies. See: http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=headhunter and r=2 Mar 07 02, 5:01 PM