Finding the right people to work on multimillion-pound projects in the defence sector can be difficult, such is the level of competition for highly-skilled technical workers and well-connected commercial staff. As a result, companies looking to sell products and services to the Ministry of Defence and foreign governments often use defence industry headhunters to recruit the best individuals.

Executive search firms offer a different kind of service from standard recruitment agencies. Fees are typically charged in three parts - a retention charge to take on the assignment, an instalment on the presentation of the interview shortlist and the balance when the successful candidate begins work - and are usually calculated at a higher percentage of the salary than mainstream employment agencies would use.

In return for the expense, employers can expect a professional service that sees headhunters using their long established relationships with candidates in the defence industry. As they already know individuals with the right skills and excellent track records, headhunters are able to make informal approaches to senior staff who are not necessarily actively searching for a new job to ascertain their level of interest and what kind of package they would require. This usually means the final shortlist for interview is very strong.

When working on vacancies for programme, risk, project or business development managers and directors in the defence industry, headhunters may also use an advertised selection approach. This involves placing recruitment adverts on behalf of the client, handling the response, carrying out a screening process and drawing up a shortlist of the best candidates.