Inverse Headhunting for executives
Your next position does not start with a job advertisement.
NAKAMA takes on your systematic search across the hidden job market.
We sharpen your positioning, map your target market and identify suitable companies and the relevant decision-makers. The first contact is made without your name by NAKAMA or in your own name; you decide before the approach begins and can change this later. Your identity and full documents are only disclosed with your explicit consent.
A personal, fixed-fee engagement for C-level executives and experienced leaders with a target total compensation of around 200,000 euros or more.
Not success-based placement, but personally managed consulting: opening up your target market, positioning you convincingly and supporting you through to your decision.
Why the next position rarely starts with a job advertisement
A significant share of leadership positions is never publicly advertised. New roles emerge through growth, transformation, investments, succession planning or changes in the leadership team, often long before a formal search process begins.
Traditional headhunters only partly solve this problem for you. They work on behalf of a company and approach you when your profile fits a specific brief.
Your personal network can open doors. Yet it rarely maps your relevant target market completely and does not automatically reach the decision-makers who determine your next position.
Inverse Headhunting reverses the direction of the search: you do not wait to be found. You decide in which market and at which companies you want to become visible.
What does Inverse Headhunting mean?
In classic Executive Search, a company commissions a search firm to fill a specific position.
With Inverse Headhunting (also called reverse headhunting), the executive commissions NAKAMA to identify suitable companies and career options and to open up the hidden job market systematically.
Before the approach begins, you decide how the first contact is made, and you can change this later: without your name by NAKAMA as the consultancy engaged by you, or in your own name. Without your name, we describe your executive profile, your business contribution and the responsibility you are looking for, without revealing your identity.
If a company shows genuine interest, or a current or foreseeable need exists, we inform you about the response. You then decide whether your name and full documents may be passed on.
You decide which companies you talk to and when you put your name to it.
Classic headhunting
- the company is the client
- the search is for an already defined position
- the headhunter represents the interests of the company
- candidates are approached when their profile fits the brief
Inverse Headhunting
- the executive is the client
- the search is for suitable companies and career options
- NAKAMA works in the interests of the executive
- relevant decision-makers are approached individually, without your name or in your own name
NAKAMA searches on your behalf for the right entrepreneurial environment.
Who is Inverse Headhunting right for?
Inverse Headhunting is aimed at C-level executives and experienced leaders with a target total compensation of around 200,000 euros or more who do not want to leave their next career step to chance.
An engagement can make sense if you
- want to make a discreet move out of an existing position,
- are looking for new responsibility after a separation,
- are not reaching the right options through job advertisements and your existing network,
- want your target market opened up systematically,
- need access to owners, managing directors, supervisory boards, advisory boards or investors,
- are looking for an experienced partner to take on the operational work behind your search.
The engagement is not right for every starting position. Before working together, we use your LinkedIn profile, your objectives and the current market situation to assess whether we can realistically achieve something for you.
If goal, profile and market do not fit together, we tell you so before you commission us.
What NAKAMA takes on for you
Positioning
We develop your Executive Value Proposition and USP and define your target roles, sectors, geographies and priorities.
The result is your written Executive Dossier, setting out your Executive Value Proposition, ideal role profile, company environment, ownership structure, region and remuneration range.
Executive profile
Together with you, we develop your executive profile, personal brand and core messaging, based on your Executive Dossier.
This includes your Executive Brand, Executive CV, Executive Story and LinkedIn profile, plus English versions and a draft employment reference where needed. On request, we build your personal website together.
Target company research
Bespoke research building on your positioning and executive profile. We analyse the market to identify target companies and relevant decision-makers aligned with your positioning and search criteria.
The selection is based not on published job advertisements but on your target profile, the company’s situation and a clear rationale for each approach.
Discreet approach
We develop an individual approach for each prioritised company. Before it begins, you decide whether it is made without your name by NAKAMA or in your own name; you can change this later.
Without your name, we work with a pseudonymised executive profile that contains neither your name, your current employer nor clearly identifying details.
The aim of the first approach is to establish whether a current or foreseeable need exists and whether there is interest in a confidential conversation.
Feedback & next steps
We review the feedback and options with you and jointly agree the next steps for each target company.
Your identity and full documents are shared with a company only with your express approval. You decide whom you speak to.
Preparation for interviews and negotiations
We prepare you for interviews, stakeholder conversations and negotiations.
Before relevant conversations you receive a company dossier. Afterwards we reflect on the conversation, your positioning and the strategy ahead. When offers arrive, we support you with assessment, compensation and contract negotiation.
Two routes into your target market
Systematic approach to selected companies
Based on your target profile, we develop a longlist of relevant companies and condense it into a prioritised shortlist.
For each prioritised company we examine possible points of connection, identify the responsible decision-makers and develop an individual approach.
Before the approach begins, you decide whether the first contact is made without your name by NAKAMA or in your own name; you can change this later. Your name and full documents only go to a company with your approval.
Access through the NAKAMA network
From 25+ years in Executive Search, NAKAMA has long-standing relationships with companies, hiring decision-makers, private equity and venture capital investors and their portfolio companies.
Even with contacts from the NAKAMA network, your profile is not disclosed without your prior consent. Where a personal introduction seems worthwhile, we first agree the company, the contact person and the approach with you.
Access through the network complements the systematic company approach. It does not replace it and cannot be planned or guaranteed at will.
How your engagement runs
Phase 1
Initial consultation & proposal
A complimentary initial consultation of around 45 minutes, based on your LinkedIn profile. We explore your current situation, objectives and market prospects.
Outcome: a candid assessment and, where there is a strong fit between your objectives, profile and the market, a tailored proposal.
Phase 2
Positioning
Developing your Executive Value Proposition and USP, and defining your target roles, sectors, geographies and priorities.
Outcome: your written Executive Dossier covering your Executive Value Proposition, USP, target market and remuneration range.
Phase 3
Executive profile
Developing your executive profile, personal brand and core messaging, based on your Executive Dossier. On request, we build your personal website together.
Outcome: Executive Brand, Executive CV, Executive Story and LinkedIn profile.
Phase 4
Target company research
Bespoke research building on phases 1 to 3. We analyse the market to identify target companies and relevant decision-makers aligned with your positioning and search criteria.
Outcome: longlist, prioritised shortlist, identified decision-makers and a clear rationale for approaching each company.
Phase 5
Discreet approach
Direct approach to potential decision-makers, either in your name or using a pseudonymised profile. The choice of approach is yours.
Outcome: your profile reaches the decision-makers at your target companies, in both the advertised and the hidden job market.
Phase 6
Feedback & next steps
We review the feedback and options with you and jointly agree the next steps for each target company.
Outcome: clarity on which opportunities to pursue and how to proceed.
Phase 7
Interview & selection process
We support you throughout the process, from interview preparation and post-interview debriefs through to the final decision.
Outcome: a dedicated, experienced sounding board throughout the interview and selection process.
A clear brief. Operational delivery. No false promises.
Inverse Headhunting is an individually managed, fixed-fee engagement.
NAKAMA takes operational responsibility for positioning, the executive profile, target company research, individual approaches, the review of feedback and interview preparation.
The fee remunerates these agreed services, not the conclusion of an employment contract.
A new position or a specific number of interviews cannot be guaranteed. No credible provider can make binding promises about decision processes, changes within companies or the market’s response.
We do not guarantee a position. We guarantee a clearly structured, individually developed and consistently managed process.
If you prefer to drive your own career transition with strategic guidance along the way, Executive Career Coaching is the better fit.
What you gain from this engagement
- A positioning that holds. You gain clarity about the business contribution you make, the situations in which you are particularly relevant and how to convey this convincingly to decision-makers.
- Transparency about your target market. You receive a structured map of relevant companies, possible conversation triggers and the responsible decision-makers, instead of relying on chance advertisements.
- Targeted access to decision-makers. Your documents are not distributed at random. The approach is individual, controlled and made at the level where new leadership responsibility is actually decided.
- Access to the hidden job market. A significant share of leadership positions is never publicly advertised. Through the discreet direct approach and the NAKAMA network you reach options that never become visible through job advertisements, often before a formal search process begins.
- A better basis for your decision. Not every position on offer is a good position. We look at the role, the environment, the ownership structure, expectations and development perspective, so that your next role does not become a costly wrong move.
Why NAKAMA?
- The Executive Search perspective. 25+ years in Executive Search, 20,000+ interviews and 5,000+ placements across Europe shape our view of positioning, selection processes and market requirements. We know how search mandates come about, who awards them and on what criteria decisions are made, long before a position becomes publicly visible.
- The inside view of hiring companies. 15+ years in global talent acquisition leadership. We know first-hand how companies reach their decisions.
- Coaching expertise. 10+ years of Executive Career Coaching, certified as a career and business coach and LINC Personality Coach.
- Understanding of companies and investors. NAKAMA works for companies, growth-oriented organisations, investors and portfolio companies. We therefore know not only the candidate side but also the situations in which new leadership positions emerge.
- One-to-one support. Positioning, target market, documents and approach are not passed between rotating project teams. You receive direct, one-to-one support from the initial consultation to your decision, with a consistent assessment and a clearly accountable way of working.
- Bilingual outreach. For international target companies, we develop your executive profile and your outreach in German and English. Not as a literal translation, but tailored to the respective addressee and company context.
- Human-led AI. AI adds speed and depth to research, market mapping and document development. It helps test your positioning and supports realistic simulations of decision-maker conversations. All judgement and decisions remain human-led.
A clear brief. A protected approach.
With Inverse Headhunting, you are the client. NAKAMA works on your behalf and in your interests.
For any specific appointment, we never charge both parties a fee.
If a potential overlap with an ongoing company engagement arises during the collaboration, we disclose it and agree the way forward with you before any approach is made.
Your career transition is treated confidentially. In an approach without your name, we work with an executive summary profile that contains neither your name nor your current employer.
Your name, current employer and full documents are only passed on to a company or decision-maker after your explicit consent.
In very narrow markets, even without your name and employer, it cannot be completely ruled out that individual contacts draw conclusions about your identity from the experience described. We discuss this risk with you before any approach.
What we need from you
A successful engagement needs your active involvement. This includes:
- completing the preparatory questionnaire in full,
- your active involvement in the positioning,
- preparing your responsibilities, achievements and key figures in a structured way,
- timely approval of documents and target companies,
- transparent feedback on conversations and reactions,
- openness to an honest assessment of your positioning and market opportunities.
The more complete your information and the faster your feedback, the more precisely we can open up your target market.
Duration
The engagement runs for twelve months and ends early as soon as you sign a new employment contract or an interim assignment.
Leadership moves at this level take time. Several months can pass between a first approach, several rounds of conversations and a contract decision.
If the first round does not lead to a new employment relationship or interim assignment, a second round is included at no additional fee, at the earliest sixteen weeks after the first approach begins. We review positioning and search criteria, extend the research and develop a further approach.
Scope, terms and fee are agreed transparently and bindingly before the engagement begins.
Not part of the engagement
Not included are:
- uncontrolled distribution of your profile to search firms,
- business portraits or video production,
- legal advice on employment contracts, liability or D&O,
- tax advice on compensation or the deductibility of the fee.
Where needed, we recommend specialised contacts from our network.
Frequently asked questions
What is Inverse Headhunting?
Inverse Headhunting is a consulting engagement commissioned by the executive for their career transition, also referred to as reverse headhunting. Instead of searching for candidates on behalf of a company, NAKAMA identifies suitable target companies, relevant decision-makers and career options in the visible and hidden job market on behalf of the executive.
Who is Inverse Headhunting suitable for?
The engagement is aimed at C-level executives and experienced leaders with a target total compensation of around 200,000 euros or more whose experience, objectives and market fit make a systematic direct approach worthwhile.
How is it different from a classic headhunter?
A classic headhunter is commissioned by a company and searches for a specific position. With Inverse Headhunting, you are the client. The search starts from your profile, your objectives and the companies that fit them.
How is it different from Executive Career Coaching?
In Executive Career Coaching, you develop your strategy yourself with professional guidance. With Inverse Headhunting, NAKAMA takes on substantial operational parts of the process for you, from research and documents to outreach and coordination.
How does the discreet approach work?
Before the approach begins, you decide whether NAKAMA makes the approach without your name or whether it is made in your own name; you can change this later. Without your name, we work with an executive summary profile. It describes experience, business contribution and the responsibility sought, but contains neither your name nor your current employer. Your identity and full documents only go to the company in question with your explicit consent.
Will search firms be contacted with my profile?
No. The engagement deliberately relies on the direct, controlled approach to selected company decision-makers and on suitable contacts from the NAKAMA network. Your profile is not distributed widely to search firms. Search firms are only contacted at your explicit request.
Can the engagement be run discreetly from a current position?
Yes. Target companies and addressees are agreed with you. Approaches are only made after your consent and without any public communication of your intention to move.
Does NAKAMA guarantee a new position?
No. NAKAMA guarantees neither an employment contract nor a specific number of conversations or offers. What is owed is the agreed professional service, not a particular market outcome.
How long does the engagement run?
The engagement runs for up to twelve months and ends as soon as you sign a new employment contract or an interim assignment.
How is the fee structured?
Inverse Headhunting is an individually managed, fixed-fee engagement. Scope, duration, payment terms and fee are agreed transparently and bindingly before the collaboration begins.
Whether this engagement fits your goal is something we clarify before the start.
The complimentary initial consultation takes around 45 minutes and is based on your LinkedIn profile. We explore your current situation, objectives and realistic fit in the market. If we are not convinced that NAKAMA can make a meaningful contribution for you, we will tell you so openly.