Corrections Policy

The standing rule

A figure appears on this site only if the source and the year can be named and the primary can be reached. Statistics that circulate widely in recruitment and careers writing have mostly never been traceable to anything, and several of them have been removed from this site for exactly that reason.

Figures retired from this site and never to be restated

• The claim that 70 to 80 per cent of jobs are never advertised. Traces to a regional United States survey from the 1960s and to 1970s careers literature. No robust modern study carries it.
• The claim that 85 per cent of roles are filled through networking. Traces to a 2011-era survey with no published methodology, and it has been widely misattributed to a LinkedIn data source that does not carry it.
• The claim that 80 per cent of people who accept a counteroffer leave within six months. Folklore, with no identifiable origin.
• Any return-on-investment multiple quoted against a fee. Removed as unevidenced.

These were live on Headhunters International material before July 2026. They came off. The pages that touched those subjects now argue the mechanism with no number in them, or with a figure that can be checked to a named source and a year.

How an error gets fixed

Report it to ross@headhunters-international.com. Acknowledgement inside twenty-four hours, or one working day. The claim is then checked against the primary source. If it is wrong, the page is corrected and a dated correction note is added at the foot of that page recording what was said before and what changed. Corrections are not made silently.

What gets a note and what does not

Spelling, punctuation, broken links and formatting are fixed without a note. Facts, figures, attributions, quotations, dates and names get a dated note every time.

Retraction

Where the error goes to the argument rather than to a detail, the piece comes down and a note stays at the URL explaining why.

Who decides