>> It's what the headlines would read if this was about a sports star.

This is probably the correct interpretation. "Poaching" seems to be the word used when a person is specifically targeted because of their experience. They're viewed as key, so it's not just good for the one hiring them, but bad for the company losing them. If you think of hiring as dragging a net through the water an sifting through the catch, poaching would be more like spear fishing.

Or it could just be sensational headline writing.