Comparison of Recruiting Approaches

Acts as your in-house recruiter on a strictly as-needed basis.

You purchase a whole package of services or just individual pieces.

• We represent you and are incentivized to find the best possible candidate without inflating their skills or dismissing their shortcomings.
• Flexible process can be tailored to your needs; you buy only those services you need.
• Affordable - usually the most cost-effective approach.
• Inside knowledge of your organization for better candidate match and ability to sell your opportunity.
• Build strong internal relationships for maximum effectiveness.
• Unique recruiting tools provide greater insight into candidates and minimize valuable management time.
• You dictate the degree of due diligence.

• Some expense incurred even if you decide not to fill the position, or hire from another source.

One-size-fits-all approach. Will present candidates at no cost until hire.

• You pay nothing until you hire their candidate.
• May have a sizable database of candidates.

• Expense: typically 20% of 1st year's annual salary; may be as high as 30%. For a $50,000 job, that's $10,000 - $15,000.
• Conflict of interest: they represent both you and the candidate even though you are paying the fee.
• Incentivized to present their candidate in the best possible light.
• Business model designed for volume, not quality.

Hire a full-time staff member to do recruiting.

• Inside knowledge of your organization for better candidate match.

• Overhead expense whether you're hiring or not.
• Limited bandwidth-may not be able to cover the full range of your recruiting needs at any given time.

Pay a sizable retainer to a recruiter to work on your search (typically 30-40% of first year's annual salary).

• Extensive candidate screening.
• Represent your interests, not the candidate's.
• Typically, candidate is not actively looking so there are no competitive offers.

• Very expensive ($30-40K per $100K in salary).
• Typically defensible only for senior level executive positions or very rare skill sets.