A recruiting agency alternative for a hard to fill role
Job ads, a recruiting agency and a monthly search compared for one hard to fill role, and when the agency is still the right call.
A job post reaches people who are already looking. A recruiting agency reaches a wider pool but charges only when it fills the role, and carries the search for you. This finds every relevant person in your market, working or not, and takes care of reaching them, so your team only takes the interviews.
| Criterion | Job ads | Recruiting agency | SkavanderHR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it reaches | People who are actively looking and happen to see the post | People who are actively looking, through the agency's own pool | Every relevant person in the market, working or not |
| What your team does | Writes the post, waits, and screens whoever applies | Briefs the agency and waits for a shortlist | Only takes the interviews |
| How you pay | A listing fee, whether or not anyone good applies | A share of the first year's salary, only if they fill it | A flat monthly amount per role, cancel any month |
| When it is the right choice | A common role with plenty of active applicants | A senior or confidential search where you want someone else to carry the whole risk | A hard to fill role that job ads have not solved |
| Time to first interviews | Weeks, if the right person applies at all | Weeks to months, depending on the agency's own pipeline | Within two weeks |
When the agency is the right choice
An agency is the right call for a senior or confidential search, where you want the whole risk, the negotiation and the shortlisting carried by someone else, and you are comfortable paying for that only once it lands. It is also the natural choice for a single hire, not an ongoing need, where setting anything up yourself is not worth it.
When this is the right choice
This is the right call when the role has been open for a while, job ads have brought nobody worth interviewing, and the people who fit are the kind who do not apply to posts because they already have a job. It also fits when the search is not a one off: a monthly amount, cancel any month, suits a role you expect to be filling again.
If we would be a fit, we will bring a shortlist of the best few candidates for your role to the call.
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