Are you confused by the difference between executive recruiters and recruitment agencies? If yes, you are on the right path. You are not alone in facing this issue. Many people who are working within the staffing industry have frequently used these terms interchangeably.
However, recruitment agencies and executive recruiters have the same objective- finding the right person for the proper role at your company. But still, there are subtle differences between their business models and working style. Keep reading this article to explore all the critical differences between executive search firms and recruitment agencies.
Executive Recruiters and Recruitment Agencies: What do they do?
Executive recruiters are responsible for introducing highly qualified candidates to companies. They usually seek out people for senior, executive and highly specialized posts. They make sure that the candidates they are recruiting must meet the client firm’s needs.
Executive recruiters act as the third party agency acting as an intermediary between the candidate and company looking for some recruitment. They carry out screenings to ensure that only suitable candidates are recruited in any company. Moreover, they hold the negotiation and encourage the candidates to accept the job role.
On the other hand, recruitment agencies are also responsible for finding and matching candidates for a given position. They are known for directly working with companies to fill open positions within a company.
They are third party agencies offering services like pre-screening candidates and facilitating the interview process.
Executive recruiters vs Recruitment agencies
They both may deliver similar services. But still, there are specific points that differentiate between both the terms. Let’s start discussing those points.
1. Job Hunting
Executive recruiters play an active role in introducing talented professionals to a company. They are known for filling specialized job roles that can’t be filled by using traditional recruitment techniques.
On the other hand, recruitment agencies plan a passive role in finding candidates for a company. They used to post the job opening ads on various social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, job portals, newspapers or magazines.
2. Process of matching candidates
Both executive recruiters and recruitment agencies have different processes of finding and matching candidates. Recruitment agencies use a passive search strategy like advertising as position, collecting CV’s in bulk and contacting job seekers.
On the other hand, executive recruiters adopt a more active approach to finding suitable candidates, like applying a more organized and systematic approach. They use a complex market mapping exercise to create a list of candidates.
They start shortlisting the list of candidates to select one or two candidates that meet the organization’s needs.
3. Types of candidates
The type of candidates they prospect is another crucial difference between both terms. Recruitment agencies usually recruit active candidates with a prepared CV who want to switch positions.
On the other hand, executive recruiters seek passive candidates who are not actively looking for a job. The executive recruiters used to attract those candidates and convince them about accepting an attractive job offer.
4. Job roles
Recruitment agencies are often introducing candidates with a broad skill set for filling different positions. They used to look for candidates with job profiles like non-executive positions, less specialized skills and did not require any specialization.
On the other hand, executive recruiters are responsible for seeking candidates with a specific skill set like technical skills, executive-level positions, hard to find jobs and business-critical positions.
5. Extent of relationship
Recruitment agencies usually work on a role-by-role basis and do not form a long term relationship with employers. They acquire flexibility in selecting a recruitment agency for which candidates are not specialized.
Executive recruiters have an enduring relationship with their candidates. But it is not the case every time that recruiters are recruiting highly-qualified and skilled candidates meeting the job requirements.
Wrapping up
Recruiters are like the backbone of the staffing industry by doing the fantastic job of finding and placing thousands of candidates in various roles. We hope the information outlined in this article will help you know the difference between executive search firms and recruitment agencies.
