In the Recruitment sector there are two different types of organisations: Contingent Recruitment Agencies and Retained Executive Search firms. Contingent Recruitment Agencies work with employers who are looking for temporary staffing or permanent lower/middle-level roles such as graduates and mid-level managers. Retained Executive Search firms, also known as โheadhuntersโ work with employers who are looking for senior-level roles such as executive and non-executive roles.
Contingent recruitment agents create a link between clients and candidates and only receive a commission if their proposed candidate is hired. Essentially, they find people for jobs, and engage with candidates proactively seeking a new role. Clients will usually have multiple contingent firms working on one vacancy at a time, meaning that the project is not exclusive.
In a retained search, a portion of the payment is made up-front as clients have agreed to only work with one firm for the appointment; typically, an exclusive search. Here, typically firms find passive candidates for senior roles โ candidates are not actively seeking a new position but are โheadhuntedโ by an Executive Search firm on behalf of a client.
Both areas will have Consultants or Agents who are the fee earners, responsible for revenue generation and client management. A critical team within Executive Search firms is the Research team, where Researchers scour the market for potential โpassiveโ candidates who could ultimately be presented to clients. Hundreds of candidates can be contacted just for one senior role. There are also other project management, support and executive assistant roles within both Agencies and Executive Search firms.