Executive Recruitment Agencies

Can "Price" Be the Differentiating Factor in Choosing a Good Executive Recruitment Agency?

There is a price for everything. Nothing is free! A recruiter might not charge any fees from the candidate but they do have their fixed rates for the client companies. There are a few executive recruitment agencies who also charge a fixed amount from their candidates, more often than not, in the form of a percentage of the first month’s salary that a candidate will receive. All this begs the question whether, while searching for a good recruiter, you must use price as a differentiating factor.

Could Be Confusing

If and when you do decide to make price one of the parameters for choosing a good recruiter, things might get a bit confusing. How are you going to decide whether a price quoted by the recruiter in terms of fees charged from the client company is the prevailing market rate or not? More importantly, he or she might just give you the wrong figure. What then? Would you know it’s the wrong figure or the right one? All you would be aware of is the fee charged from you, as a candidate, by the recruiter. That is one thing that you can be sure of. This would lead to confusion in your decision making.

Gives an Idea about the Hiring Company

Now get this; a company that hires a bargain recruiter to do its hiring is actually trying to cut its hiring cost. This is for sure. The only exception in this regard is when volume based work is offered to recruiters. This is when even the most expensive of executive recruitment agencies will offer a discount. Now, you as a candidate would definitely like to work for a company that hires a top of the line recruiter rather than a frugal company, which prefers to save on its recruitment budget. This reflects the underlining business mentality of the hiring company. Thus, in this case differentiation on ‘price’ will help you out. You will prefer an expensive recruiter to a cheap one.

The Price with Respect to Position

You have a price for your own qualifications and experience. There is no two ways about that, and you are not willing to offer a discount on that price. You need to get a position that is commensurate with the kind of qualifications and experience you have and also the salary expectation that you might have from a particular position. An executive recruitment agency needs to satisfy you in this regard. How are you going to sure? Well, just ask about the kind of salaries offered to the last few placements. If you are an experienced candidate, the recruiter will see no harm in answering that question.

Take Everything with a Pinch of Salt

What is price? It is a figure. Figures, as we all know, can be quite misleading. Therefore, it’s important to have a fair idea of the market before you actually go ahead and ask the recruiter various questions about the ‘Price’ factor. You must be aware of the kind of fees charged by a good recruiter from a client and candidate. Only then can you make any differentiations and decisions based on the price factor.