How is a retained search firm different from a contingency search firm?
With a retained executive search, the consultant is bound by a commitment to the client to provide the best-qualified candidate, not simply to “fill a job.” Retained executive search is generally recognized as the best method for finding senior level executives and filling highly specialized positions. By comparison, contingency recruiting is usually confined to recruiting lower-level positions. The agency earns its fee by acting as a broker, placing someone from a pool of candidates who are seeking employment. This type of placement can be effective when a company is hiring several entry-level positions, for example. But this is not search, it is placement. Looking for candidates among those who are available can be done quickly but will not assure that the best candidates have been considered. Search, when conducted by a firm which exclusively conducts retained search, focuses on candidates who are not looking for a change. For them to give up a position in order to take the one we p
