What is the difference between a retained search firm and a contingency search firm?
There are two types of executives search firms–retained and contingency. A retained search firm receives a significant portion of its fee as soon as the organization has agreed to hire them. For that they visit the hiring organization and get to know the key players, learn about the city and real estate, interview potential candidates in person, present 5-6 resumes from which the organizational leaders will choose two or three who will come for an interview. Contingency firms send resumes to organizations and are paid when someone is placed in a position. They can send your resume to many organizations at one time. A retained search firm can only recommend you for one position at a time.
