The difference in one line each
A recruitment agency matches people who are available to roles that are open. That is a real skill and a fast, cheap way to fill a visible seat.
An executive search firm maps a market and approaches people who are not available. That takes weeks, most of it produces nothing, and it has to be funded up front or it does not happen.
Side by side
| Recruitment agency | Executive search | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical fee | 15 to 25 per cent of salary | 25 to 33 per cent of first-year earnings |
| Paid | On placement, so nothing if nobody is hired | In thirds through the search, hire or not |
| Sourcing | Database, adverts, applications | Mapped market, direct approach |
| Exclusive | Usually not | Always |
| Typical level | Manager to director | Director to board |
| Confidential search | Impractical | Standard |
Where the answer flips
Roughly at the point where the best candidates stop applying for jobs. That is not a salary line, it is a market condition, and it moves by function: a strong finance director may still apply, a chief financial officer with a good seat almost never will.
The test is simple. If the people you actually want would see your advert and ignore it, an agency cannot help you, whatever it charges.
What both share, and should be asked
- What is the fee charged on, and is bonus included?
- Which companies are off-limits to you?
- Who does the work day to day?
- What happens if there is no hire?
The third option
Neither, for a seat that does not need five days a week. A fractional executive is engaged direct at a day rate, with nothing taken from it, and can start in days. Where a search is the right answer we run one, on the conventional retained model; where it is not, the honest thing is to say so, which is why a fractional search at a fixed search fee and 15% of annualised value on a hire exists alongside it.
Common questions
What is the difference between executive search and recruitment?
Recruitment matches available people to open roles and is paid on placement. Executive search maps a market and approaches people who are not looking, and is funded through the search whether or not it ends in a hire.
When should I use a search firm instead of an agency?
When the people who can do the job would ignore your advert. That point arrives earlier in some functions than others, and it is about the market rather than the salary.
More of them, on hiring, contracts and what a fractional engagement costs, on the fractional executive FAQ.