Most people associate retained search with very high level, executive searches which is indeed the hallmark of our Retained Search Services.  However, the reason to use a retained search service may also depend on your level of urgency and the difficulty of filling the search. A retained search may be a good alternative for a very specialized technical need.  However, retained search is also a very viable alternative for positions that are not “specialized” but just difficult to fill because of market conditions or geographic location challenges, etc.  Chances are your firm may have agreements with several contingency firms.  In each of those firms (including ours), contingency recruiters cannot afford to spend a large amount of time recruiting for any one position when they have many clients with multiple openings, each clamoring for attention.  It doesn’t make good sense for the recruiter to put a great deal of time into any one search, in essence betting on the come. Each recruiter will do a short amount of work on each position and then move on if the search becomes difficult or time consuming.   The client may have been trying to fill this need by giving it out to lots of contingency search firms for quite a while, not realizing that with each new contingency firm they contact, they are in essence, reinventing the wheel.   This would be an ideal time to consider a retained search instead.  In return for an upfront “retainer payment”, I can afford to spend a much longer amount of time doing a much deeper level of search that will guarantee you results, since there is a guaranteed payment for the extra time and effort expended.  Typically a retained search is appropriate for any “hard to fill” position, regardless of the reason.  I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you to determine if a retained search option might work for your current openings.  Feel free to call me at 719-548-9191 with any questions, or for a position evaluation. 

FAST FACTS

• Fee is same as contingency permanent placement.
• Does not have to apply to all open positions in the company – can be used for one or multiples
• 35% of the fee paid up front, two 15% progress payments, 35% (or remainder) at candidate start date
• Best for hard to fill, technical specialty, or senior-level positions
• Usually takes 2-4 months to complete