If you are a company seeking higher-level professionals to help build your business, you need to know that there is a difference between an executive search firm and a staffing agency. You may think “they both find me individuals for my open positions” and you would be correct, but the difference lies in how they identify your prospective employees and in the level of the positions you are looking to fill.
The table below will provide a snapshot of what you can expect when you reach out to the different types of firms.
It is true that executive search firms and placement agencies help companies with their hiring needs, but it is the executive search firm that you want to reach out to for those positions that require a deeper understanding of the company as a whole. If you are looking to see numerous resumes and get a position filled quickly, the staffing agency will provide you just that. Executive search firms and executive recruiting professionals are building long term relationships. In essence, it is like seeing a specialist versus applying a band-aid as a short- term solution.