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Lucky hunter

Searching for tech talent?
Guide to choosing a
recruitment agency
from the Lucky Hunter experts

More than four thousand recruitment agencies are registered in Russia. They provide miscellaneous services: from mass recruitment to the selection of focused specialists. Recruitment companies also offer related services such as HR analytics, HR outsourcing, consult and train in-house recruiters.
Choosing an agency that doesn't meet your expectations means wasted time and money. The average cost of a job opening filling is 10-20% of the employee's annual income in Russia, while in the world it can reach 15-25% . What's worth special attention when choosing a staffing agency - answering in this short article.
The company's age
It's important to pay attention to the age of an IT staffing company. Information technology sphere is a narrow area where everyone keeps abreast of everything happening in the industry. Even the information about a small mistake instantly spreads among market players.

Companies working in recruitment for more than two years have proven the quality of their work. The older the agency, the higher the level of customer trust.
Number of unfilled job openings
Pay attention to the number of long-term (more than three months) unfilled job positions. If the agency for a long time can't find the right specialist, this may point to the fact that recruiters are not competent enough.
In some cases, a job opening can't be filled when there is no mutual work between the client and the recruiter. In recruiting, it is essential for the client to give prompt feedback, be flexible, pay heed to recruiter's recommendations and motivate candidates together with the recruiter. Read more about the principle of partnership in recruitment here.
Datebase
Good candidate databases of recruitment agencies should:
contain detailed information about the candidates;
record the history of the interaction of the recruiter and the candidate;
constantly replenish;
unlike standard search channels like HeadHunter, they are integrated with social networks and are available in several languages.
Notability and reputation
These two factors only confirm that the company exists in the market for several years and has good experience in providing services. In order to choose an agency based on reputation, you can take a look at the ratings of recruitment agencies.

It's imperative that the resource reports on the criteria by which the ranking was compiled. Otherwise, the selection may be paid-for.
Cost of services
In the recruitment world, the cost of selection is 10-20% of the employee's annual income. If the agency offers the service at a below-market price - think about the reason. Perhaps the company takes extra money from candidates. In professional recruiting, this practice isn't encouraged and shows the low quality of service.
Guarantees
Recruitment agencies guarantee the quality of their services. Most often, it's a single-time replacement of candidate within the probation period. Agencies that respect their clients and are confident in the service quality always guarantee it.
Narrowing a search
What if almost all the agencies you are choosing from meet these criteria? Narrow your search further.
1
Define the candidate's profile. You need to understand how rare a specialist is, what sphere of professional activity he belongs to. So you can choose an agency that specializes specifically in your needs.
If you don't fully understand what skills a candidate should have, don't worry. Qualified recruiting agencies will be glad to help you understand the specialist profile. The main thing is to hit the target with the choice of agency.
2
Decide on your possibilities. You need to clearly understand your terms and budget for the recruiting.
3
Decide on the agency type. The same service is provided both by large corporations and small specialized agencies.
Tip: if you need a mass recruitment service, contact large staffing agencies. They'll find staff for you as soon as possible. If you are looking for a subject matter expert, we're recommending you contact specialized agencies.
For example, when searching for tech specialists, it's better to contact IT recruitment agencies:
IT-recruiters know the features of selecting tech specialists.
IT recruiting has its own features. Read about them in our article.
Tech professionals get a high salary, so the cost of selection will be higher.
When choosing an agency that doesn't specialize in IT selection, you risk wasting time and money.
Checklist
You've made the right choice if the agency:
  • Asks for the average market price. The price should be within 10-20% of the employee's annual income (except for the selection of TOP-level specialists).
  • Provide guarantees.
  • Has a good reputation and information about its professional activity around the web:
    the agency has a website;
    media writes about the agency;
    the agency has its own publications in mass media as well as publications in international journals.
  • Has accounts in social networks. If so - subscribe.
  • Has it own database.
  • Consistently fills more than 95% of job openings.
We hope that these recommendations will help you choose the agency that meets your requirements. If you need to find a tech professional, the team of our agency will be glad to help you.
  • Working since 2017.
  • Guarantee a free single-time replacement of candidate within the probation period.
  • Offer maximum discounts to prospective startups.
  • Provide the first candidates within four days.