The fishing rod hasn't grown yet. Or the ranking of recruitment agencies in search of strong sales managers.

We were hanging on our branches when suddenly Vara came up with the idea: "Let's create our own ranking of recruitment agencies and put ourselves in the first place, shall we?" (It usually doesn't happen like that)

"Genius!" I thought and got to work.

First and foremost, we needed to find these recruitment agencies. Those we know based on personal preferences would be ranked at the top (after us, of course), and the rest would be scattered randomly to make the girls cry.

Next, we had to determine the criteria for ranking our favorites - a piece of cake. And then, we would publish the ranking and go crazy with the influx of clients. The plan was foolproof!

The author is not inexperienced, so he immediately identified three selection criteria:

Speed
Price
Quality

That's all there is to it! High price - minus points! Low speed - minus points! Poor quality - minus 100 points. Swinging my pen, I started jotting down the unfortunate ones in my notebook of reputation death. Suddenly, my supervisor asked, "Do you really know the quality of work of all these agencies?" And it struck me: I wouldn't be able to compile this ranking without having worked with each participant, which is physically impossible, or rather, practically impossible.

The quiet voice of my dark soul whispered, "Don't leave the reader without answers." And I won't. Instead of a dubious ranking, I'll give you a detailed instruction that will allow you to choose a recruitment agency yourself.

Pay attention to speed.

Factors influencing the speed of closing a deal:

The number of recruiters on staff
The number of recruiters dedicated to your specific vacancy
The profile of candidates, if there are multiple. (Here, it refers to whether your candidates have a similar profile or different ones. Multiple recruiters simultaneously search for salespeople in the same industry, which places them on the same hiring plane, significantly reducing search time. It's like in a supermarket, you know? It's much quicker to find two bottles of milk than finding milk and kvass.)
Also, it's essential to understand that if someone found a candidate quickly somewhere - it doesn't mean they will find one quickly for you too. This includes us as well. Every request is different, and the database volumes for these requests also vary, so that's how it is.

Pay attention to the cost.

Unfortunately, there's no clear market here, like with cars, where high price indicates premium quality, power, or something else. The job market is unbalanced.

Here's a terrifying truth: a candidate for 25 gold coins won't fundamentally differ from a candidate for 10 gold coins. Why is that? Most likely, the agency that demands a hefty bag of gold specializes in a different profile. They are not particularly interested in your profile, so they have to ask for more because they don't have dedicated resources for such a request.

Obviously, the cost can also be significantly lower. Where? Yes, our beloved freelancers. Is it a good option? In terms of pricing - yes. I won't lie: this option can also be acceptable in terms of quality. However, there's one catch inherent in working with freelancers: they occasionally disappear. Even those who work on a post-payment basis. You won't lose money, of course, but you'll lose your time, which, in a way, is the same thing. (Well, and some freelancers are sometimes more expensive than agencies. So, good evening and welcome.)

Pay attention to quality.

I believe this is the most delicate question that deserves the most attention. As they say, you won't know until you try. Will such an answer satisfy you? I'm sure it won't, so let's delve into this topic in more detail.

Firstly, we need to define the terms. What exactly is meant by the quality of a recruitment agency's work? Is it the quality of the found sales manager? I don't think so. After all, it's up to you to decide whether to hire or not. You won't hire a bad candidate, right?

What should we focus on then? Here, there are two scenarios:

For people who don't have free time.

If you belong to this group, we're glad to have you here! In our understanding, the quality of a search means minimizing your effort. As a client, I would be delighted if I were truly understood in detail, shown exactly what I'm looking for, conducted three to five meetings only with the best sales managers, and found the one I was seeking. In this case, the agency has done its job, and I got the desired result. And all of this with minimal effort on my part.

For people with a lot of free time.

If you're a romantic who's willing to search for true love all your life, the option where an agency is ready to offer you 50 meetings would be optimal. It will define the quality.

The decision is yours alone. When making a choice, we advise you to rely on your feelings, intuition, the alignment of stars, and our instructions.

That's about it!

As always, we wish you to find your recruitment agency with which you'll want to spend your entire life and never let go.

P.S. Alright. To match the title and not just waste your time on "simply reading instructions" instead of making a decision, here's a personal (based on our own experience) recommendation. When making your choice, pay attention to RealHR. They are true professionals and specialize in top-notch IT specialists. For those with high requirements and capabilities, they will find the best sales and account managers in the IT and Digital fields.

(Knock, knock, knock...) Well, and us, of course :)