What I Learned About Third-Party Recruiting After 20 Years on Both Sides

I've been a corporate recruiter and a third-party recruiter.

After more than two decades in recruiting, I've sat in both chairs—as a corporate recruiter who dreaded working with outside firms, and as a third-party recruiter trying to prove my worth to skeptical clients.

My journey started at Walmart's corporate office, where I hired across IT, legal, government relations, and merchandising. Those early years taught me why internal recruiters often bristle when leadership suggests bringing in outside help. We had three major pain points: firms sent the wrong candidates, they constantly pestered us for updates, and frankly, it felt like they were implying we couldn't do our jobs.

I'll never forget the legal team's decision to hire an expensive retained firm for a specialized search. Months passed. When they finally presented their candidate, the assessment arrived as a bound book so thick I thought it was multiple resumes. It wasn't, it was just one person, buried under pages of analysis. My hiring manager was furious about the timeline, frustrated by the lack of regular updates, and wanted actionable insights, not a dissertation. We fired the firm and lost the retained fee.

That experience convinced me I'd never become a third-party recruiter.

Never say never.

When I eventually joined a boutique recruiting firm, I made a fundamental decision: treat every client like I was their internal recruiter. I understood the position I was putting them in—questioning whether their internal team was capable, adding cost to their budget, creating another relationship to manage. I also knew that successful HR leaders and recruiting managers were juggling metrics, meetings, and 37 other searches. My job was to make their lives easier, not harder.

Here's what I learned about identifying recruiting partners who actually add value:

They're Specialists, Not Generalists

A quality firm should source candidates within 14 days. I said it—14 days. There are exceptions, but those should be clearly communicated upfront. Years of being told to "niche down" taught me this is non-negotiable. If you're working with someone outside their specialty, they better have an exceptional network and proven speed to market.

They Invest in Understanding Your Organization

An intake call isn't enough. The best recruiters spend time understanding your culture, your people, and what success actually looks like in your environment. I've worked in clients' offices, shadowed teams, and when geography made that impossible, I found other ways—multiple Zoom sessions, extensive research, informal conversations with employees. Your recruiter should be able to articulate why someone would want to work at your company beyond the job description.

They Do Their Homework

This goes beyond understanding your internal culture. Strong firms research what's being written about your company, what candidates are saying in the market, and what the competitive landscape looks like. As recruiters, we're marketing your organization. You can't sell what you don't understand. Sometimes this means having difficult conversations about market perception and adjusting strategy accordingly.

They Know What Right Looks Like

After understanding your culture and doing their research, they need to translate that into precise candidate evaluation. They should work with you to develop screening questions that reveal technical competency and cultural fit. A skilled recruiter might not know what every technical answer means, but they know what they should be hearing. If candidates can't answer these questions correctly, they don't advance. Period.

You Know Who's Actually Doing the Work

Many firms have senior partners sell the search, then hand execution to junior staff. For hard-to-fill positions—which is why you're outsourcing in the first place—you want the expert handling your search. Understand the team structure upfront and ensure the person with the relationships and experience is actually running your search.

Communication is Structured and Consistent

Hiring managers appreciate predictable updates. We send weekly summaries every Friday covering activity, candidate pipeline, market feedback, and any needed strategy adjustments. Beyond regular reports, we maintain scheduled check-ins for deeper strategic discussions. You should never wonder what's happening with your search.

They're Financially Responsible

Quality firms don't rack up unnecessary expenses. Big firms love flying across the country for meetings that could happen over Zoom, posting job ads when they should be leveraging their networks, and charging for "research" that's part of basic service delivery. Any expenses beyond the agreed fee should be pre-approved and clearly justified.

The reality is many firms execute this model beautifully. Third-party recruiting, done right, extends your team's capabilities without creating additional headaches. The key is knowing what to look for and holding your partners to the same standards you'd expect from your internal team.

After all, we're all trying to make the same great hires.

Beth has been helping organizations find top talent for over 20 years. If you need recruiting support that actually moves the needle, reach out for a consultation call.