I know a great company famous for not using external recruiters (they have their internal staff) and for using billboards among other ways to attract applicants.
Their M.O. has been to explain that they don't like paying "recruiter fees". The truth is, they're still paying those fees--just in different ways:
Given that they have a few senior HR individuals and some others on staff internally, plus the amount it costs to keep billboards up month after month, plus the other job-posting they have to do online and in other ways...
I am guessing, conservatively, that they are spending between $20K and $30K per month in "recruiting" activity and awareness. That kind of monthly outlay would bring in a high number of hires through a firm like mine.
This seems to work for this company, but it's because they are ramped up for this kind ofrecruiting activity. In fact, in some ways I consider them a competitor of mine because of the way they recruit proactively in this market.
But not everybody is capable of setting up the equivalent of a retained search firm within the walls of their own company.
Everybody pays for recruiting. You either pay money before the result (from hiring internal recruiters) or after the result (by paying a recruiter's commissions).
Your choice.
