Leadership positions the agency as different, promoting role ownership, strong client relationships, and a steady stream of closable roles. In my experience, the day-to-day reality didn’t fully reflect that message.
It's important to note a few things. This is a small organization. Leadership has only worked at this agency, which limits outside perspective. In my opinion, that influenced the company culture, how clients were handled, how goals were set, and how feedback was delivered.
Additionally, at least five recruiters have departed over an eight-month span.
The ownership model for recruiters didn’t play out as promoted. Role ownership often shifted from week to week. Recruiters had limited opportunity to engage directly with clients, as sales (leadership) maintained heavy oversight. Participation in intake calls was limited despite what I was told. When recruiters were invited, the calls were often for VMS roles shared across multiple agencies, leaving little room for meaningful client partnership.
The agency does have long-standing client relationships, but all roles were worked on a contingent basis. I saw many that had been sitting open for several months, as well as backfills for contractor turnover. Roles were often unfillable due to compensation mismatches, yet these roles were still prioritized by leadership. Even when there was little traction despite consistent recruiter effort, there was pressure to perform. Time could have been better spent consulting with clients on flexibility/solutions, or moving on to focus on business development to obtain more fillable roles.
The hybrid policy was not what I expected. I was told 2 days onsite, but learned from the team in week one that remote days depended on hitting a specific weekly goal. When that goal wasn’t met (and it was regularly missed by half the team), the expectation shifted to 3+ days in office. This wasn’t mentioned in interviews, and I saw new hires learn about it in real time too.
If you pay attention, you’ll notice the technical recruiter role is always posted. From my perspective, that reflects turnover more than growth.
