Need to Staff Up? Here’s How to Work With a Recruiter to Hire Talent

Article

Whether you're navigating budget constraints, project deadlines or shifting business priorities, one thing remains clear: Having the right professionals in place is critical to staying competitive. And when you're ready to move forward with adding new employees, knowing how to work with a staffing firm to hire talent can help you move faster and more efficiently.

The best hiring strategy can vary for every company and role. Whether you need short-term support, highly skilled candidates for permanent positions, or help hiring for multiple roles, staffing firms offer flexible solutions and work with you to help attract top-tier professionals—on-site or remote—to meet your unique requirements.

How to Work With a Recruiter to Hire Talent

What does a recruiter really do for me?
Best practices for working with a recruiter
But do I really need to hire right now?

What does a recruiter really do for me?

The many benefits of using a staffing firm might surprise you.

Finding the right talent is rarely easy, especially as AI-generated resumes flood hiring managers with applications that aren’t the right fit. A skilled recruiter can help you cut through the noise and effectively connect you with qualified candidates who match your needs.

Once a recruiter has sourced candidates, they handle the heavy lifting—reviewing resumes, conducting initial interviews, checking references, conducting salary negotiations and more. They also surface hard-to-find talent and passive candidates so you meet only the strongest potential hires. The best firms help you set competitive salaries and ensure new team members are positioned for success from day one.

Best practices for working with a recruiter

Even though they take on most of the recruitment process for you, knowing what to expect when hiring with a staffing firm—and how to prepare—can help you get better results.

Do the due diligence. Research different firms to find one aligns with your needs, such as one that specializes in the types of roles you’re hiring for. Ask how they source candidates, their typical turnaround times and other questions that get to the heart of your hiring needs. Here are a few examples:

“Which similar roles have you staffed recently, and how fast?”

“Where will you source candidates for this role beyond job boards?”

“How do you evaluate must have vs. nice to have skills?”

“What’s your typical time to shortlist and time to hire for roles like this?”

“How will you represent our company culture and value proposition to candidates?”

It also helps if the recruiter has worked with companies like yours before and understands your organizational culture. If you’re a small business, for example, look for a firm with a strong track record supporting similar clients.

You’re critical to the process. A recruiter can do their job best if they fully understand what you need. That means your input at the start is critical. Clearly define the role’s responsibilities, must-have skills, your timeline, budget and any workplace culture considerations that help achieve the right fit. The clearer and more detailed you are upfront, the faster and more accurately the recruiter can deliver strong candidates.

Share specific challenges you’re facing—like struggling to staff a newly created role where expectations may still be evolving. Your recruiter may know practical strategies that save time and improve outcomes from helping others solve similar issues. The best recruiters build on your input by asking insightful questions and digging deeper to understand you needs, helping them deliver professionals who align with your team’s goals and work style.

Get the salary offer right. Reaching agreement with in-demand candidates on compensation is a common challenge: The 2026 Robert Half Salary Guide points out that 74% of hiring managers worry about keeping up with candidates’ compensation expectations at a time, while 88% of professionals feel confident negotiating salary offered a job.

To maintain competitive salary offerings, lean on your staffing firm’s market expertise. Whether you’re looking for candidates who have specialized skills or determining how much to offer for fully on-site roles, a recruiter’s experience can help guide you.

Since the best firms work with hundreds of clients daily, they have a real-time view of the market and can advise you on compensation that aligns with what in-demand candidates are receiving for similar roles.

Learn more about current compensation trends with the Robert Half Salary Guide.

Negotiate with flexibility. Staffing firms typically handle negotiations with job seekers on your behalf. Allowing them the flexibility to explore compensation options can make a significant difference—especially when there’s a gap between your offer and a candidates’ salary expectations. In these cases, work with your recruiter to identify high-value benefits and perks, such as remote or hybrid work arrangements, that help close the gap and seal the deal. 

What happens after they accept? While the primary role of a staffing firm is to find and place skilled candidates, their services extend beyond that. Top-tier recruiters serve as a liaison between your company and a new hire to help set them up for a smooth start.

This support may include providing an onboarding checklist, offering mentoring opportunities and sharing tips for integrating new hires into the team. Your recruiter can help make the transition from candidate to employee seamless.

But do I really need to hire right now?

Great talent won’t wait—and neither should you. Leaving roles open can lead to real risks: rising burnout, lower engagement and stalled projects without the right talent in place. Our Demand for Skilled Talent report shows these risks are growing, especially for professionals with high-demand skills in areas like AI and accounting. Once again, staffing firms can be a powerful ally—helping you move quickly, refine your hiring strategy and connect with qualified candidates before they’re off the market.

Knowing how to work with a recruiter to hire talent isn’t just about staffing a role—it’s about building a smarter, faster and more strategic hiring process. Whether you’re scaling up, navigating a skills gap or simply trying to stay competitive, the right staffing firm can be a game-changer.

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Want more data and insights on how the U.S. hiring environment is evolving? Visit Robert Half’s Labor Market Overview page to get a snapshot view of current hiring trends and access our expanded coverage on industries hiring, remote work statistics and trends, and more.

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