More recruiters do not necessarily mean more candidates.
Sometimes, it simply means several recruiters sending you the same candidate.
There is a common belief:
“If one recruitment company gives me five candidates, three or four companies should give me 15–20.”
Unfortunately, recruitment does not work like ordering pizzas. You do not necessarily get completely different menus.
The Recruiter Trap
Imagine appointing three or four recruitment companies for a critical role.
Surely each will have different databases, networks and talent pools?
Not necessarily.
Strong candidates often appear in multiple databases, respond to several recruiters or speak with more than one headhunter.
So three or four agencies do not necessarily provide:
3–4 companies × 8 candidates = 24–32 unique candidates.
You may simply get duplicated effort, with several recruiters chasing the same people.
Congratulations.
You have created a recruiter traffic jam.
CV Volume Isn’t Candidate Coverage
The value of a recruitment partner is not just the size of its database.
It is who they can reach that others cannot.
A database shows who has uploaded a CV. A proper search process identifies people who are not actively looking—often the candidates you most want to meet for senior or specialist roles.
At Human Dynamics, we do not stop at database searches.
We build a target market, identify relevant companies and functions, map potential candidates and engage with real people, not just CVs.
Some will be interested. Some will not. Occasionally, someone will say:
“Actually… tell me more.”
That is recruitment.
There is no magic database containing every talented person in Thailand. And pressing Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V does not constitute executive search.
Quality Over Quantity
Instead of asking:
“How many candidates can you send me?”
Ask:
“How many relevant people are you going to speak to?”
Sending 10 CVs does not mean the market has been properly searched.
For a critical hire, you want to know:
• Who else is out there?
• Who is not actively looking?
• Who would move for the right opportunity?
• Who has the experience your business needs?
• Have we searched deeply enough?
The objective is not to provide the most CVs.
It is to give you the best possible choice.
Should You Work With 3–4 Recruitment Companies?
Sometimes, yes. Multiple agencies can make sense for high-volume hiring, different markets or highly specialised roles.
But for a critical executive or specialist hire, adding more recruitment companies may simply increase the number of people contacting the same candidates.
The better question is:
Do you want three or four companies searching their databases—or one partner properly searching your market?
At Human Dynamics, our approach is simple:
Understand the business.
Define the target.
Map the market.
Engage the right people.
Challenge the obvious choices.
Find the person who can make a difference.
When you are hiring someone important, you do not need more CVs.
You need better choices.