Why I Believe Recruiters Outperform Job Boards for Executive Hires

As President of NAFOR, I often meet business leaders who tell me, “We have been using Indeed or ZipRecruiter, but the hires are not staying.”

I understand the appeal of job boards. They are inexpensive, easy to use, and within 24 hours of posting you can have a flood of résumés. However, I have also seen the hidden downside. For executive and senior management roles, job boards rarely deliver the caliber of talent that a company truly requires.

What Job Boards Miss

The truth is that the best candidates, the individuals who change the trajectory of a business, are usually not browsing job boards. Research shows that 85 percent of top performers are passive candidates. They are already successful in their roles, focused on driving results, and not uploading their résumé to Indeed.

That means if your hiring strategy depends solely on job boards, you are only reaching a fraction of the available talent. Because applying online is so easy, many of the résumés you receive will not be relevant. I have spoken with clients who had to reject nine out of ten applications just to find one worth a conversation. This is a significant time drain for HR teams and hiring managers.

Even more concerning is what happens when the wrong person is hired. The cost of a bad executive hire is staggering. Industry studies show that a poor placement can cost anywhere from 30% of annual salary to more than $100,000 once you account for lost productivity, disruption, and the expense of starting the search again.

How We Work Differently

At NAFOR, we take a completely different approach. We do not post and hope for results. We headhunt.

Our team spends the time to research the market, engage with passive candidates, and build trust with them through personal outreach. We know how to present an opportunity in a way that resonates with a high performer who was not even considering a move. This is how we find the unfindable.

We also take on the heavy lifting for our clients. We handle screening, interviews, reference checks, and cultural assessments. By the time you meet a candidate from us, you are speaking with someone who has been thoroughly vetted across what we call the 7 Cs: Competence, Capability, Compatibility, Commitment, Character, Culture, and Compensation fit.

The result is that you do not waste time sorting through 100's of résumés. Instead, you are choosing from a shortlist of three to five exceptional individuals who can step into the role and thrive.

Results That Stick

Our approach works. At NAFOR, we are proud to report a 97 percent retention rate beyond three years for the executives we place. That means nearly every leader we have introduced continues to succeed long after they have joined a new team.

I have seen it firsthand. The right executive hire does not just fill a seat. They transform a company’s trajectory. That is why we treat every search as if it could change the future of a business. Because often, it does.

The Bottom Line

If you are hiring for junior roles, job boards can make sense. For executive, C-suite, or mission-critical positions, the stakes are far too high to gamble.

A recruiter’s fee may appear expensive at first. However, when one great hire can generate millions in growth, and one bad hire can set you back just as much, investing in a professional search is not simply smart. It is essential.

At NAFOR, we do not just help you fill roles. We help you build companies and organizations that last.