The Chicago index

Chicago recruitment agencies, ranked.

Every firm we track, scored on public signals: specialist focus, market activity and track record. Terms, claiming and sponsorship never change a rank.

The index is free to read and free to be listed in. Our sponsor makes that possible, and has no say in any ranking.

Firms tracked: 409
Specialties: 13
Open roles: 6,813
Updated: Nov 11

Chicago, United States

The full leaderboard, Chicago

Chicago recruiting firms ranked by index score
Rank	Firm	Focus	Fee model	Terms	Index score
=198	Kage Search Group	—	Hybrid	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Kanzer Associates	Board, finance, HR, marketing, operations and strategy leadership across multiple industries.	Retained	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Kinzie Search Partners	Retained executive search for manufacturing and distribution, including private equity portfolio companies.	Retained	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	KMP Search Associates	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Kobe Employment Solutions	Electrical and mechanical engineering, technology and professional direct-hire recruitment	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Koltin Consulting Group	Partner, manager and professional leadership recruitment for accounting firms	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Kroot	C-suite and executive recruitment alongside professional direct hire and HR services	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Lab Talent Advisors	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	LaSalle Network	Accounting, finance, technology, HR, marketing and executive recruitment	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Latitude	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Law Resources	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	LHH Recruitment Solutions	Professional recruitment in finance, legal, marketing, HR and executive roles	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Lincoln Search Consultants	Accounting, finance, HR, and technology staffing	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Loop Legal Search	Law firm partners and associates, and corporate in-house counsel	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Lucas James Talent Partners	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Madison Street Search	Direct hire recruitment for accounting, finance, treasury, tax, audit and reporting professionals	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Madison Wells	Retained leadership search for insights, analytics, strategy and commercial growth	Retained	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Madison West Legal Search	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Major Executive Search	—	Retained	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Marengo Hampshire Partners	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Martin Partners	Senior leadership, finance and operating executive appointments	Retained	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	MatchsourceNaperville	Engineering, technology, and IT recruiting	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Max Tech Talent	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	MB Attorney Search	Associate, partner and in-house attorney recruitment	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	McKinley & Co. Recruitment	Professional and executive recruitment in supply chain, government and healthcare.	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	MedOP SolutionsOak Brook	Healthcare operations, HIT, and clinical staffing	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Meraki Search Group	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	MindSpring Partners	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Montem SolutionsWest Chicago	Contingency IT staffing and permanent placement	Contingency	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	N2Growth	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Navigate Legal Search	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Neorithm Technologies	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	NextGroup	Nonprofit executive and leadership search	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Next Level RecruitingEvanston	RIA, private wealth, and financial-advisor search	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Nimble Technology Partners	Engineering, product, information security, IT, sales and marketing recruitment for technology companies	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	North Star Attorney Search LLC	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Nourish CPG Talent Partners	Recruiting for better-for-you CPG brands	Hybrid	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	O'Day & Associates	Advertising agencies, brand teams and specialised advertising talent.	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Odgers	Executive and board search across financial services, industrial, healthcare, technology and professional sectors	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Office Connect Staffing	Administrative and office recruitment, accounting, bookkeeping, billing and business support placement.	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Olympia SolutionsLoop	Data-center leadership recruiting	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	OneMarket Recruiting	Sales, customer success, technology, operations and administrative recruitment	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	OP Recruiting-as-a-Service (OP RaaS)	Embedded recruiting for technology, product, sales, marketing and leadership roles.	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Paul Murphy Associates	Capital markets executive and professional recruitment for exchanges, trading firms, clearing and fintech	Hybrid	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Peer Technical Group	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Permanent Placements	Attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants and law-firm business professionals	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	PierceGray	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Pinpoint Pharma	Scientific and clinical recruitment for pharma, biotech, medical devices and related industries	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	PNC Recruitment	Bilingual and international technical, management and finance recruitment	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8
=198	Preston Hunter Inc.	Executives and management for private equity, water, industrial, business services and technology	Not stated	Not disclosed	23.8

=198Kage Search Group23.8
HybridNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Kanzer AssociatesBoard, finance, HR, marketing, operations and strategy leadership across multiple industries.23.8
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Kinzie Search PartnersRetained executive search for manufacturing and distribution, including private equity portfolio companies.23.8
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198KMP Search Associates23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Kobe Employment SolutionsElectrical and mechanical engineering, technology and professional direct-hire recruitment23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Koltin Consulting GroupPartner, manager and professional leadership recruitment for accounting firms23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198KrootC-suite and executive recruitment alongside professional direct hire and HR services23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Lab Talent Advisors23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198LaSalle NetworkAccounting, finance, technology, HR, marketing and executive recruitment23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Latitude23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Law Resources23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198LHH Recruitment SolutionsProfessional recruitment in finance, legal, marketing, HR and executive roles23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Lincoln Search ConsultantsAccounting, finance, HR, and technology staffing23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Loop Legal SearchLaw firm partners and associates, and corporate in-house counsel23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Lucas James Talent Partners23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Madison Street SearchDirect hire recruitment for accounting, finance, treasury, tax, audit and reporting professionals23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Madison WellsRetained leadership search for insights, analytics, strategy and commercial growth23.8
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Madison West Legal Search23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Major Executive Search23.8
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Marengo Hampshire Partners23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Martin PartnersSenior leadership, finance and operating executive appointments23.8
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198MatchsourceNaperville · Engineering, technology, and IT recruiting23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Max Tech Talent23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198MB Attorney SearchAssociate, partner and in-house attorney recruitment23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198McKinley & Co. RecruitmentProfessional and executive recruitment in supply chain, government and healthcare.23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198MedOP SolutionsOak Brook · Healthcare operations, HIT, and clinical staffing23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Meraki Search Group23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198MindSpring Partners23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Montem SolutionsWest Chicago · Contingency IT staffing and permanent placement23.8
ContingencyNot disclosed0 open roles
=198N2Growth23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Navigate Legal Search23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Neorithm Technologies23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198NextGroupNonprofit executive and leadership search23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Next Level RecruitingEvanston · RIA, private wealth, and financial-advisor search23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Nimble Technology PartnersEngineering, product, information security, IT, sales and marketing recruitment for technology companies23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198North Star Attorney Search LLC23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Nourish CPG Talent PartnersRecruiting for better-for-you CPG brands23.8
HybridNot disclosed0 open roles
=198O'Day & AssociatesAdvertising agencies, brand teams and specialised advertising talent.23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198OdgersExecutive and board search across financial services, industrial, healthcare, technology and professional sectors23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Office Connect StaffingAdministrative and office recruitment, accounting, bookkeeping, billing and business support placement.23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Olympia SolutionsLoop · Data-center leadership recruiting23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198OneMarket RecruitingSales, customer success, technology, operations and administrative recruitment23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198OP Recruiting-as-a-Service (OP RaaS)Embedded recruiting for technology, product, sales, marketing and leadership roles.23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Paul Murphy AssociatesCapital markets executive and professional recruitment for exchanges, trading firms, clearing and fintech23.8
HybridNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Peer Technical Group23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Permanent PlacementsAttorneys, paralegals, legal assistants and law-firm business professionals23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198PierceGray23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Pinpoint PharmaScientific and clinical recruitment for pharma, biotech, medical devices and related industries23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198PNC RecruitmentBilingual and international technical, management and finance recruitment23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=198Preston Hunter Inc.Executives and management for private equity, water, industrial, business services and technology23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles

Score built from public signals · Fee model from firm websites · Terms reported by firms · Terms never affect the score

How the score works →

Recruitment agencies in Chicago: questions

How are these Chicago recruitment agencies ranked?

Each firm gets a score from public data: how focused it is on one specialty, how many roles it is actively hiring for, and its track record. We rank 409 firms in Chicago so far and re-score them as new data comes in. The full method is on our methodology page.

Can a recruitment agency pay to rank higher?

No. There is no paid placement. Claiming a profile, adding terms and our sponsor never change a score or a rank.

What's the difference between a recruitment agency, a headhunter and an executive search firm?

They overlap. A recruitment agency fills roles for employers, usually on contingency. Headhunter is the informal name for a recruiter who approaches people who aren't job hunting. Executive search firms are headhunters for senior roles and usually work on a retained basis. We list all three when they fill professional, white-collar roles.

How much do recruitment agencies in Chicago charge?

Most agencies charge a percentage of the hire's first-year base salary. Contingency recruiters are commonly quoted at around 15–25% and are paid only when you hire; retained and executive search firms often charge 25–35%, paid in stages as the search progresses.

My firm is missing or something is wrong. What can I do?

Firms can claim their profile for free and correct their details. Anyone can request a correction; we reply within three working days.

Browse by specialty

13 specialties

Chicago recruitment agencies, ranked.

The full leaderboard, Chicago

Recruitment agencies in Chicago: questions

Browse by specialty

Fintech & Trading

Legal

Executive Search

Tech & Engineering

Data & AI

Private Equity & VC

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Media & Advertising

Real Estate

Insurance & Actuarial

Accounting & Finance

Sales & Marketing

HR & Talent