Paul Hawkinson (I have great respect for him!) from The Fordyce Letter wrote a GREAT article and re-published it in 2005 called "Why Recruiters Are Worth What They Charge." Here are his opening paragraphs from that article:

“When I need a heart by-pass, rest assured that I won’t select my surgeon on the basis of what he charges.”

That’s what an ailing executive recently opined when he was informed by his doctor about his arterial blockage problems.

Why then are corporate executives so tightfisted when dealing with what is so commonly thought of as the “heartbeat” of their companies . . . top-talent?

Companies think very little about paying the often excessive fees charged by their outside accounting and legal firms . . . or even to the gaggle of consultants who promise cost-cutting and streamlining miracles in other areas of operations.

Yet, when faced with brain drains, talent deficiencies or the need to replace one employee with a better one, their thoughts too often turn to parsimony. This K-mart mentality belies and contradicts their stated objectives to “hire the best,” especially at pecking order levels below the “big picture” executive suite inhabitants.

Whenever I see that "hire the best" value on civil engineering firms propaganda, I have to laugh and remember the above analogy. 

By using "Recruiting Alliance" and "Bounty Jobs" and the others, (as HOLLA talks about in a previous post on here) you may make some hires...maybe...BUT your really great recruiters, those who could get you those gems, the best and brightest, won't accept being one of many unknown hanging around those third party groups.....

Hey hiring folks.....think about this AND think about how you "reward" your best headhunters with lowering their fee so they can do "more" work for you! 

Does this really make logical sense?