How to use who, what, which and when
This is an overview of the recruitment industry in Malaysia and it serves to inform you of the types of recruiters, the services offered, the differences in approach and their respective fees and how they would meet your needs.

Types of Players and Services Offered
There are 4 main groups of players in Malaysian recruitment industry, namely;

• The Executive Search
• The Online Recruiters
• The Advertised Recruiters
• The General Employment Agencies
  

The Executive Search
The true blue Executive Search firms principally identify their candidates through their own systems of networking and sourcing. They normally do not resort to press advertisements. Here positions that are assigned are mainly senior level management and chief executives. Executive search as the name implies, is proactive in approach - i.e. they initiate the process to identify and locate suitable candidates discreetly.

The Online Recruiters
This is the latest mode in the recruitment industry which almost solely depends on the internet to collect resumes through hosting recruitment advertisements on behalf of the employer. Though it is cheaper than the print media advertisements, its effectiveness thus far has been confined mainly to non-executive positions in general and particularly to those with easy access to the internet. In fact, it has proven to be most effective in attracting fresh graduates and final year students.

HR Solutions complements its strength and expertise in executive search and recruitment with its own online media which serves primarily as a convenient reference point for both its clients and candidates. Experience has taught that pure reliance on online recruitment will not result in securing the Right-Fit candidate.


The Advertised Recruiters
These are usually the 'Big Six' (now the 'Big Five') auditing firms who largely act on behalf of their existing auditing clients as part of their supplementary services to their core business of auditing. Here they offer to arrange the advertising copy and the insertions on behalf of the clients. Over time, a large database of resumes is accumulated. Positions advertised are mainly middle level management and above. Advertised recruitment by its nature, tends to be reactive - i.e. waiting for candidates to respond to the advertisement.


The General Employment Agencies
This is where their core activity is to solicit job-seeking candidates to register with them. Often than not they would send candidates for interviews by the clients based upon the client's phone-in or fax-in requirements. Similarly as with the Advertised Recruiters, over time they build up a huge data base of resumes. These agencies mainly cater to the non-managerial positions including temporary staff.


Which of the above categories of recruitment services serves you best depends on basically what do you want from them. Below are some suggestions:-

Categories of Staff	Type of Recruiters	Quality of Candidates
temporary, junior staff e.g. secretaries, clerks	general employment agencies	big variation due to superficial screening.
from junior to middle/senior management levels.	Advertised recruitment	dependent on the quality of 'write-in' applicants and data base.
senior management e.g. CEOs, GMs, Head of Department country managers & specialists e.g. SAP Consultants	Executive Search	candidates are exhaustively evaluated.
	Effectiveness The question of effectiveness needs to be scrutinised by the client especially for recruiting senior management positions. Some pertinent questions clients should ask the recruiters they intend to appoint are:- What is the methodology of their recruitment process? Do they shortlist the candidates? How do they assess your organisation's needs and requirements? How do they evaluate the suitability of the candidates?