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[toc headings="h2" title="Table of Contents"] Chicago has been leading the job market recovery in the Midwest, with employment up 3.5% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2022 and payrolls on track to surpass their pre-pandemic peak by the start of 2024. That's good news for job seekers and the city's overall economy but presents challenges for companies who need to find and hire digital marketing talent to grow their brand. Working with an experienced digital marketing recruiter can help Chicago-based companies find the right people to join their team. If you need a better way to connect with your ideal candidate, the recruiting agencies below are among the best in the Windy City, with the skills and experience to fill any digital marketing role.
The top 5 Chicago marketing recruitment firms
1. Nexus IT Group
With 10 offices across the United States, Nexus IT Group connects clients with the top digital marketing talent across the nation. The company's high success rate is their main advantage, with 96% of people they place still employed with the client after a year. They're also fast, submitting 8 out of 10 successful candidates within one week. Nexus fills a range of digital marketing roles, from tech jobs like user experience and data analytics professionals to leadership roles up through the executive level. Whatever your business' marketing talent needs, Nexus has the capability to fill those positions with the right people quickly.
2. KAS Placement
KAS Placement is among the leading marketing executive search and headhunting firms, not just in Chicago but across the United States. Their sole focus is on recruiting exceptional sales and marketing talent, using an innovative hiring process that lets them deliver candidates faster than most recruitment organizations. Along with sourcing candidates, they provide their clients information and insights about the job market and conduct in-depth analysis of their hiring options. This expertise and data-driven strategy is what allows them to deliver high-quality results, helping businesses in over 100 industries hire the right online marketing leadership to meet their business goals.
3. Method Recruiting
Founded in San Francisco, Method Recruiting has expanded their services to 6 cities across the country, including Denver, Austin, Atlanta, New York, and (of course) Chicago. Despite their growth, Method operates as a boutique recruiting firm, focusing on building relationships with both their clients and the candidates they match them with. They've built a robust talent network over their more than 15 years as a recruiting agency, enabling them to connect clients with the best marketing talent in the Chicago area and beyond. Method's main advantage over the competition is their tight focus on the digital marketing industry. As experts in this space, they understand the skills and knowledge that content marketing, lead generation, ecommerce marketing, SEO, and other online advertising teams need to thrive.
4.Empowered Staffing
From their headquarters in Evanston, IL, Empowered Staffing finds marketing recruitment solutions for companies across the Chicago area, as well as in markets like Miami, Indianapolis, Detroit, and Denver. They serve as strategic partners for advertising agencies and businesses across industries who need to hire highly-skilled marketers to grow their brands. Their areas of expertise include display advertising, search engine marketing (SEM), market research, and social media marketing. They connect employers with talent at all levels, from individual creative talent like copywriters and graphic designers to directors and executives who can lead your marketing team.
5. RSI Executive Search
RSI Executive Search has locations around the world, with offices in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Russia, and the UK as well as major U.S. metro areas including Seattle, Philadelphia, Boston, and Dallas. They have the same broad focus when it comes to the industries they work in, serving more than 40 vertical markets including public relations, advertising, sales, and marketing. This broad reach is an advantage for the companies they partner with. They're a particularly good fit for startups and other companies that need to hire a number of candidates for a variety of roles. In the marketing executive search space, they focus on placing individuals among the top 5% of passive candidates, and have developed a reputation for quickly identifying the right talent to solve clients' hiring challenges.
Digital marketing recruiting costs in Chicago
While inflation has slowed to its lowest point since early 2021, companies and consumers alike are still feeling the strain of economic uncertainty on their budgets. As prices continue to increase, the cost of recruiting services is a major consideration for companies considering an agency to solve their hiring challenges. The good news is, hiring a recruiter can often offer cost savings compared to using in-house search teams, especially when it comes to filling executive roles and other hard to fill positions. Most companies spend as much as $20,000 for each employee hired through in-house teams, and that doesn't even include the new hire's salary and benefits--or the costs of embarking on a second search if the first employee doesn't prove to be a good fit. How much you'll spend for recruiting services depends on the type of search firm you hire. There are two primary fee structures: retained search and contingent search. In a retained search model, the recruiter is paid a flat monthly fee for the duration of the search and works exclusively. This tends to be the more expensive option, and is typically used for executive roles and confidential searches. For most positions, contingency recruitment will be the better option. In this structure, the recruiter is paid when a successful candidate is hired. Their fee is determined as a percentage of the new hire's first year salary, usually between 10-30%. With the average base salary for a digital marketer in Chicago currently at $82,732 per year, that would mean a fee of between $8,273 and $24,819, depending on the recruiter's rates.
The benefits of digital marketing recruitment
Costs aside, there are several advantages to working with a dedicated recruiting firm compared to hiring in-house. First and foremost, you'll get access to more candidates, which often translates to better hires. Recruiting firms have connections with top professionals in their industries of focus, including passive candidates that most companies can't access. A third-party recruiter can also typically find that high-quality talent faster. Many recruitment firms are able to deliver potential candidates to clients in as little as a week, compared to the weeks (or even months) many companies spend searching for the right person. A recruitment firm is a time-saver in other ways, too. Since they're handling the search, that frees your HR team and leadership up to focus on other projects. The peace of mind from knowing you have someone dedicated to your search, while you're able to devote your time to running and growing the business, is worth the expense of recruitment alone for many business leaders.
Choosing the right marketing search firm for your needs
Recruitment is all about relationships. While the specific search methods and candidate networks differ between recruiting firms, the most important thing when you're choosing a recruitment partner is the same as when you're hiring an employee: you want someone who's a good fit for your culture and company. Before you decide which search firm to hire, schedule a meeting, phone call, or video call to talk about your hiring needs and what you want from a recruitment agency. This is an opportunity to get a feel for their communication style and whether you'll be able to work together well throughout the search. Some great questions to ask the recruiter during this conversation include:
- How do you find and screen the candidates for your searches?
- What is your experience recruiting for this type of role and in the digital marketing industry?
- What are the steps in your recruitment process?
- How often will I receive updates on my search, and how will those be communicated?
- What is your expectation for the client's involvement in the search process?
- How do you measure placement success?
- How long does it typically take you to complete this kind of search?
Chicago has been leading the job market recovery in the Midwest, with employment up 3.5% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2022 and payrolls on track to surpass their pre-pandemic peak by the start of 2024. That’s good news for job seekers and the city’s overall economy but presents challenges for companies who need to find and hire digital marketing talent to grow their brand.
Working with an experienced digital marketing recruiter can help Chicago-based companies find the right people to join their team. If you need a better way to connect with your ideal candidate, the recruiting agencies below are among the best in the Windy City, with the skills and experience to fill any digital marketing role.
The top 5 Chicago marketing recruitment firms
1. Nexus IT Group
With 10 offices across the United States, Nexus IT Group connects clients with the top digital marketing talent across the nation. The company’s high success rate is their main advantage, with 96% of people they place still employed with the client after a year. They’re also fast, submitting 8 out of 10 successful candidates within one week. Nexus fills a range of digital marketing roles, from tech jobs like user experience and data analytics professionals to leadership roles up through the executive level. Whatever your business’ marketing talent needs, Nexus has the capability to fill those positions with the right people quickly.
2. KAS Placement
KAS Placement is among the leading marketing executive search and headhunting firms, not just in Chicago but across the United States. Their sole focus is on recruiting exceptional sales and marketing talent, using an innovative hiring process that lets them deliver candidates faster than most recruitment organizations. Along with sourcing candidates, they provide their clients information and insights about the job market and conduct in-depth analysis of their hiring options. This expertise and data-driven strategy is what allows them to deliver high-quality results, helping businesses in over 100 industries hire the right online marketing leadership to meet their business goals.
3. Method Recruiting
Founded in San Francisco, Method Recruiting has expanded their services to 6 cities across the country, including Denver, Austin, Atlanta, New York, and (of course) Chicago. Despite their growth, Method operates as a boutique recruiting firm, focusing on building relationships with both their clients and the candidates they match them with. They’ve built a robust talent network over their more than 15 years as a recruiting agency, enabling them to connect clients with the best marketing talent in the Chicago area and beyond. Method’s main advantage over the competition is their tight focus on the digital marketing industry. As experts in this space, they understand the skills and knowledge that content marketing, lead generation, ecommerce marketing, SEO, and other online advertising teams need to thrive.
4.Empowered Staffing
From their headquarters in Evanston, IL, Empowered Staffing finds marketing recruitment solutions for companies across the Chicago area, as well as in markets like Miami, Indianapolis, Detroit, and Denver. They serve as strategic partners for advertising agencies and businesses across industries who need to hire highly-skilled marketers to grow their brands. Their areas of expertise include display advertising, search engine marketing (SEM), market research, and social media marketing. They connect employers with talent at all levels, from individual creative talent like copywriters and graphic designers to directors and executives who can lead your marketing team.
5. RSI Executive Search
RSI Executive Search has locations around the world, with offices in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Russia, and the UK as well as major U.S. metro areas including Seattle, Philadelphia, Boston, and Dallas. They have the same broad focus when it comes to the industries they work in, serving more than 40 vertical markets including public relations, advertising, sales, and marketing. This broad reach is an advantage for the companies they partner with. They’re a particularly good fit for startups and other companies that need to hire a number of candidates for a variety of roles. In the marketing executive search space, they focus on placing individuals among the top 5% of passive candidates, and have developed a reputation for quickly identifying the right talent to solve clients’ hiring challenges.
Digital marketing recruiting costs in Chicago
While inflation has slowed to its lowest point since early 2021, companies and consumers alike are still feeling the strain of economic uncertainty on their budgets. As prices continue to increase, the cost of recruiting services is a major consideration for companies considering an agency to solve their hiring challenges.
The good news is, hiring a recruiter can often offer cost savings compared to using in-house search teams, especially when it comes to filling executive roles and other hard to fill positions. Most companies spend as much as $20,000 for each employee hired through in-house teams, and that doesn’t even include the new hire’s salary and benefits–or the costs of embarking on a second search if the first employee doesn’t prove to be a good fit.
How much you’ll spend for recruiting services depends on the type of search firm you hire. There are two primary fee structures: retained search and contingent search. In a retained search model, the recruiter is paid a flat monthly fee for the duration of the search and works exclusively. This tends to be the more expensive option, and is typically used for executive roles and confidential searches.
For most positions, contingency recruitment will be the better option. In this structure, the recruiter is paid when a successful candidate is hired. Their fee is determined as a percentage of the new hire’s first year salary, usually between 10-30%. With the average base salary for a digital marketer in Chicago currently at $82,732 per year, that would mean a fee of between $8,273 and $24,819, depending on the recruiter’s rates.
The benefits of digital marketing recruitment
Costs aside, there are several advantages to working with a dedicated recruiting firm compared to hiring in-house. First and foremost, you’ll get access to more candidates, which often translates to better hires. Recruiting firms have connections with top professionals in their industries of focus, including passive candidates that most companies can’t access.
A third-party recruiter can also typically find that high-quality talent faster. Many recruitment firms are able to deliver potential candidates to clients in as little as a week, compared to the weeks (or even months) many companies spend searching for the right person.
A recruitment firm is a time-saver in other ways, too. Since they’re handling the search, that frees your HR team and leadership up to focus on other projects. The peace of mind from knowing you have someone dedicated to your search, while you’re able to devote your time to running and growing the business, is worth the expense of recruitment alone for many business leaders.
Choosing the right marketing search firm for your needs
Recruitment is all about relationships. While the specific search methods and candidate networks differ between recruiting firms, the most important thing when you’re choosing a recruitment partner is the same as when you’re hiring an employee: you want someone who’s a good fit for your culture and company.
Before you decide which search firm to hire, schedule a meeting, phone call, or video call to talk about your hiring needs and what you want from a recruitment agency. This is an opportunity to get a feel for their communication style and whether you’ll be able to work together well throughout the search.
Some great questions to ask the recruiter during this conversation include:
- How do you find and screen the candidates for your searches?
- What is your experience recruiting for this type of role and in the digital marketing industry?
- What are the steps in your recruitment process?
- How often will I receive updates on my search, and how will those be communicated?
- What is your expectation for the client’s involvement in the search process?
- How do you measure placement success?
- How long does it typically take you to complete this kind of search?
The recruiter’s answers to those questions, along with your sense of how well you communicate with the recruiter during this conversation, can help you decide whether the firm will be a good fit for your needs. If you don’t feel comfortable with the first recruiter you talk to, don’t fret! There are plenty of high-quality search firms in the Chicago area, as you can see from the list above. Being selective in which recruitment agency you employ can ensure you’re putting your company’s team and future in the right hands.