Direct-Hire Placement
Direct-hire placement for permanent digital, marketing and creative roles
Direct-hire placement is a permanent hire paid on a placement fee, with nothing owed until someone starts. It fits a role that is already well defined and properly priced, where what you actually need is market coverage and someone with the time to run the process properly. Everything KYO places is permanent. There is no contract, temp or temp-to-perm option, and if that is what your situation needs you will be told so rather than sold something else.
When does direct-hire placement fit better than a retained search?
When the role is understood and the disagreement is not about what the job is. If you can state the two outcomes this person owns, and the compensation is set at a level that matches them, the remaining problem is reach and time. That is what a placement engagement solves. If you cannot state those two outcomes yet, the honest recommendation is to do the advisory work first, because a fast search against a vague brief just produces a faster disappointment.
What does KYO actually do during a placement search?
- 01Pressure-tests the brief and the compensation against the market before going out, and says so if either looks wrong.
- 02Builds the target list, which includes people who are not looking and will never see your posting.
- 03Runs the outreach personally, in a way that gives a senior person a reason to take a first conversation.
- 04Screens against the brief and writes down the reasoning, so you can disagree with the assessment rather than just the conclusion.
- 05Presents a short, readable shortlist, and manages scheduling, feedback loops, offer and resignation through to a start date.
How is a shortlist put together?
Small and argued for. Four or five people, each with a stated reason they are on the page, and the reservation stated alongside it where one exists. A shortlist of fifteen is not a shortlist, it is the search being handed back to you. The point of engaging someone is that the filtering has already happened and you can spend your time on the conversations rather than on the sorting.
Posting the job versus running a direct-hire search
| Posting the role | Direct-hire search | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you reach | People actively looking, right now | Active candidates plus people who are not looking |
| Who does the filtering | Your team, through everything that comes in | Done before anything reaches you |
| Speed to first conversation | Fast, if the right person happens to be looking | Slower to start, more consistent after that |
| What it costs | Advertising, plus your team's time | A placement fee on hire |
| Where it works best | Roles with a deep, active local market | Senior roles, and disciplines where the best people are employed |
These are not alternatives so much as different reach. Post the role as well. Just do not mistake a posting for a search.
What happens after an offer is accepted?
The engagement is not finished at the signature. Resignations get countered, start dates slip, and the weeks between accepting and starting are when a hire is most likely to fall over. Staying in contact through that period is part of the job, not an extra.
Start a search
Start a direct-hire search
Send the role and the band. If a search is not the right answer, you will hear that instead.
kelly.yosten@kyosearchpartners.comCommon Questions
Is there any cost before someone starts?
- No. A direct-hire placement engagement is paid on placement.
Can we run other firms at the same time?
- You can. It is worth saying so at the start, because it changes how the search is worked and what is realistic to promise.
What levels do you place?
- Senior individual contributors through to leadership across digital, marketing and creative. Very junior and high-volume hiring is not what this firm is for.
Do you place contract or freelance talent?
- No. Permanent, direct-hire only.