How the hiring models actually compare

Each page explains one way of buying hiring, including when it is genuinely the right call, and where its economics stop serving you. Every comparison names what our own model cannot do, because a page that only argues one way is not a comparison.

Recruitment agencies: how the model works, and where it stops working What a recruitment agency actually sells, when contingency or retained is the right call, what each fee structure rewards, and what a talent acquisition function does differently.
Applicant tracking system: what it does, and what it does not decide What an applicant tracking system is for, who should buy one, what to check before you do, and why an ATS organises an applicant problem without making it smaller.
Executive search firms, and the layer they are not built for How retained executive search works, when a search firm is the right call, what off-limits agreements and staged fees mean for you, and what covers the layer below the C-suite.
Placement agencies, and the questions to ask before you sign What a placement agency does, when placement is the right way to hire, who pays the fee, and the questions that separate a real search from a database forward.
Recruitment process outsourcing, and the pricing model that decides what you get What RPO actually is, the three shapes it comes in, how FTE and cost-per-hire pricing change what you receive, and the questions to settle before an implementation starts.
Lateral hiring: when to buy the experience, and when to build it What lateral hiring is, how it compares with internal promotion and campus hiring, the failure modes specific to experienced hires, and how to keep a lateral offer inside your band.

Every page here carries the same funnel numbers, each one sourced. See the workings and the citations.