Good recruitment leads are companies that are hiring right now, for roles you can fill, and that are struggling to fill them on their own. Every other kind of lead — a company that might hire someday — is a nurturing project, not a sale. For a recruitment or staffing agency, the whole job of lead generation is finding open roles early and reaching the person who owns them.
This guide covers how to find companies that are hiring, how to read a job post as a sales brief, which companies are worth an agency's time, how to approach the hiring manager, and how to structure fees so a first placement becomes an account.
Which companies buy from recruitment agencies
Not every hiring company uses agencies. Large companies with in-house talent teams use agencies for hard roles only. Very small companies often hire through their own network. The sweet spot is in between: growing companies with real hiring volume and no dedicated recruiter.
| Company | What they hire | Why they use an agency | Agency type that fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growing SMEs, 20–200 staff | Sales, operations, accounts, first managers | No in-house recruiter; founder screening CVs | Permanent recruitment |
| Funded startups | Engineers, product, growth, leadership | Speed; hiring plan tied to the funding round | Permanent and executive search |
| Multi-branch retail, clinics, restaurants | Store, front-desk, kitchen and branch staff | Volume and churn; new branches open with full teams | Staffing and volume hiring |
| Manufacturing and warehousing | Operators, supervisors, seasonal labour | Shift cover, peaks, compliance paperwork | Contract staffing |
| Hospitals and clinic groups | Nurses, technicians, front office | Constant shortage; credential checks | Specialist healthcare recruitment |
| Professional firms | Qualified accountants, lawyers, analysts | Small candidate pools, confidential searches | Specialist permanent recruitment |
Decide which rows you serve. A staffing firm placing warehouse operators and a search firm placing finance heads both want companies that are hiring, but they want different companies, different roles and a different person on the other end of the phone.
Hiring signals: how to read recruitment leads
Mantis reads a company's careers page and job board presence and flags it as hiring. That flag is the core signal, but what makes it useful is what the roles say:
Read the role list as a picture of the company's next six months. A company hiring its first HR manager is about to formalise hiring and may want a recruitment partner. A company hiring several branch managers is opening locations and will need full teams under each of them. A company hiring only senior roles after a funding round is building the leadership layer and is a search client, not a volume one. The same hiring flag means a different sale in each case, and the agencies that read the roles before calling are the ones that sound like they understand the business.
A job post that has been open for weeks is a better lead than a fresh one. A role reposted or still open after a month tells you the company's own channels have not worked, which is exactly the moment an agency is welcome. Check the posting date on the job board when you see one.
Find companies hiring for the roles you fill.
Tell Mantis the roles, industries and cities you recruit for. It finds companies with open roles, new branches or recent funding and shows the contact details.
Find recruitment leadsWhere staffing leads come from
| Source | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Job boards | Shows open roles directly | Every agency reads the same boards; you are rarely first |
| Company careers pages | Roles often appear here before job boards, and some never reach them | Scattered across thousands of sites; impractical by hand |
| Signal-based search (Mantis) | Reads careers pages at scale, adds funding and branch signals | Shows that a company hires, not who the hiring manager is |
| Funding news | Predicts hiring before roles are posted | Startups are heavily prospected by other agencies |
| Past candidates now in management | Warm, trusting relationships | Takes years to build |
| Finding the hiring manager by name | Crowded inboxes; generic messages ignored |
The practical combination: find hiring companies by signal, then use LinkedIn or the company website to identify the hiring manager or founder, and reach them by phone or a short direct email. Applying the agency approach only to roles that match your specialism keeps your fill rate high, and fill rate is what earns repeat business.
What to say to a hiring manager
Hiring managers receive agency messages constantly, and almost all of them are the same: we have great candidates, can we work together. The message that gets answered shows you have read their role and already have someone relevant.
An email about a specific open role:
Subject: Your area sales manager opening in [city]
"Hi [name] — I saw the area sales manager role for [city] has been open on your careers page for a few weeks. We place sales managers in [industry] across [region], and I have two people currently interviewing elsewhere who have run teams of eight to ten in this market. If it helps, I can send two anonymised profiles today and you can tell me whether they are close to what you need."
A call opening for a staffing firm:
"Hi, I'm with [agency]. We supply front-desk and branch staff to clinic groups in [city]. I noticed you have a new branch opening in [area] — how are you staffing it? We can usually have shortlisted candidates ready within a week."
Offer something concrete — profiles, a timeline, a shortlist — rather than a meeting. A meeting is a cost to them; two relevant profiles are a gift.
Specialise your outreach list, not just your pitch
Contacting every hiring company dilutes your fill rate. Approach only companies hiring roles you have filled before, in markets where you have candidates. A high fill rate on fewer clients beats a low one on many.
Fees and terms that turn one role into an account
Contingency for the first role. New clients rarely pay a retainer to an agency they have not tried. A contingency fee on the first placement lowers the barrier.
Retained or exclusive for the second. Once you have placed well, propose a retained or exclusive arrangement for senior or hard-to-fill roles. You work the role properly; they get priority attention.
Volume pricing for staffing. For volume hiring and contract staffing, a per-head rate or a margin on contract staff, with agreed replacement terms, is the standard structure. Be explicit about the replacement period and what happens if a hire leaves early.
Write the replacement guarantee clearly. A replacement period for permanent placements is expected. A clear one avoids the argument; a vague one costs you the relationship.
A weekly routine for recruitment leads
Define your roles and markets
The roles you fill well, the industries and the cities where you have candidates.
Pull hiring companies by signal
Search Mantis for companies in those industries and cities that are hiring, expanding or recently funded.
Read the roles
Keep only companies with roles you can fill. Note how long each role has been open.
Find the hiring manager
Use the company site or LinkedIn to name the person who owns the role.
Send role-specific outreach with profiles
Name the role, show you understand it, offer anonymised profiles.
Follow up when the role is still open
A role still listed two weeks later is a stronger reason to call again.
Recruitment lead checklist
See who is hiring in your market this week.
Mantis reads careers pages and listings across your cities and flags companies that are hiring, expanding or recently funded.
Start your searchFrequently asked questions
What are recruitment leads?
Companies that are hiring now, for roles an agency can fill, and that are likely to need outside help. The strongest are companies whose roles have stayed open for weeks, which shows their own channels have not worked.
How do staffing agencies find new clients?
By tracking companies with open roles, new branches or recent funding, then reaching the hiring manager with role-specific outreach and candidate profiles. Job boards help, but careers pages and expansion signals often show demand earlier.
Where can I find companies that are hiring?
Job boards, company careers pages, funding news and new-branch openings. Mantis reads careers pages and job board presence and flags companies as hiring, alongside funding and branch signals.
How do I approach a hiring manager as a recruiter?
Reference the specific role, show you understand the market for it, and offer two anonymised candidate profiles rather than a meeting. Generic messages offering to work together are ignored.
Should a recruitment agency work on contingency or retainer?
Contingency usually wins the first role with a new client. Once you have placed well, propose a retained or exclusive arrangement for senior and hard-to-fill roles.
Related reading
the full guide to finding clients · how big your pipeline should be · a weekly prospecting routine · bought databases versus live search · the coaching and training version · businesses listed in Gurgaon
