Recruitment can be a battlefield. With the pressure to fill roles quickly, many companies fall into the seemingly smart trap of assigning the same position to multiple recruiters, thinking that more hands will lead to faster results. On paper, it sounds efficient. In reality, it’s often the opposite.
Recently, I came across a post by Inez Willeboordse, founder of JobnetAfrica, that sparked a deeper reflection. She rightly pointed out that pitting recruiters against each other creates a race against the clock. In this race, recruiters often focus on the lowest-hanging fruit… desperate candidates who are immediately available instead of investing the time and energy needed to source high-quality, top-performing talent.
This resonated deeply with me, but I felt compelled to add another layer to the conversation.
When everyone’s in, No one wins
One of the most overlooked risks of hiring multiple recruiters is duplication. Imagine investing time with a candidate, only for three other recruiters to submit the same person to the client. Now imagine being the recruiter who discovered that candidate, only to lose the commission because another firm sent the CV in an hour earlier.
How do we fairly reward effort in such a scenario? We don’t.
What happens next is entirely predictable. Recruiters begin to hedge their bets. Instead of putting in real effort to find the right fit, they rush to send candidates whose CVs might stick. Because if they don’t act fast, someone else will. The result? A flooded inbox with profiles that barely meet the mark.
The client suffers. The recruiters suffer. And the candidate experience becomes an afterthought.
It’s not just about competition, It’s about clarity
Let’s be honest. Even with one recruiter involved, poor results can and do happen. And one of the most common reasons is a lack of clarity from the client.
As someone leading Hafinen, a company deeply embedded in supporting HR and recruitment functions, I’ve seen this across different industries and geographies. Vague job descriptions, shifting expectations, undefined salary ranges which create a moving target that even the best recruiter can’t hit.
When a client is unclear about what they’re looking for, recruiters are left to guess. And when they guess wrong, they’re blamed for delivering “bad CVs.” But bad input almost always leads to bad output. Precision in hiring starts with the client.
Why misaligned incentives are poison
Incentives drive behavior. If you create a structure where recruiters are likely to walk away empty-handed after weeks of work, don’t be surprised when you get half-hearted effort in return.
A common argument I hear is “We want to test the market before committing to one recruiter.” That makes sense if you’re purchasing a product. But talent acquisition is not a shelf item you can compare side by side. It’s a high-touch process that demands time, trust, and relationship-building. If a recruiter doesn’t believe their effort will be rewarded, the logical response is to cut corners.
And let’s not forget the candidate’s point of view. How do you think it reflects on your brand when the same person is approached multiple times by different recruiters about the same role? It reeks of chaos, not opportunity.
What companies should be doing instead
At Hafinen, we work with both recruiters and in-house HR professionals. We’ve built tools that streamline hiring, from job requisition to onboarding. But even with the best technology in place, if the human element is mismanaged, the process breaks.
So, here’s what we recommend to companies serious about hiring right:
1. Choose one recruiter or one firm per role.
Give them the breathing space to do a quality search. Make them feel trusted, not pitted against others.
2. Set clear expectations.
Outline the must-haves and the nice-to-haves. Share realistic timelines. Be transparent about the compensation band.
3. Commit to feedback.
Ghosting your recruiter is just as harmful as ghosting a candidate. Regular feedback helps improve submissions and builds trust.
4. Formalize candidate ownership rules.
Make it crystal clear who “owns” a candidate. Time-stamping systems or candidate submission tracking can help avoid conflicts.
5. Build relationships, not just transactions.
Great recruiters are more than CV-slingers. They’re strategic partners. Treat them as such and the quality of work will reflect it.
Multiple recruiters might seem like more reach. But more reach without direction only leads to noise.
As leaders, we have to stop chasing speed at the cost of quality, and start designing hiring processes that reflect the value we place on our teams. After all, every great company is built by people. And finding the right people requires more than throwing CVs at a wall and hoping one sticks.
It requires intention. It requires clarity. And above all, it requires trust.
Let’s get better at that.
