America’s Best Recruiting Firms 2025
Forbes Media LLC and Statista, Inc. are going to recognize America's Best Recruiting Firms for the ninth year in a row. To do so, we are collecting information from recruiters and clients through a survey that started in November 2024.
Do you have expertise in the field of recruiting, e.g., as an external or in-house recruiter, or due to your work in talent acquisitions or as a hiring manager? If so, we would like to hear about your experience dealing with various firms. We would be very grateful if you took the time to participate in the survey. You can register now to receive a personal invitation to the survey.
Please visit forbes.com to see last year’s rankings.
Methodology
For the ninth year in a row, Forbes and Statista, are planning to award America’s Best Recruiting Firms for executive search, professional search, and temporary staffing. The results are expected to be published in the late spring of 2025. The aim of this publication is to provide companies and candidates with a tool to help them select the recruiting partners best suited to their needs.
Statista, the independent market research institute and statistics platform, is planning to conduct broad surveys among candidates, external recruiters and in-house recruiters (including hiring managers) in the United States between November 2024 and January 17th 2025.
External recruiters working in recruiting firms, in-house recruiters and hiring managers working at client firms will be invited by e-mail to take part in the survey via a personalized link. You can register on this website to receive a personal invitation to take part in the survey if you are working:
- in a recruiting firm (e.g., as an external recruiter)
- in talent acquisitions (e.g., as an in-house recruiter or hiring manager) — not as a member of a recruiting firm — and have used the services of recruiting firms in the U.S.
For transparency, all persons who register are required to provide a valid business e-mail address and their contact information. Registrants using private e-mail addresses and generic business e-mail addresses will not be considered.
The survey only takes a few minutes, and participation is voluntary. The recommendations are summarized and evaluated anonymously. The quality of recruiting firms that are not included in the lists is not disputed. If you have any questions regarding the survey (not answered in the FAQ below), please contact Anna-Marie Rowold at Statista via bestrecruitersus@statista.com.
Q&A
Q: What does a company have to do to be nominated to appear in the list?
A: Since it is an independent survey carried out by Forbes and Statista, your company needs to be nominated by a participant in the survey. No prior registration is required, and no costs are involved for the nomination.
Q: I am working for a recruiting firm - why do I have to recommend a company other than my own?
A: For industry insiders, such as you, our survey relies on a tested peer-to-peer recommendation approach. For instance, if you could not accept a particular project, who would you recommend to a potential client? The survey is informed by the knowledge and mutual appreciation among peers working in the same industry. So in order to participate in the survey, you’ll be required to recommend at least one company that is not your own and to act as a truthful and fair critic when recognizing the work of peers.
Q: Will the participation in the survey be remunerated?
A: No, given that it is an independent survey and participation is voluntary.
Q: Is there a separate survey or registration for members of executive recruiting firms?
A: No, executive recruiters may use the link to the registration form above. The invitation sent to you will lead to a survey that will enable you to choose whether to recommend executive recruiting firms or firms with other specializations.
Q: Do I have to pay to appear on the published list?
A: No. All winners are allowed to promote their success via press releases, social networks and on their websites. However, there will be a licensing fee for use of the "America’s Best Executive/Professional Search Firms 2025" or "America’s Best Temp Staffing Firms 2025” logos. This offer is open to all winners and is voluntary.
Q: Can a company appear in more than one list?
A: Yes, a firm with several areas of expertise may be awarded more than once. For example, a firm may be on the list for executive search firms as well as for professional search firms.
Q: Is the list of America’s Best Recruiting Firms funded by a recruiting firm or commissioned by a specific customer?
A: No, the list is a journalistic publication, funded, directed, and supported by Forbes and Statista.
Q: How are the winning companies identified?
A: The list honors the companies that are most frequently recommended and best rated by the survey participants.
Q: Am I allowed to share the link to this pre-registration website with others?
A: You may share this link with other external recruiters (including members of your company) and talent acquisition/hiring managers. To participate, these persons may pre-register using their business e-mail address and full contact information. Candidates may not take part in the survey by registering via this website. Instead, Statista will approach candidates in a separate survey using other means of communication.
Q: When will the survey be available?
A: The survey will launch in November 2024 and be open for responses until the middle of January 2025.
Q: When will the lists “America’s Best Executive/Professional Search Firms" and “America’s Best Temp Staffing Firms” be published?
A: The list will be published in late spring of 2025 on the Forbes website.
Q: How do I know if my firm is among the winners?
A: The results of the survey will be published on the Forbes website. In addition, the winning companies will be notified by mail shortly before the publication.