If you are looking for a recruitment agency alternative, start with one exercise: write down what the agency actually does for you. In most cases it is three jobs: search, screening and scheduling. You can do all three yourself if you have good data, and that is where most of the fee goes.
This guide shows how to do each job, what to check, and where the time really goes. It then shows how we set up Talent Navigator so you can work this way.
What does a recruitment agency actually do for you?
Agencies sound different from each other, but the work behind the fee is usually the same. Strip away the sales pitch and you get a short list:
- Search: finding people who might fit the role.
- Screening: deciding which of them can really do the job.
- Scheduling: getting candidate and hiring manager into the same call.
That is the core of it. Everything else is packaging.
Our view: if you can name the three jobs, you can price them. Then ask whether the fee matches the work. On a senior hire, a percentage of first-year salary is a large sum for a search, a shortlist and a calendar.
Job one: search the pool yourself
Agencies search because they hold a database. The problem is that you rarely see it, and you cannot tell how fresh it is.
If you can search a pool directly, you skip the middle step. Write your search brief before you open any list:
- The one or two skills the role cannot work without.
- The time zone overlap you need, in hours.
- The seniority you want, in plain terms: can lead, or can follow a clear brief.
- Your salary range, in US dollars.
Then filter hard. Our piece on how to screen remote developers fast with four filters walks through a quick way to cut a long list down.
Job two: screen with a score, not a CV
This is the job agencies charge most for, and the one most people get wrong. A CV tells you what someone says they did. It does not tell you what they can do today.
The fix is evidence. A role-specific technical test, taken under camera supervision, gives you something a CV cannot: proof the person did the work themselves. A separate communication score tells you whether they can explain it.
When you read a result, look for three things:
- Does the test match the role, or is it a generic puzzle?
- Was it supervised, so you know who sat it?
- Is there a communication score next to the technical one?
We explain why this matters in what a technical test catches that interviews miss. If you are comparing tools to run tests yourself, read how to choose technical hiring assessment software.
Job three: book the interview yourself
Scheduling feels like admin, but it is where pipelines stall. A recruiter in the middle adds a day or two to every reply.
Cutting the middle person fixes this. You message the candidate, offer two or three slots, and confirm. Keep it simple:
- Send the slots in the candidate's time zone as well as yours.
- Share the interview format in advance: who joins, how long, what you will ask.
- Keep the first call short, and use it to test the things the score cannot show.
If you have a test score already, you do not need five rounds. Our guide on how to vet a remote developer in two calls shows what to cover in each.
What to do this week
You do not need to change everything at once. Try this in five working days:
- Monday: write down the three jobs and note which one eats most of your time.
- Tuesday: write your search brief with the four points above.
- Wednesday: build a shortlist of five people from a pool where you can see test scores.
- Thursday: send interview slots to all five.
- Friday: hold the first calls and compare scores against what you hear.
If you are hiring across borders, also decide early how the person will be employed. Our guide on hiring in India as an employee, not a contractor covers the options.
How Talent Navigator does the three jobs with you
Talent Navigator is a self-serve hiring marketplace. You search, shortlist and interview. There is no recruiter between you and the candidate.
Here is how that maps to the three jobs:
- Search: you search a network of 50,000+ developers directly.
- Screening: every visible profile has cleared four checks: a role-specific technical test under camera supervision, a separate communication score, a video introduction, and verified education and work history.
- Scheduling: you book the interview yourself.
You pay credits per profile unlock. There is no percentage of first-year salary and no retainer. If you want to hire someone in another country without opening a legal entity, you can ask for employer of record: we employ them legally in their own country and run salary, tax, benefits and contracts for a flat monthly fee. Our plain guide explains what an employer of record is.
Frequently asked questions
Is it realistic to hire without a recruitment agency?
Yes, if you have two things: a pool you can search directly and a reliable way to judge skill. Without those, an agency fills the gap. With them, the work is search, a score and a calendar.
What if I do not have time to screen candidates?
Screening takes less time when the test is already done. Reading a supervised score and a communication score takes minutes per profile, not a full interview round. You then spend call time only on people who have cleared the bar.
Is hiring this way cheaper than an agency?
With us, you pay credits per profile unlock, not a percentage of salary. We quote a 40% average cost saving, and every placement comes with a 2 weeks risk-free trial. Compare it with the quote you have from an agency, line by line.
If you have an open role and want to try the three jobs yourself, post your first job free and see who is in the pool.