Expertise.com
2024

Last updated:

Best Employment Agencies in Chicago

Our Recommended Top 19

We did the research for you!

  • Licensing
  • User Reviews
  • Mystery Shopping Calls

Our goal is to connect people with the best local professionals. We scored Chicago Employment Agencies on more than 25 variables across five categories, and analyzed the results to give you a hand-picked list of the best.

677

Reviewed

413

Curated

19

Top Picks

Learn about our selection process.

Providers

featured provider = Featured Provider

Website
Deerfield, IL 60015

Why choose this provider?

CultureFit is a technology staffing company located in Deerfield, Illinois that helps bring skilled technical professionals together with tech-based companies. They truly value each of their clients, and have a genuine dedication to providing them with an excellent staffing experience and superior service. Their team of recruiters works with a sense of urgency that is unmatched by their competitors, and strives to put their customers first. CultureFit posts many job openings for positions such as .NET developers, JavaScript developers, infrastructure project managers, and business process analysts.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.1
Facebook
4.2 / 5 (4)
Yelp
4.0 / 5 (4)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
Orland Park, IL 60462

Why choose this provider?

My Future Consulting, Inc. is an executive search and recruiting agency located in Orland Park, Illinois that specializes in diversity recruitment. Since their founding, they have been helping their clients find jobs in many various industries including accounting and finance, human resources, tax management, sales management, quality assurance, marketing, manufacturing, logistics, and information technology. My Future Consulting, Inc. uses informed decision making, long-term relationship building, and personalized solutions to ensure that both employer and employee are completely satisfied.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Facebook
5.0 / 5 (2)
Google
5.0 / 5 (1)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
150 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60601
  • HR

Why choose this provider?

Arlington Resources is a Chicago-based employment agency that focuses on the human resource industry. For over two decades, it has helped job seekers fill direct-hire positions, temporary positions, and temp-to-hire positions. Its previous clients include talent acquisition managers, recruiting coordinators, and payroll representatives. Arlington Resources is also a member of multiple professional organizations, such as the Illinois Search & Staffing Association and Diversity Staffing Firms. It has also won Inavero’s Best of Staffing® Client award for seven consecutive years.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.0
Google
5.0 / 5 (10)
Yelp
2.0 / 5 (5)

Website
Chicago, IL 60654
  • Architecture/Engineering

Why choose this provider?

Gaines International is an executive search and recruitment firm that serves clients in the Chicago area. The firm works with the real estate development, engineering, interior design, architecture, and construction industries to find talent that fits their needs. Its proprietary Foresight process is an evidence-based search and matching methodology that results in 97% of offer acceptance and 92% retention at the two-year mark. In addition to recruitment, Gaines International also offers leadership advisory services. The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of Allen Austin.

Website
20 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60602
  • Marketing

Why choose this provider?

Sales Recruiters Chicago is a specialist firm that offers recruitment services for sales professionals in its metro. It was founded in 1988 and has clients in medical, industrial, business products, pharmaceuticals, hardware, and software fields. It helps employee candidates prepare for their placement by offering resume tips and interview training. Its comprehensive recruiting services include high-volume, long-term hiring, low-volume within an immediate to short-term hiring window, and single hiring for high-level positions. SRC has worked with clients such as ChoiceOne Communications, iVEX, and Cintas.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Facebook
5.0 / 5 (2)

Website
500 West Madison Street, Chicago, IL 60661
  • Marketing
  • Executive
  • HR

Why choose this provider?

Russ Larko, a certified personnel consultant with over two decades of expertise in the staffing market, established The Larko Group in 1993, an employment agency based in Chicago. He and his team work on filtering the suitable candidates for companies seeking reliable and efficient applicants for several job vacancies. They cover a range of services, from providing online registration to conducting interviews to guide the applicants to the exclusive jobs at the best firms in town.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.2
Yelp
4.1 / 5 (87)
Google
4.5 / 5 (70)
Facebook
3.7 / 5 (10)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
53 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604
  • Marketing

Why choose this provider?

Banner Personnel is a 50-year-old employment agency that caters to clients in Chicago and nearby communities. It was founded in 1970 by Jim Singer, whose focus was on fresh college graduates. Now under new management, the agency caters to job seekers in accounting and finance, industrial, marketing, sales, and support positions. The agency also assists employers in filling temporary and direct hiring positions. Banner Personnel is associated with multiple professional organizations like the Human Resources Management Association of Chicago and the Illinois Search & Staffing Association.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
3.7
Facebook
3.7 / 5 (20)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
5023 West Armitage Avenue, Chicago, IL 60639
  • Architecture/Engineering

Why choose this provider?

Sharp Staff Inc is a family-owned and family-operated recruitment agency, which has been serving small businesses and large companies in Chicago and the surrounding communities since 2004. It customizes seasonal, temporary-to-permanent, and direct hire recruiting services, as well as payroll management. It also provides staffing services for various roles, such as maintenance, administrative, general labor, and warehouse. In addition, Sharp Staff assists individuals who are looking for employment or considering a job transition.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.8
Google
4.8 / 5 (184)
Facebook
5.0 / 5 (21)
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (1)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
200 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Executive
  • Technology

Why choose this provider?

General Search & Recruitment (GSR) has offered insurance recruitment and job placement services in Chicago since 1969. The firm recruits talents nationwide to connect them with its client companies which need mid-level to C-level positions in the insurance industry. GSR recruits brokers, reinsurers, insurance carriers, and third-party administrators in commercial property and casualty, life, health, and professional liability insurance. GSR's president and CEO Mike McDonough was formerly an insurance recruiter for the company before becoming its owner in 1996.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.5
Facebook
4.5 / 5 (2)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
125 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606
  • Finance

Why choose this provider?

In business since 2009, Brilliant is a contract and consulting practice that provides business solutions for clients in Chicago and nearby locations. It specializes in direct-hire placement for professionals in the finance, accounting, audit, and treasury industry. The team screens and tests candidates by administering various skills assessments, documenting answers to specific questions, and administering specified-third party testing remotely or onsite. Brilliant was awarded three years in a row as Forbes America’s Best Professional Recruiting Firms.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.5

Website
101 North Upper Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606
  • IT
  • HR

Why choose this provider?

Michael Page is a recruitment consultancy firm that has offices in various locations worldwide, including Chicago. It handles the recruitment of permanent, contractual, and temporary employees for second and third job levels and upwards. It recruits employees for a variety of industries, such as sales and marketing, procurement and supply chain, oil and gas, information technology, human resources, and accounting. The agency was founded in London by Bill McGregor and Michael Page in 1976.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.7
Google
4.8 / 5 (336)
Facebook
4.0 / 5 (67)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
211 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606
  • IT
  • HR
  • Finance

Why choose this provider?

City Staffing is a woman-owned employment agency that has been serving clients in Chicago and the surrounding communities for more than 25 years. It assists businesses in recruiting executives and temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct hire employees for a variety of industries, such as accounting and marketing. Moreover, City Staffing is a member of the Human Resources Management Association of Chicago. Its president and co-founder, Ellen Dettling, has over two decades of experience in developing recruitment strategies.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.1
Google
4.0 / 5 (135)
Yelp
4.0 / 5 (135)
Facebook
4.5 / 5 (91)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
35 East Wacker Place, Chicago, IL 60601
  • Marketing
  • Finance

Why choose this provider?

The Chicago Hire Company is a boutique staffing and recruiting agency that helps bring together qualified candidates and companies in need of temporary or permanent employees. With more than 50 years of combined staffing experience, its recruiters fill vacancies in a variety of industries such as finance, hospitality, healthcare, advertising, public relations, and marketing. Upon request, the agency also thoroughly screens candidates through drug screening, credit, and criminal background checks. The agency was established in 1999 and is a member of the American Staffing Association.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.5
Yelp
4.5 / 5 (67)
Facebook
4.2 / 5 (4)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
1400 East Touhy Avenue, Des Plaines, IL 60018
  • Temp
  • Executive

Why choose this provider?

Insurance Placement Solutions is an employment agency that serves the insurance staffing needs of clients in and around Chicago. The agency assists in filling out a company's temporary, temporary to hire, and direct hire positions for insurance professionals. Insurance Placement Solutions works directly with companies' human resource and recruitment departments to deliver insurance talents from entry-level to senior management level. The agency has been providing insurance staffing solutions for clients for more than 30 years.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Facebook
5.0 / 5 (1)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
401 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
  • Law

Why choose this provider?

Atticus Recruiting is an employment agency that serves clients in the Chicago area. Its services include partner and associate placement, in-house counsel searches, and practice group acquisitions and development. It also offers law firm mergers, legal career counseling, and pro-bono public sector career guidance services. Its founder, Michelle Kaplan McAndrew, is a lawyer and a legal recruiter and has been in the industry for over 18 years. She also served as a clinical law lecturer at a university in the metro.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Google
5.0 / 5 (10)

Website
1 Westbrook Corporate Center, Westchester, IL 60154
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • HR
  • IT
  • Architecture/Engineering

Why choose this provider?

CPS, Inc., matches professionals for service industries in Chicago and across the nation. It helps job seekers find temporary and permanent opportunities in various fields, such as accounting, engineering, advertising, information technology, laboratory, and employee benefits services. To streamline searches, recruiters with over 100 years of collective experience get relevant information about the business and the candidates. CPS has been expanding since 1973, with its supply chain division the latest to be established in 2013.

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
2451 North Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL 60639
  • Temp
  • HR

Why choose this provider?

Specialized Staffing Solutions, Inc., is a family-owned and family-operated employment agency serving the Chicago area. It specializes in light industrial staffing solutions. The types of positions the agency fills include distribution center workers, manufacturing line personnel, inventory management personnel, pallet jack operators, and receiving staff. Specialized Staffing Solutions also offers HR solutions and payroll services. The agency's CEO, Idania Stack, started her career in the industry as a staffing coordinator. She has been in the field for over three decades.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.5
Google
4.2 / 5 (21)
Facebook
5.0 / 5 (15)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
33 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL 60602
  • HR

Why choose this provider?

First Recruiting is an employment agency serving clients in Chicago. It offers a wide range of staffing services that include candidate recruitment, job interviewing and pre-screening, job offer presentation, background checks, and skills assessment. The agency provides direct-hire, temporary staffing, and temporary-to-hire job placements. In response to changes in the economic and employment landscape, it has adopted modern staffing technology. First Recruiting values diversity in the workplace and is an equal opportunity employer with 60 years of staffing experience.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.5
Google
4.5 / 5 (17)
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (2)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
4.5
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
1500 North Halsted St. Floor 2, Chicago, IL 60642
  • Architecture/Engineering

Why choose this provider?

Scion Staffing Chicago & The Midwest Region is an executive search firm and recruitment agency. It helps fill positions in industries like engineering, marketing, creative, medical, and nonprofits. It scouts for temporary, direct-hire, and executive personnel from its over 14 million candidates. The headhunter applies an exclusive search process that includes job description analysis, skills matching, interviews, background checks, and the final offer. It is a member of the American Staffing Association and listed in Forbe's best executive recruitment firms.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
4.3
Yelp
4.0 / 5 (39)
Facebook
5.0 / 5 (14)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is an employment agency the same as a staffing agency?

    While employment agencies and staffing agencies are similar in that they both connect employers with qualified employees, there are differences in the types of employment they focus on. Employment agencies qualify candidates on behalf of employers for long-term or permanent positions. Staffing agencies, on the other hand, typically provide employers with short-term workers. Some specific types of agencies include:

    • Traditional employment agencies help employers find candidates to fill open long-term jobs.
    • Temp agencies provide employers with workers to fill open jobs on a short-term basis.
    • Industry-specific employment agencies have insider knowledge about the skills an employer needs for positions that require special training, skills, or licensing.
    • Recruitment firms manage the recruiting process to help companies find qualified workers.
  • How do staffing agencies work?

    Employers contact staffing agencies and list qualifications they need in an employee as well as details about the job, including how long they expect to need the worker. The staffing agencies search through the list of available workers, interview candidates on behalf of the company, and send the most qualified ones out to the work site. Staffing agencies also manage the employee paperwork, such as payroll and taxes, as long as the worker is employed through the staffing agency.

  • What is a temp agency?

    A temp agency sends workers with the necessary skills to companies that contact the agency about open, often limited-term, positions. This type of agency manages the paperwork and payroll of the temporary employee while the company pays a contracted fee to the agency to cover the costs of recruiting and managing the HR functions.

  • How much do staffing agencies charge?

    Staffing agencies typically charge employers a fee that starts around 20% of a worker's hourly wage to find candidates and manage HR functions on the company's behalf. Some agencies also charge a fee for recruiting employees based on the worker's expected annual salary.

    • Traditional agencies charge the employer a percentage on top of employee wages, though some agencies charge a fee to workers as well.
    • Temp agencies usually charge the employer the worker's base salary plus 15% to 60% or more to cover the costs of recruiting and maintaining payroll and HR paperwork.
    • Recruiters are sometimes referred to as headhunters and these agencies typically charge the employer between 20% and 30% of the employee's first-year wages.
  • What companies use staffing agencies?

    Companies that struggle to find qualified workers and those that require a large number of workers to keep the company operating use staffing agencies. Businesses with temporary staffing needs during peak times, such as the holiday season, also use temporary staffing agencies.

    Examples of companies that bring on temporary workers through staffing agencies include manufacturing companies with large orders to fulfill, call centers that need people to answer phones and make sales calls, and warehouses that manage large shipping orders, such as Amazon.

  • Do temp agencies provide health insurance?

    Some temp agencies offer health insurance to employees, which provides a benefit for employers who don't want to manage coverage in-house for workers. While it was required under the original Affordable Care Act (ACA), changes to this law have since been enacted. It may now depend on the number of employees the temp service manages or the business decision of the temp agency's management team.

  • What is a medical staffing agency?

    Medical staffing agencies provide clinical professionals for various medical facilities and insurance establishments. Hiring through these agencies ensures facilities have qualified professionals on staff. Some of these agencies specialize in short-term positions, such as traveling nurses. The specific types of jobs filled by medical staffing agencies include nurses, pharmacy technicians, physical and occupational therapists, and massage therapists.

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