Answer:  The transactional relationship is about moving a search forward quickly and working with less involvement and less depth as I’ve described.  As a result, the consultant may ask for a resume that is “at the ready” and spend some time interviewing the individual. Once that happens the resume is forwarded to the hiring organization.

The in-depth relationship-building effort is more complex, thorough and slower. There is a detailed discussion about the work history to understand the long-term career goals and any factors that could be an issue in accepting a new position.

Potential problems are discussed carefully and are shared with the hiring manager if they are not serious enough to remove the candidate from consideration. On the other hand, if it becomes clear that the candidate’s longer-term career goals are not a match with the company’s direction, the potential candidate is withdrawn from consideration.

In addition, the resume is evaluated, and suggestions made to improve it for review by the hiring team.  Once the resume is ready, it is submitted, and the client sees how the experience is relevant to the job description. In almost all cases when this process is followed, the candidate is interviewed.  Through this approach, the screening is sufficiently effective so that the client sees a very limited number of finalists.