Choosing a recruitment firm is a hiring decision in its own right. The partner you select will speak for your organisation to people you have not yet met, shape how the market perceives your opportunity, and ultimately influence who joins your team. In Luxembourg, where the professional community is small, multilingual, and closely connected, that choice carries even more weight.
Whether you are hiring a Fund Accountant, a Head of Compliance, or a Conducting Officer, the eight questions below will help you assess whether a recruitment firm is a true partner or simply a source of CVs. We have also been open about our own answers at Anderson Wise, so you can hold us to the same expectations.
1. Do They Specialise in Your Sector?
Generalist agencies can fill a vacancy. Specialist consultants understand what the role truly requires. In financial services, context is everything: a candidate’s exposure to CSSF requirements, AIFMD, a particular fund structure, or a specific client segment can determine whether a hire succeeds. A specialist consultant will challenge your brief, benchmark the role against the market, and identify the nuances that a keyword search may miss.
Ask: Which roles similar to ours have you placed recently, and what did you learn from them?
At Anderson Wise, each of our consultants focuses on defined sectors, including private banking and wealth management, asset management and AIFMs, private equity, fund administration, compliance and risk, legal, and accounting and finance. That focus is what allows us to speak your language from the first call.
2. How Well Do They Know the Luxembourg Market?
Hiring in Luxembourg comes with its own considerations: access to cross-border talent from France, Belgium, and Germany, language requirements, salary expectations, and regulatory approval for key function holders all shape what is realistic. A good recruitment firm should be able to advise you on each of these before the search begins.
Ask: What salary range and timeline would you expect for this role, and why?
Anderson Wise was founded in Luxembourg in 2019 by recruiters with decades of experience in this market, and our team has now met more than 80,000 professionals here. We are active members of ALFI, the LPEA, L3A, and several international chambers of commerce, ensuring that our market knowledge is based on current insight rather than assumptions.
3. Can They Reach Candidates Who Are Not Looking?
Strong candidates can be actively searching, considering their next move, or not looking at all. A successful search needs to reach beyond those responding to advertised roles.
Engaging professionals who are not actively looking depends on reputation and relationships: experienced professionals are more likely to respond to a name they know and trust. As we explored in There isn’t a talent shortage. There’s a visibility problem., the question is often not whether the talent exists, but whether your opportunity reaches it.
Ask: How will you approach passive candidates, and why would they take your call?
With more than 80,000 LinkedIn followers, Anderson Wise is the most followed local and independent firm in Luxembourg. For our clients, that visibility translates into a practical advantage: when we call, people pick up.
4. Who Will Actually Work on Your Search?
Many firms send a senior partner to win the business and a junior consultant to deliver it. Ask who will run your assignment day to day, how much experience they have, and whether they will stay with you from brief to start date.
Ask: Who is my point of contact, and what is their track record in this area?
Our team brings over 200 years of combined recruitment experience, and our Partners stay hands-on throughout every assignment. You deal with the person who understands your brief, not a series of handovers.
5. Do They Take the Time to Understand Your Business and Culture?
Skills may get a candidate shortlisted. Fit determines whether they stay. A recruitment partner who invests time in understanding your team, your leadership style, and the reason the role exists will send you fewer and better CVs.
Ask: What do you need to know about our team before you start searching?
One Managing Director in private equity told us that, even in a competitive market, they received CVs “only for candidates who really fit the role”. For senior and leadership hires, our Executive Search practice can provide additional psychometric insight through Hogan assessments and our Leadership Advisory services, helping you understand how a leader will perform, not just what they have done.
6. Are Their Process and Terms Transparent?
You should know from the outset how the search will run, who will manage it, and how often you will hear from your consultant. The scope of the assignment, fees, payment terms, and whether the search is contingent, exclusive, or retained should all be agreed in writing before work begins.
Ask: Can you walk me through your search process, terms of business, and how you will keep us informed?
At Anderson Wise, we agree clear terms with a briefing document before we start and keep you updated at every stage, ensuring there are no surprises on either side.
7. How Do They Treat Candidates?
Every candidate your recruiter contacts forms an impression of your organisation. In a market as connected as Luxembourg, a poor candidate experience travels quickly and can damage your employer brand long after the vacancy is filled.
Ask: How do you prepare candidates? Do you give feedback to those who are unsuccessful?
Putting candidates’ needs at the heart of what we do has been part of Anderson Wise since day one. Candidates are briefed honestly, prepared properly, and kept informed. This is why so many of them later return to us as clients.
8. What Do Their Clients and Candidates Say?
Reviews and testimonials reveal what a pitch cannot. Look beyond the star rating for recurring themes: responsiveness, honesty, quality of shortlists, and how the firm handled setbacks. Pay attention, to how a firm talks about past assignments. Discretion with other clients’ information is a good sign of how it will treat yours.
Ask: Can you walk me through comparable searches you have completed and how you approached them?
Anderson Wise is rated 4.5 stars from 87 Google reviews and you can read what our clients say on our clients page. We are always happy to walk you through relevant past assignments, while respecting the confidentiality we owe every organisation we work with.
Red Flags When Choosing a Recruitment Firm
- CVs arrive within hours of your first contact, before anyone has discussed the role with you.
- Candidates are presented without their consent or the same CV reaches you from several agencies.
- Fees and guarantee terms are vague or only appear after you have interviewed someone.
- The consultant accepts your brief without a single question or challenge.
- Communication stops once the shortlist has been sent.
- You feel pressured to make a quick decision on a candidate you are unsure about.
The Right Recruitment Partner Is Your First Hire
A recruitment firm is not simply a supplier, it is an extension of your organisation in the market. The right partner will save you time, protect your reputation, and help you build teams that last. Before you sign terms with anyone, ask the eight questions above, and expect clear, specific answers.
At Anderson Wise, we are proud to be independent, made in Luxembourg, and deeply rooted in the community we recruit for. If you are planning your next hire, we would be glad to show you what a genuine partnership looks like.
Let’s connect
Looking for a recruitment partner who knows your sector and the Luxembourg market? Get in touch with the Anderson Wise team and let’s talk about your next hire.
Original idea and editing by Charlotte Wallace. Drafted with the assistance of AI.