Most hiring in India still runs through job portals, referrals, and placement consultants. Each works, and each has a real cost in time or money. Here is the full landscape, and where an agentic AI platform like Hire22 fits into it.
Post a JobCoNCTNone of these are wrong. Each is built for a different kind of role, and most companies end up using two or three at once.
Public postings reach the widest pool fastest. The trade-off is volume over signal: most applicants for a mid-senior role never get a screening call, and the strongest candidates on these platforms are usually not the ones actively applying.
A consultant who knows your sector can find niche or senior profiles a portal search misses. That expertise commonly costs one to two months of the candidate's CTC (about 8.33% to 16.67%) per hire, and the search still runs on the consultant's own manual telecalling.
Referred candidates tend to join and stay. The limitation is reach: a referral pipeline only surfaces people already connected to your existing team, which thins out fast for a growing headcount plan.
Works well for entry-level, high-volume roles with a training runway. It is a poor fit for a role that needs someone productive from week one.
For a high-volume junior role, a job portal alone is often enough. The friction shows up specifically on mid to senior roles, where the right person is rarely the one actively applying.
Hire22 is not a bigger job portal and not a replacement for your judgment on who to hire. It replaces the manual work between posting a role and getting someone in front of you.
Sources candidates across the web and multiple talent platforms, including people who are not actively applying anywhere.
Reaches every sourced candidate over WhatsApp, email, SMS, or an AI voice call to confirm real interest, before anyone on your team dials a number.
Scores every confirmed candidate from 0 to 100 on fit, CTC, location, and joining intent, so you review a ranked shortlist, not a raw inbox.
The manual routes above leave sourcing, calling and screening with your team. On Hire22, employers typically get an interview-ready shortlist within 22 hours of posting. Full mechanics are on the agentic AI recruiting page.
A ten-person startup and a global GCC opening its first India office are not solving the same problem. Pick the closer match.
No dedicated HR function, and every senior hire is close to existential. See the startup credit program.
Hire22 for startups →50 to 2,000 employees, paying consultant fees of one to two months of CTC per hire, senior roles sitting open for months.
Reduce hiring costs →Unfamiliar with the India talent market, competing with product companies for the same senior profiles.
Hire22 for enterprise and GCCs →Sourcing speed decides which mandates you win, and your internal database goes stale fast.
Hire22 for staffing agencies →What employers actually ask before hiring their first, or next, person in India
Post a JobCoNCT and see a ranked, interview-ready shortlist in about 22 hours.
Post a JobCoNCT