Boutique Recruiting Firm · Ashburn, VA · Nationwide

A boutique recruiting firm, built around senior accountability.

BizFirst is a national boutique recruiting firm headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia. We provide senior-led direct hire, retained executive search and embedded recruiting (RPO) for GovCon, cleared, AI, data and technology employers across the United States. Each Client Delivery Lead carries three to four clients, reviews every submission, and stays accountable from the first call to the signed offer.

The category

What boutique means in recruiting

A boutique recruiting firm is small on purpose. Senior people do the recruiting work themselves, each carries a limited number of clients, the firm goes deep in a few markets instead of wide across all of them, and one person is directly accountable to you for the search. Large agencies scale by adding recruiters and accounts to the same desks. A boutique scales by keeping each lead's portfolio small and adding senior leads. Those four traits are how BizFirst is built.

Senior people do the work

A senior Client Delivery Lead owns your search

On DirectHire and PartnerHire engagements, a senior Client Delivery Lead sets the strategy, directs the recruiters, and owns the search through the signed offer. The founder is on the first call.

Small portfolios

Three to four clients per lead

Each Client Delivery Lead carries three to four clients, so your search gets real attention and same-day responses. That number is a design choice, and it is published.

Deep specialization

GovCon and cleared, AI and technology, finance and program management

BizFirst recruits in the markets it knows: government contractors and cleared talent, AI, data and software, finance and operations, telecom infrastructure, and program management. We have filled 80+ distinct role types.

Direct accountability

Every submission reviewed, every search owned

Your lead reviews each candidate before it reaches you and stays accountable through the offer and the guarantee window. You always know who owns the search.

The BizFirst Standard

What senior-led means here, in seven commitments

Senior accountability from search to hire. Each block is a commitment you can hold us to, and each one is written into how BizFirst engagements run.

Applies to DirectHire and PartnerHire engagements. HireSelect, the flat-fee single-role option offered by BizFirst, is recruiter-led.
01

One accountable senior lead

A senior Client Delivery Lead owns the engagement from strategy through the signed offer.

02

Three to four clients per lead

Your lead carries a deliberately small portfolio, so your search gets real attention and same-day responses.

03

Every submission reviewed

Your lead reviews each candidate before it reaches you, for capability and for fit with your team.

04

First candidates in about 3 days

A defined delivery expectation: first qualified candidates in about three business days on PartnerHire, five to seven on DirectHire.

05

Published pricing

Every model has a price you can read before the first call, on the pricing page.

06

90-day replacement guarantee

On DirectHire placements, with 180 days on the Protected option.

07

Nationwide delivery

The same senior-led model wherever you hire in the United States, from headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia.

Proof

What the model delivers, in numbers

Measured results from BizFirst engagements, with clients named where they have approved it.

94%
Of placements still in seat past 90 days
3 days
To first qualified candidates on PartnerHire
3–4
Clients per Client Delivery Lead
80+
Distinct role types filled
The models

Three models, sized to how you hire

Start with a single hire or run your whole recruiting function through BizFirst. The senior lead, the small portfolio and the submission review are the same in every model.

DirectHire

Contingent, per placement

10 to 15 percent of first-year salary, billed on a successful hire, with a 90-day replacement guarantee. DirectHire →

PartnerHire Core

Embedded team, by the month

From $8,500 per month per dedicated recruiter plus a flat $1,000 per placement, scaling recruiters up and down under one lead. PartnerHire →

PartnerHire Complete

Your recruiting function, run end to end

From $18,000 per month plus $1,000 per placement, with a senior talent leader running the function. PartnerHire Complete →

Hiring a leader or a cleared specialist? Retained executive search is scoped per engagement, a predictable alternative to the traditional 25 to 35 percent executive placement fee. One straightforward role? HireSelect, a flat $3,500 service offered by BizFirst. See every price →
Where we go deep

Markets we recruit in, and where we do it

Specialization is what makes a boutique worth the name. These are the markets BizFirst recruits in every week.

Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia, with roots in Northern Virginia · Washington, DC · Maryland, and clients nationwide.
Common questions

Boutique recruiting, answered

What is a boutique recruiting firm?

A boutique recruiting firm is a small, specialized firm where senior people do the recruiting work themselves, each carries a limited number of clients, and one person is directly accountable to you for the search. Large agencies scale by adding recruiters and accounts to the same desks; a boutique scales by keeping each lead's portfolio small and adding senior leads.

Is BizFirst a boutique recruiting firm?

Yes. BizFirst is a national boutique recruiting firm headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia. Each Client Delivery Lead carries three to four clients, reviews every submission on DirectHire and PartnerHire engagements, and owns the search from strategy through the signed offer. The firm specializes in GovCon and cleared, AI, data and technology, finance and operations, and program management hiring, and recruits nationwide.

How is a boutique recruiting firm different from a large staffing agency?

Three things: who owns your search, how many clients that person carries, and who reviews candidates before you see them. At BizFirst a senior Client Delivery Lead owns the search, carries three to four clients, and reviews every submission. Large agencies commonly run twenty to thirty accounts per recruiter or account manager. See how BizFirst compares for a model-by-model view.

Does boutique mean limited capacity?

At BizFirst it means a small portfolio per lead, and capacity that scales with your hiring. PartnerHire adds dedicated recruiters month to month under the same Client Delivery Lead, which is how BizFirst staffed twenty cleared hires for a U.S. Navy program in about seven months and delivered 40+ placements for a $1B security systems integrator.

What does BizFirst charge?

Pricing is published. DirectHire is 10 to 15 percent of first-year salary, billed on a successful hire, with a 90-day replacement guarantee. PartnerHire Core, an embedded recruiting team, starts at $8,500 per month per dedicated recruiter plus a flat $1,000 per placement. PartnerHire Complete, a full recruiting function, starts at $18,000 per month plus $1,000 per placement. HireSelect, a flat-fee single-role search offered by BizFirst, is $3,500. Executive and cleared searches are scoped per engagement.

Where does BizFirst recruit?

Nationwide. BizFirst is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia, with deep roots in Northern Virginia, Washington, DC and Maryland, and recruits for employers across the United States with the same senior-led model wherever the client is.

Who owns my search at BizFirst?

A senior Client Delivery Lead. On DirectHire and PartnerHire engagements that person owns the search from the first call to the signed offer, directs the recruiters, reviews every submission, and stays accountable to you the whole way. HireSelect, the flat-fee single-role option, is recruiter-led.

Related resources

How we compare, how we choose what to publish, and what recruiting should cost.

How BizFirst compares to agencies, RPO and fractional recruiters About BizFirst and the people who own your search Our methodology and editorial standards Recruiting fees compared What recruiting should cost in 2026 How it works, first call to signed offer

Want a senior lead who owns your search?

Tell us the roles and the timeline. You'll talk with Jeff Packard, CEO, from the first call, and we'll recommend the model that fits and send a firm quote, usually within one business day.

Let's talk hiring

Book a time, email us, or just call. Whatever's easiest.

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