Recruitment questions, answered plainly.

Kintra Consulting is an HR and recruitment consultancy based in India. It runs permanent recruitment, offshore hiring, recruitment process outsourcing, IT and non-IT recruitment and executive search for Indian employers and for overseas companies building teams in India.

An interviewed shortlist is a small set of candidates a Kintra recruiter has already spoken with about your specific role. Each person has confirmed interest, and each profile comes with a written note on fit, motivation, salary expectation, notice period and any risks, such as a likely counter-offer.

Share a hiring brief through the partner form, by email or on WhatsApp. A recruiter will set up a short brief call, then send a hiring plan with a market view, a realistic timeline and written commercial terms. You decide whether to proceed after seeing the plan.

Both are possible and the terms are agreed per role. Exclusive mandates usually get deeper search effort and a clearer candidate experience, because candidates are not approached by several agencies for the same job. Kintra will recommend the option that suits the role.

Kintra recruits across India, including the major hiring hubs and tier-2 cities, and for remote roles. For overseas employers, Kintra recruits India-based talent for teams that report into the US, UK, Australia, the Middle East, Singapore and Europe.

Industry blogs from 2026 describe typical permanent placement fees of 8.33% to 12.5% of annual CTC for junior and mid-level roles, 15% to 20% for senior or hard-to-fill roles, and 25% to 33% for retained executive search, with GST on top. Kintra quotes per role after the brief call.

Under a contingency model the fee is usually invoiced when the candidate joins, though some contracts trigger it on offer acceptance. Retained executive search is typically billed in stages. Always confirm the payment trigger in writing before a search starts.

Never. Kintra is paid only by employers. Any request for money from a candidate in Kintra's name is fraudulent and should be reported to hello@kintraconsulting.com.

SHRM's 2026 benchmarking puts the median time-to-fill for nonexecutive roles at 39 days. In India, the candidate's notice period often adds 30 to 90 days before joining. Kintra agrees a shortlist date on the brief call and plans the joining date around the notice period from the start.

By checking intent before the offer rather than after it. Kintra asks every candidate why they would move, which other offers they hold and how their employer is likely to react, prepares them for counter-offers, and stays in weekly contact through the notice period until joining day.

Kintra checks references and verifies key details during screening, and coordinates with the employer's chosen background verification provider where a formal check is required. Our guide to background verification in India explains what a full check should cover.

A recruitment agency fills individual roles and is usually paid per hire. Recruitment process outsourcing puts a dedicated external team in charge of part or all of your hiring process, often on a monthly fee, with shared metrics and reporting. RPO suits continuous or high-volume hiring.

An executive search firm runs a researched, confidential search for senior leaders such as directors, VPs and CXOs. It maps the market, approaches people who are not looking, assesses them in depth, references them thoroughly and supports the offer and onboarding. It is usually paid on a retained basis.

Yes, commonly through an Employer of Record, which employs the person on the company's behalf, or through a contractor arrangement, which carries misclassification risk. Kintra recruits the people and works alongside whichever employment route you choose. Take legal and tax advice before deciding.

Yes. Kintra's non-IT recruitment covers sales, finance and accounting, banking and financial services, operations and supply chain, HR, marketing, customer success and manufacturing roles, each screened against a function-specific scorecard.

Not from Kintra. We never contact your current employer without your explicit permission, and we share your profile only with employers you have agreed to.

Yes. Candidates who are already serving notice are often attractive to employers because they can join sooner. Tell your recruiter your last working day so it can be planned into the interview timeline.

Do not pay. Genuine recruitment consultancies are paid by employers. If the request uses Kintra's name, forward the message to hello@kintraconsulting.com so we can act on it.