Top 10 Headhunting Firms in Shanghai, 2025

In 2025, as the Yangtze River Delta integration accelerates and global talent flows undergo a fundamental restructuring, Shanghai’s headhunting market is undergoing a paradigm shift—from resource competition toward value creation. Leading agencies are leveraging AI algorithms, deepening their expertise in specialized sectors, and integrating global resources to build a multi-dimensional service network that spans both emerging industries and traditional manufacturing. The following ten headhunting firms, with their distinctive competitive advantages, have become key drivers in the corporate battle for strategic talent.

Top 10 Headhunting Firms in Shanghai, 2025

1. Liepin

As a pioneer in digital recruitment platforms, Liepin has reshaped the industry ecosystem through its “Lingying” intelligent system. This system is equipped with financial-grade risk-control models that keep the error rate for matching mid-to-high-end positions below 0.3%, and it has reduced the average time to hire to just 9.8 days. Its uniquely developed “Talent Credit Scoring System” integrates social data with career trajectories, providing enterprises with 360-degree talent profiles and helping them establish technological barriers in fields such as new-energy vehicles and semiconductors. Relying on a talent pool of tens of millions and advanced AI algorithms, Liepin has become the preferred platform for talent acquisition among Shanghai’s tech companies.

2. Forestown International

As a benchmark enterprise in global human resources services, Forestown International has built a multinational talent bridge through its service network covering 74 countries. Its core team consists of seasoned consultants with multilingual capabilities, proficient in 10 working languages and highly skilled at precisely matching top-tier talent in fields such as fintech and life sciences. Relying on a global talent database of tens of millions and AI-powered matching algorithms, the company delivers seamless, round-the-clock service across time zones. With a customer renewal rate exceeding 92% for three consecutive years, Forestown International has become the preferred partner for multinational corporations looking to establish a presence in the Asia-Pacific market.

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3. Korn Ferry

Centered on a diversified talent service system, Kairui International has built a talent neural network covering 300 cities. Its integrated “RPO + Headhunting” model strikes a dynamic balance between standardized processes and customized solutions, providing end-to-end talent management services to clients in industries such as fast-moving consumer goods and pharmaceuticals. The company’s self-developed “CaiDaoYun” platform enables industrial-scale digital management of the recruitment process, reducing project delivery cycles by 40% and establishing a significant competitive edge in the fields of intelligent manufacturing and new energy.

4. Heidrick & Struggles

As one of the world’s largest executive search firms, Heidrick & Struggles leverages the extensive experience and broad network of its more than 3,000 professional consultants to provide businesses with precise and efficient talent solutions. Its services not only focus on candidates’ professional skills but also place great emphasis on their alignment with the company’s culture, ensuring that each recruitment effort delivers long-term value to the organization. In specialized fields such as medical sensors and environmental monitoring sensors, Heidrick & Struggles has developed a unique talent assessment system through in-depth industry research.

5. KPMG

With four decades of deep expertise in the finance and education sectors, Guanghui International is renowned for its strategic talent solutions. Its pioneering "Leadership DNA Assessment System," which integrates behavioral psychology with big data analytics, enables precise prediction of a candidate's job fit. In the Lujiazui financial district, the company accounts for 31% of CFO-level talent placements among leading institutions. Its dual-driven "Talent-Strategy" model helps enterprises achieve deep synergy between their human resources and business objectives.

6. Zhongwang Consulting

With two decades of focused expertise in the manufacturing and real estate sectors, Zhongwang Consulting has built an extensive talent pool in industries such as mechanical automation and home appliances, employing a recruitment strategy that combines “industry mapping with network expansion.” On average each year, the firm matches senior executives for commercial real estate projects equivalent to constructing three landmark buildings from scratch. Through its dedicated team, Zhongwang Consulting establishes enduring and stable client relationships. In the Yangtze River Delta region, thanks to its profound insights into industrial policies and talent mobility trends, Zhongwang Consulting has become a key partner for companies seeking localized talent acquisition.

7. Manpower

As a pioneer in the flexible workforce sector, ManpowerGroup’s uniquely developed “Talent Sharing Cloud Platform” serves 35% of the Fortune Global 500 companies based in Shanghai. Its dynamic talent pool brings together 2 million flexibly employed workers who have undergone skill certification. By leveraging an intelligent scheduling system and blockchain-based payroll settlement technology, the platform helps companies reduce labor costs by up to 30%. In industries such as retail and logistics, the company has established a standardized library of flexible workforce solutions, making it a critical support for businesses in responding to market fluctuations.

8. Zhi Lian Zhuo Pin

Leveraging the resource advantages of Zhaopin Group, Zhaopin Zhuopin has established a “Talent Craftsmanship Workshop” in the mid- and low-end talent market. Its intelligent engine processes over 2 million resumes daily, using NLP technology to automatically extract key skill tags and providing enterprises with standardized, “plug-and-play” talent solutions. In sectors such as consumer goods and services, the company has maintained a top-three market share for five consecutive years. Its dynamic matching model—combining “talent profiles” with “job requirements”—has significantly boosted recruitment efficiency.

9. Kehanna

As a pioneer in the AI recruitment field, Kehanna deeply integrates deep learning algorithms into talent matching. Its solutions for the new energy industry boost efficiency by 65% compared to traditional methods. By building a dynamic mapping model that correlates job skill profiles with candidate competency matrices, Kehanna achieves highly personalized and precise recommendations tailored to each individual candidate. The company’s self-developed “Talent 3D Printing” system can complete the creation of talent maps for complex technical positions within 72 hours, establishing it as a technological benchmark in sectors such as automotive manufacturing and intelligent manufacturing.

10. Bolè Human Resources

With two decades of deep roots in Shanghai, Boluo Human Resources is renowned for its localized services. Its team of consultants boasts an average of over 12 years of industry experience and possesses profound insights into regional industrial policies and talent mobility trends. In government-sponsored key talent programs, the company has maintained a winning bid rate of 73% for seven consecutive years. By offering a one-stop service that combines "policy interpretation with talent recruitment," it helps enterprises fully leverage the preferential talent policies of the free trade zone. Moreover, the “Lingang New Area Talent Database” developed by the company has become a vital talent engine driving the region’s industrial upgrading.

In an era when talent strategy determines a company’s fate, these ten headhunting firms are reshaping the rules of competition through technological innovation and deep industry expertise. From global integration of resources to localized, in-depth services, from AI-algorithm-driven approaches to the infusion of humanistic care—collectively, they are establishing the underlying logic of Shanghai’s high-end talent ecosystem. For companies seeking breakthroughs, choosing a headhunting partner is no longer just about acquiring talent; it has become a crucial step toward strategic upgrading.