8 Bridges

8 Bridges is a Berkeley-based recruitment agency that specializes in matching talented, passionate people with mission-driven organizations and companies. The firm positions itself as an extension of clients' HR teams, guiding the entire recruitment process from start to finish.

8 Bridges understands the common challenge faced by growing organizations: the need to hire critical team members while being too busy with current operations to focus on recruitment. They step in to fill this gap by providing comprehensive recruitment support that includes analyzing client needs, creating timelines, posting jobs, managing candidates, and streamlining the entire hiring process.

The agency offers flexible engagement models to suit different client needs and budgets. Their hourly consulting and recruiting services provide advocacy and confidentiality as an extension of the client's HR team, with transparent billing at negotiated hourly rates plus pre-approved expenses. For more complex roles, they offer retained recruiting services, particularly suited for C-level and Director positions that require more extensive search efforts.

Their retained recruiting model operates on an exclusive basis at 25% of the gross annual salary, with a structured payment schedule and a 90-day replacement guarantee. This approach is designed for harder-to-fill positions that may require more time and specialized attention to identify the right candidates.

8 Bridges covers a broad range of career areas including marketing, admissions, development, operations, client services, administration, communications, business development, educational leadership, partnership management, organizational development, and network management. Their focus on mission-driven organizations suggests they work primarily with nonprofits, social enterprises, and purpose-driven companies.