Cornerstone Recruiting

What Cornerstone Recruiting does

Cornerstone Recruiting is a privately-held, niche executive search and staffing firm founded in 2004 by Charlie Dougherty and headquartered in Forest Hill, Maryland (Washington DC/Baltimore metropolitan area). The firm provides direct placement, contract, and outsourced recruiting services to employers in the construction, skilled trades, facilities management, manufacturing, architecture & engineering, accounting & finance, transportation & logistics, information technology, and medical devices sectors. Services are organized around five product lines: Contingency Search (transaction-fee placement), Engaged Search (priority placement with upfront deposit), Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO, fixed monthly fee), Recruiting On Demand (hourly modular sourcing), and Temporary Staffing. Cornerstone differentiates on domain specialization — recruiters carry hands-on industry backgrounds — and on passive-candidate sourcing via extended hours, trade shows, and networking rather than relying solely on job-board postings.

The firm operates a proprietary Applicant Tracking System that maintains a real-time database of passive candidates organized by location, position, pay scale, and keyword, and uses JobDiva as its external job-board syndication platform. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct: dedicated account managers and division-specific recruiters (organized by industry vertical) work one-on-one with enterprise and mid-market employer clients nationwide, with stated regional expertise in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Texas, and Pacific Northwest. Revenue is generated through placement transaction fees, monthly RPO subscriptions, hourly usage-based fees, and temporary-staffing bill rates; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

Ownership is concentrated among four partners — founder Charlie Dougherty, Eric Yankolonis (partner since 2016), Earl O'Bryant (partner since 2016), and Ben Stewart (partner since 2016) — with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or outside shareholders. The firm employs an estimated 15-20 people, has no recorded funding rounds or acquisitions, and has remained operationally stable while expanding its service mix and vertical coverage over two decades.

Name

Cornerstone Recruiting

Legal name

Cornerstone Recruiting

Website

https://csrecruiting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cornerstone Recruiting is a privately-held US executive search and staffing firm founded in 2004, serving construction, skilled trades, manufacturing, facilities management, and related industries nationwide via contingency, engaged, RPO, and temporary staffing services from its Maryland headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search & Staffing Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Construction & Real Estate Direct Hire (BPACAFAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA), Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops) (BPACAKAG)

Keywords

• Construction staffing services
• Executive search firm
• Skilled trades recruitment
• Recruitment process outsourcing
• Accounting finance staffing

Headquarters

HQ city

Forest Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Contingency Search: Traditional contingency search where client pays no fee until a successful candidate placement is made. Suitable for top quality skilled hourly laborers, executive level professionals, and everything in between.
2. Engaged Search: Priority search over contingency job orders. Client pays 1/3 of anticipated fee upfront (nonrefundable) and remaining balance upon successful completion. Paired with dedicated recruiter.
3. Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO): Fixed monthly cost model for ongoing, company-wide recruitment needs. Cornerstone manages entire hiring process from start to finish.
4. Temporary Staffing: Provides fully credentialed candidates on short notice for temporary and special project needs. Cornerstone covers workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, administrative costs, taxes, benefits.
5. Recruiting On Demand: Individual RPO services provided separately on an hourly fee basis for clients needing specific components rather than full outsourcing.
6. Customized Invoicing: Account representatives work with clients to determine invoicing options best for their business needs, with options for lump sum payments and pay for performance incentives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cornerstone Recruiting is a U.S.-based executive search and staffing firm that performs direct placement and contract staffing for employers in Construction & Skilled Trades, Manufacturing, Facilities Management, Accounting & Finance, Architecture & Engineering, Transportation & Logistics, and IT Services. Their offerings include Contingency Search (pay-on-placement), Engaged Search (priority recruiting with upfront deposit and dedicated recruiter), Recruitment Process Outsourcing (fixed-fee full-cycle hiring), Recruiting On Demand (hourly modular services), and Temporary Staffing (short-term credentialed placements with the firm serving as employer of record for workers' comp, taxes, and benefits).

Product overview

Cornerstone Recruiting is a staffing and recruiting firm — not a software platform — offering a portfolio of recruiting service products organized around two models: contingency-based placement (Contingency Search, Engaged Search) where fees are contingent on successful hires, and contract/outsourcing models (Temporary Staffing, RPO, Recruiting On Demand) providing scalable workforce solutions. The firm also provides a Proprietary Applicant Tracking System as an internal tool for candidate sourcing and management, and a suite of Job Seeker Services including resume templates, interview coaching, and a Referral Bonus Plan for candidates. All services are organized by industry divisions — Construction & Skilled Trades, Manufacturing, Facilities & Building Management, Transportation & Logistics, Architecture & Engineering, Accounting & Finance, IT Services, and Medical Devices — with each division staffed by recruiters with hands-on industry experience. Customized Invoicing options allow clients to tailor payment terms to their budget. The company serves clients nationally from its Washington DC / Baltimore area headquarters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Contingency Search Traditional contingency-based recruiting where clients pay no fee unless a successful placement is made. Covers positions ranging from skilled hourly laborers to executive-level professionals across construction, accounting, manufacturing, and skilled trades industries.
• Engaged Search Priority recruiting service where clients pay one-third of the anticipated fee upfront (nonrefundable) and the remaining balance upon successful placement. A dedicated recruiter is assigned to the search until the position is filled.
• Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Full-service recruiting outsourcing where Cornerstone manages the entire hiring process — sourcing, screening, scheduling, and funnel management — for a fixed monthly fee. Recruiters become integrated extensions of client HR and operations teams for ongoing, company-wide hiring needs.
• Recruiting On Demand Modular recruiting service allowing clients to select specific RPO components (sourcing, screening, scheduling, etc.) on an as-needed hourly basis. Clients pay only for services utilized at any given time.
• Temporary Staffing Short-term supplemental staffing providing fully credentialed candidates on very short notice for temporary and special project needs. Cornerstone acts as employer of record and covers workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, administrative costs, taxes, and benefits.
• Job Seeker Services Coaching and support for candidates including resume building, interview preparation, market intelligence, salary negotiation, and confidential job search management. Includes access to resume templates, interview prep guides, and the referral bonus program.
• Referral Bonus Plan Program allowing individuals to refer skilled trades workers or construction professionals to Cornerstone and receive an industry-leading referral bonus upon hiring, with no limit on referral volume.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 employees placed with one client over 5-year partnership, supporting revenue growth from $5MM to $38MM
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Aerotek: Large national staffing firm and Cornerstone partner's prior employer (Ben Stewart was a recruiter at Aerotek Commercial). Aerotek places candidates across construction, manufacturing, and engineering — directly overlapping Cornerstone's core verticals at much greater scale.
• CyberCoders: Tech-enabled recruiting firm placing professionals across multiple verticals including IT, engineering, and operations — overlapping with Cornerstone's IT Services and Architecture & Engineering divisions through a digital-first delivery model.
• Management Recruiters International (MRI): Global executive search and recruitment network with offices across the U.S. serving multiple verticals including construction and manufacturing — overlapping with Cornerstone's broader service mix at greater scale.
• Robert Half International: Global staffing leader with a dedicated Accountemps / Robert Half Finance & Accounting division that directly competes with Cornerstone's Accounting & Finance placement business, plus broader office and administrative staffing overlap.
• Insight Global: Large U.S. staffing provider with dedicated Construction Services division placing skilled trades and management roles, competing with Cornerstone at the enterprise end of the construction staffing market.

Direct peers

• Kimmel & Associates: Construction-focused executive search firm with deep specialization in the building industry. Closest direct comparison to Cornerstone's construction executive search offering, with similar niche positioning and relationship-driven sourcing.
• The Headhunters: Construction, engineering, and manufacturing-focused executive search firm with multi-decade industry presence, comparable in scale and vertical specialization to Cornerstone's Construction & Skilled Trades division.
• Sterling Search Group: Executive search firm placing engineering, manufacturing, and construction leaders — directly comparable to Cornerstone's Architecture & Engineering and Manufacturing divisions with similar mid-market enterprise target clients.
• Construction Recruiters America: Specialized recruiting firm focused exclusively on construction industry placements, including project managers, superintendents, estimators, and field leadership — a near-direct overlap with Cornerstone's core vertical.

Regional players

• Talent Corps / TradeCorp: Skilled trades and construction staffing firm primarily serving regional markets with a similar blue-collar focus to Cornerstone's temporary staffing arm, though with a more local/regional operational footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cornerstonerecruiting
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cornerstone-recruiting
• Xx.com/cornerstonejobs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cornerstone Recruiting