Chicago recruiting firm founded in 2011 that focuses on supply chain, logistics and transportation hiring, from freight brokerage and carrier roles up to executive leadership.
Services
Who it serves
Overview
CS Recruiting is a third-party recruiting firm that works only in supply chain, logistics and transportation. The company was founded in 2011 by Charlie Saffro, who started out as a solo recruiter running independent searches for transportation and logistics companies. It is based at 550 West Adams Street in Chicago and works with hiring companies across North America.
For a freight brokerage, 3PL or trucking company, the main appeal is that the firm's recruiters spend their time inside this one industry. Its published list of roles reads like an org chart for a brokerage or carrier: branch managers, carrier sales managers, directors of brokerage operations, pricing analysts, agent recruiters, terminal managers, directors of safety and driver recruiting leaders. The firm also runs a talent advisory practice that helps employers with recruiting and retention strategy, not just individual searches.
Compare with other Recruiting providers: Blue Signal Search, Keller Executive Search and SCOPE Recruiting, or see all Recruiting.
Services
CS Recruiting groups its work into three search services. Executive search covers senior and C-level leaders such as presidents, COOs, CFOs, heads of transportation and senior vice presidents of brokerage or managed transportation. Professional search covers individual contributors, supervisors, managers and director-level hires. RPO and interim staffing is the option for companies that need ongoing recruiting capacity or temporary coverage rather than a single placement.
On the professional search side, the firm lists freight brokerage and sales roles (branch manager, carrier sales manager, director of brokerage operations, senior logistics account executive), operations roles (logistics manager, trucking terminal manager, senior freight operations manager), carrier and procurement roles (carrier procurement manager, transportation sourcing manager, pricing analyst) and shared services such as accounting managers and talent acquisition managers. Its trucking list includes directors of fleet operations, LTL operations, flatbed and heavy haul, safety and maintenance, plus dispatchers and driver recruiter directors.
The talent advisory practice adds job description writing, market analysis, market benchmarking and company-wide workshops. The site also offers a vacancy cost calculator and publishes blogs, webinars and guides on logistics hiring.
Who it is for
The firm lists its areas of expertise as 3PL and freight brokerage, asset-based trucking and transportation, warehousing and distribution, logistics and transportation technology and SaaS, freight forwarding and import and export, freight audit and finance, cold chain, e-commerce fulfillment, paratransit, and private equity-backed supply chain companies. That range means it can serve a small brokerage hiring its first branch manager as well as a larger carrier or tech vendor building out a leadership team.
Its professional search page says that service is not designed for high-volume hiring. A company that needs dozens of entry-level carrier sales reps or CDL drivers at once would likely look at the RPO option or at a different type of provider. For mid-level and leadership hires in a brokerage or carrier, it is a direct fit.
How working with them works
For professional search, CS Recruiting describes a four-step process. It starts with discovery and role alignment, where the recruiter meets with your hiring team to define the role, goals and success profile. Next comes targeted sourcing and outreach to industry candidates in its network and beyond. The third step is screening and candidate presentation, with write-ups on each candidate's fit and interest. The last step is interview support and offer management, where the firm handles scheduling, communication and negotiation.
Professional search is described as pay for performance. The fee is a percentage of the hire's first-year base salary, there are no upfront fees, and the fee is due only after a successful hire. The exact percentage is not published on the site. The firm also says it offers a candidate retention guarantee tied to the level of the role, but the guarantee terms are not listed online. Executive search and RPO terms are set through a conversation with the firm.
Questions to ask before you sign
What percentage of first-year base salary do you charge for this role, and is it contingency or a retained or engaged search? The site confirms a percentage model with no upfront fee for professional search but does not publish the rate.
How long is the retention guarantee for this level of role, and does it mean a free replacement search or a partial refund? Ask what happens if the hire leaves on their own versus is let go.
Which of your recruiters specializes in freight brokerage, and how many brokerage operations or carrier sales roles have they filled in the last year? Ask for examples in your mode, such as truckload, LTL, flatbed or drayage.
When you present a broker or account executive from a competing brokerage, will you ask the candidate about any non-compete, non-solicit or customer non-disclosure agreements before the interview? Brokerage hires often bring customer relationships, so you want that conversation early, and your own attorney should review any agreement.
Will you avoid recruiting from our team after we become a client, and for how long?
If we need several hires at once, would you suggest RPO instead of separate searches, and how is RPO priced?
Company background
Charlie Saffro founded CS Recruiting in 2011 as a recruiting firm for transportation and logistics companies. According to a company news post marking its tenth year in January 2021, she began as a solo recruiter while raising three young children, and the business grew through her LinkedIn network and referrals from candidates and clients. At that time the firm reported 26 employees and described itself as a Woman Owned Small Business. A Journal of Commerce article from the firm's early years listed it in Highland Park, Illinois, and its current address is in downtown Chicago.
Saffro is listed as CEO on the firm's homepage and has appeared as a speaker and podcast guest on logistics hiring topics, including FreightWaves events and The Logistics of Logistics podcast. The firm reports reviewing more than one million resumes since 2011 and serving more than 1,000 companies.
Sources
Information compiled from public sources. Last verified November 2026. Confirm details directly with the company.
