What is Contingency Recruiting?

Author: Halley Harrelson Published: October 2022

Contingency recruiting is when a company hires an organization hires a recruiter to help find potential employees for an open position. The recruitment agency will only get paid if the potential employee they find is hired into the role. The recruiting fee is typically 20% of the position's salary. Contingent means that the recruiting agency's pay depends on successfully filling the open position.

How does a contingent recruitment agency work?

These agencies work as contractors for companies. Therefore, they understand that they will not get paid until they find an individual who accepts the job offer.

It's important to remember that not every contingency recruitment agency works the same way, but there is a basic five-step process that they will more than likely follow:

1. The client will send a job description for the available position.

2. The agency will negotiate a fee the client will pay if the position is filled successfully.

3. The agency will begin searching for the right candidate.

4. Once the agency finds potential employees, they send them to the client.

5. The agency will receive compensation if the client hires any candidates.

You can choose to hire multiple contingency recruitment agencies. This can help improve your chances of finding someone to fill the open position in a shorter time. However, this means that the contingency recruitment agencies will compete against one another.

Contingency recruitment agencies will also compete against your company's recruitment specialists if you have any.