Contingency vs. Retained

Hello All,

I'm wondering what kind of experiences other recruiters might have had with the following...

I recently persuaded a HR recruiter to let me work on her openings after cold-calling her on and off for a few months. I believe she is the real deal and not just out to waste my time. HOWEVER. She won't consider any candidates from me that have resumes on Monster, Dice, Hotjobs etc. I sent her a great candidate, called her on the phone and waited as she searched whatever database (I'm assuming TalentHook) to see if this candidate was in there. Unbeknownst to me he was and that was the end of that.

Now here's my issue. I agree that a recruiter should not be paid simply for running a key-word search on the job-boards. However, I could have pulled this guy out of a company having spent hours tracking him down, cold-calling, getting leads etc, only to have him dinged because at some point over the last few years he posted his resume on-line. My client agrees with me that this is possible but won't budge. I feel that if the client wants to dictate how I recruit, then they should be paying me a retainer fee... Besides, she may have looked him up but she has not eye-balled the one hundred resumes it took to get there, nor has she qualified him on interest, salary etc.

Any thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by pam claughton on February 18, 2008 at 2:29pm

Yes, move on to other clients. Working with this one is clearly a waste of time, as you're not going to win with her. Plus, if she's like this there's no way she'd agree to a retainer! She wants you to do the work for her, as you know she'll likely call this candidate now.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Arnold on February 18, 2008 at 7:23pm

That's interesting and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who has come across this. I have one client contract that specifically states that no fee will be paid if the candidate's resume in on any of the job boards. I thought it was unusual, but I guess not! Luckily the one candidate I submitted is very passive and not actively looking. But like you said, what if she had posted her resume at some point over the past several years? I guess I wouldn't be paid...

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Permalink Reply by Andy Headworth on February 20, 2008 at 3:37pm

I agree with Pam - move on to another client. This client will find anyway to get out of paying a fee by the look of it. Use a good old UK phrase - tell them to 'jog-on'!! Go and find a client that respects what you do and is happy to work with the way you work.

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Permalink Reply by P on July 16, 2008 at 6:27pm

I agree to move on, but I would suggest that if you do find a needle in the haystack candidate, be sure to ask the candidate if they are actively posted on job boards. Most are, but you can always request that as a condition of your dedicated time and partnership to find them a top notch unadvertised job, that they remove themselves while you are actively conducting a search on their behalf.

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Permalink Reply by Gavin Chase on July 16, 2008 at 7:23pm

You can never be happy working with these types of clients. Its great that you have got her attention but she doesnt understand the value add you are (should) be providing. Try one more time to tell her the benefits of working with you, the way you qualify candidates over your competetors.... if she still wont listen, move on to clients who do understand