Research Assistants

Hello Everyone,

I have a question in regards to Research Assistants. My name is Sean Rigsby and I am a recruiter based in CT. I recently started my own firm about 3 months ago, after being with my former company for 19 years. Everything is going extremely well, I have already had a couple of placements, and I have more than enough good job orders to work on.

I am leaning towards hiring a research assistant, and my question is what the typical compensation plan is for a research assistant? I was leaning towards a base salary of maybe 30K, with a $500 bonus with each person I place that was identified by the RA. I would also love to get other peoples thoughts about using research assistants, what you like, what you don’t like, is it beneficial to you for your business, etc.

Thank you and I look forward hearing and seeing everyone’s comments.

Sean

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Permalink Reply by Amber on August 20, 2012 at 12:44pm

Your compensation idea sounds good to me, you just have to make sure you have a way to track their results. If you get a really sharp person you could always adjust the comp and their job duties accordingly. I assume you are providing all the tools, etc, for them. Will they be working in your office with you?

p.s. What part of CT?

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Permalink Reply by Sara on August 21, 2012 at 8:43am

I am currently a research assistant. I get $1,500 a month plus $100 for each resume I find that is submitted for a job order. If a candidate I found gets hired, I get a $1,000 bonus. After 3 months being here I get full health benefits. It sounds good on paper, but because of how compensation is delayed while waiting for the company to pay, I am struggling financially. Your base salary seems more realistic for the cost of living.

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Permalink Reply by Amber on August 21, 2012 at 10:36am

@Sara, when you find resumes and they are not submitted - do you get good feedback as to why? I'm asking because we have 2 newer people here that are mostly doing candidate searches and then I take it from there. I try and provide good feedback, and they seem to "get it" when I explain. How do you know who is submitted? And do you work in the office or virtually? Also, are your benefits going to be paid for by the company or you or both? Sorry for all the questions, but just curious and trying to be sure we keep looking for the best ways to handle things now that we have a couple of folks working here.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Rigsby on August 21, 2012 at 8:55pm

Hi Amber,

Thanks for your comments. I am a big believer in tracking numbers, so I agree with you there. My thought is to bring someone in as a RA, and if they start showing promise and “get it”, we can always change that person’s role, responsibilities and comp plan. I would provide them all the tools they would need, and I would have them work with me in the office. I feel that it is a position that is too important, and I would want them working alongside me. My office is in Shelton CT, which is a little more than an hour outside of NYC.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Rigsby on August 21, 2012 at 8:56pm

Hi Sara,

I really appreciate your comments. So you are getting $1500 a month and $100 for each submitted candidate for a job. How many matches are you making a week, and are they paying you weekly for those matches? So if you make 5-8 presentations a week, that equals $500-$800 extra a week. Are you seeing that in your paycheck each week, or does the candidate have to at least get an interview before you get paid on that?