Comment by pam claughton on July 8, 2008 at 8:47am

If you mean in an agency, typical base is 0. Most agencies are 100% commission and you receive a draw against your salary, which averages around 30k, maybe a little higher if you have experience, but generally you want that amount to be as low as possible so you can get to your commission quickly. This is the best scenario, as if you do go to an agency that offers a base salary, your commission percentage will be far lower, and it actually benefits the agency much more than it benefits you. The draw is really like a salary anyway, because if you leave, they can't make you pay it back if you're in the hole, that is considered the cost of doing business for the agency....the upside for you is that your commission percentage will be far higher, typically a sliding scale, where you start around 35% of what you bill, and as your billings increase your percentage does as well.

Thing is for agency recruiting, you don't focus on your 'base' or 'draw', you focus on generating commission, that is where the real income is. You also need to look at this as a long term career, and know that your first year income likely won't be impressive, but if you work as hard in year two you should double or triple your income from year one.

Hope this helps!
Pam

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