What is the Difference Between Contingency and Retained Search
What is the Difference Between Contingency and Retained Search?
When looking to fill an open position, do you pay for the services of a contingency or a retained search firm? What is the difference between them?
Contingency search recruiters provide services for free until the client accepts a placement, also commonly referred to as “No win, no fee” or “No cure, no pay”. Contingency search recruiters work in competition with other contingency recruiters, so their success is based on a “numbers game”, that is, presenting a large pool of potential candidates in a short frame of time to increase the probability of a good match for the client. To quickly fill this large pool of potential candidates in the fastest time possible, a contingency search often relies on databases and job boards, grabbing names without taking the important time to thoroughly screen candidates. This means that clients receive a flood of resumes to sort through on their own time, in search of a person with the perfect qualifications. And because the contingency recruiter is not contracted to find a suitable placement, when the candidate position is more complicated, the contingency firm will move on to easier assignments. Contingency searches are best suited for companies with a smaller budget and an easily-filled vacancy.
Retained search recruiters are very different. They require an upfront fee and additional installments at different stages of the hiring process. At the same time, retained search recruiters work under exclusive contract with the client, with a guarantee of finding a satisfactory placement. While a retained search recruiter may seem costlier than a contingency search recruiter, the retained recruiter works closely with the client to discern the firm’s needs and performs a thorough search of active and passive jobseekers. It acts as the sole ambassador between the client’s interests and the candidate’s. Retained searches offer a small pool of only well-qualified candidates, determined through a systematic process of screening that requires minimal support from the client’s HR department. A retained search recruiter is best suited for companies with positions that require very specific qualifications.
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Foreign Staffing, Inc., (FSI) is a leader in providing global solutions for companies around the world including international recruiting, payroll in over 150 countries, procurement and supply chain services, and global digital marketing services
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