I bet most buyers of "recruiting firm" services are familiar with and accustomed to the contingency search model- receive resumes from recruiter (or multiple recruiters), if one of the referrals is hired, then pay fee according to fee schedule (which is typically a percentage of the new hire's salary; often 20-35%).

The customer strategy is simple:

• "Secure" as many resources as possible.
• No fees paid until a candidate is hired
• No commitments; no skin in the game

Sounds like a good situation for both the employer and the recruiter. . . . .but let's take a closer look at what typically happens:

The recruiter has probably sent those same candidates out on other interviews with your competitors (in the traditional recruiting world, recruiters in a firm are measured by how many "send-outs" [or interviews] they arrange per week). It leaves you wondering if you're seeing the best candidates from that recruiter. Your recruiter, to whom you could potentially pay thousands of dollars, is deliberately putting you in direct competition with other companies for that candidate. Great business partner, huh? Additionally, a contingency recruiter is typically juggling multiple job orders and will probably push his or her candidates to the highest bidder. How much time is he spending working on your job opening? He's probably going to actively recruit on it for a day or two and then move on to the next hot job (but of course leave a passive job ad out there on a job board along with 4 identical job descriptions from the other firms you've engaged).

The picture I just painted can be a very lucrative business model for an independent recruiter and/or recruiting firm. However, it typically doesn't foster strong long-term strategic relationships with clients. It's very tactical in nature. The reality of this approach for the client often produces one or more of these results:

• Inordinate amount of time invested reviewing resumes that do not match the position.
• Less quality submittals because the agencies are in a race to submit resumes to broadly cover the specs.
• Significant "drop-off" in the number of resumes as the project progresses because recruiting firms begin to allocate man-hours on other projects.
• Positions are often simply advertised; the agencies do not actively network in the marketplace.
• Most agencies fill only 1 in 10 contingency job orders.
• Total recruiting cost inflated due to higher contingency rates.
• Multiple fees paid because hired candidate submitted by two firms (possible lawsuits??)