Retained vs Contingency Job Head Hunters/Recruiters

Head hunters and recruiters act as intermediaries between job seekers and companies in helping fulfull openings. There are two types of headhunters and recruiters - Retained and Contingency. The major differences between the two include:

Retained Search Firms	Contingency Search Firms
1. Retained on an exclusive basis by companies to fulfill a position. Work as a contractor and are payed a flat fee.	1. One of several possible head hunters used by a company. Fee is earned by the first search firm that places a suitable candidate.
2. Usually large prestigious companies or niche industry firms focusing on high end careers.	2. Often tend to be specialists in an industry or field at the low to mid-management career level.
3. Cater to jobs in the $80,000 and above, charging the employer either a flat fee or upto 35% of the starting salary.	3. Tend to focus on jobs in the $30,000 - $75,000 range and usually charge the hiring company 25% of the position's salary.
4. Retained recruiters usually contact potential candidates they they feel they have a match, tending to be selective.	4. Contingency recruiters are usually aggressive marketers and often tend to send excessive number of resumes for every position.
5. Only have a limited number of career opportunities for a candidate.	5. Cater to various companies and have ability to share jobs and provide more opportunities.
6. Retained head hunters may undertake significant screening, assessments, and background checks.	6. Contingency head hunters do not provide these additional facilities.
7. Usually narrow down the search for a position to 2 or 3 job candidates.	7. Try to maximize their chances of success by pushing as many possible candidates as possible.
8. Potential conflict of interest between clients and firms.	8. Independent with much lower chances of conflict.

The important things to remember about search firms/head hunters is that they are working for the employer and not you. Furthermore, you should never have to pay an agency for the promise of work.