Say you are contacted by a headhunter, they tell you the salary of the position and who the company is. You go to the interview and it's fine, they like you.

If you've been a contractor, have you been able to negotiate pay very much? The pay isn't impossible, but I also know they are taking out their fee before they tell me what I'm earning.

If the pay is $82k (the average for this job in this area is ~$92k), are they skimming 10k off the top and the headhunter gets a percentage?

How does that work? How much money would I be missing out on if they weren't the middle man?

I don't want to get cheated, but I DO want them to make money.

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 12:53 PM. Reason : d]

8/22/2008 12:28:05 PM

Usually, the headhunter gets 10%.

He negotiates your initial salary for you (with your input of course). He then charges the company his fee.

You usually then get a 10% raise your 2nd year to get your market salary.

So basically, they just take the 10% of your 1st year salary. It's fair. And if you are usuing a headhunter or if they have had any input, don't try to go around them. Just don't. It's sleazy & they can sue you.

In your case, if the headhunter tells you 82k, then your market value is 90 and you'll probably get that your 2nd year.

If you don't like the system, go find another company on your own. But the headhunter will be able to find much more opportunities.


Also, if you are a contractor with the company already, then would you even be talking with a headhunter? If they want to hire you, they will just go straight to you. Headhunters are there to find you the best opportunities with other companies, and to do so discretely if you choose.

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 12:55 PM. Reason : ]

8/22/2008 12:50:36 PM

some headhunters are contracted out by a company to find employees and you dont lose any of your salary.

8/22/2008 12:53:28 PM

That depends on how you look at it. Their fee still is considered a part of employee pay.

8/22/2008 12:56:38 PM

Headhunter Recruiter whatever. I dunno what the terms are anymore.

Whoa, I'm paying taxes on their profit?

I'm not cool with that.

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 1:10 PM. Reason : eh]

8/22/2008 12:57:39 PM

Recruiters work for that company and bring in people for lots of areas. Headhunters are independent and tend to specialize in a given area/trade, so that they help many companies with similar needs.

8/22/2008 1:00:37 PM

Quote :

"Whoa, I'm paying taxes on their profit?"

What are you talking about? Companies designate money for bringing in people. You don't do it personally. The company does that.

8/22/2008 1:04:01 PM

According to your definition, it's a headhunter, b/c while the company does have a contract to find employees for the company - they aren't the only client.

Quote :

"Their fee still is considered a part of employee pay."

If their fee is part of employee pay, I took that to mean it's part of MY pay. When it's really the associated cost of doing business on their end.

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 1:10 PM. Reason : I know that would be illegal, but I like to overreact.]

8/22/2008 1:06:07 PM

Ya. My point was just that whether you go through a headhunter/recruiter/whatever, your starting salary is always going to be less than your true market value to the company.

Obviously though, if there is less turnover, you end up seeing more of that yourself.

8/22/2008 1:15:20 PM

Quote :

"your starting salary is always going to be less than your true market value to the company. "

of course, i'm just trying to figure out if there is any room for negotiation. hence the point of the thread.

Quote :

"Also, if you are a contractor with the company already, then would you even be talking with a headhunter?"

i've never worked there. i've always been hired direct. this place seems to outsource their hiring.

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 1:20 PM. Reason : d]

8/22/2008 1:19:28 PM

I currently am a sales rep for a staffing agency. the standard mark-up for placing a permanent position (at least in this area) is around 25% - 30%. But, of course, this can be negotiated depending on the client.

8/22/2008 1:29:14 PM

i got my current job with a headhunter out of Texas. He had a contract with them and was paid completely seperate from my salary, bounus structure and sign on bonus.

8/22/2008 1:44:43 PM

^ that's pretty much how it works.

8/22/2008 1:56:50 PM

ah thanks for the clarification.

8/22/2008 2:04:20 PM

what's the difference from a company paying a portion of their HR department to do nothing but hire ppl or taking that same quantity of money and contracting another company to do the same same job?

8/22/2008 4:27:43 PM

I'd say that your existing Admin/HR people aren't the people you want recruiting others to ensure the success of your company. Head hunters/recruiters are sales people, HR people likely have no sales background.

8/22/2008 5:02:46 PM

there are a couple of companies who took the hiring process away from their HR division, as a result they started to be more competitive in the marketplace.

8/22/2008 8:35:19 PM

Quote :

"If the pay is $82k (the average for this job in this area is ~$92k), are they skimming 10k off the top and the headhunter gets a percentage?"

10% is not bad; i've known friends who have had 40%-50% taken out by the headhunters.

8/22/2008 9:03:43 PM

I never understood why staffing agencies got such a bad reputation. This is of course hoping that people understand the difference between staffing agencies and headhunters. I understand it's hard to distinguish...

8/22/2008 10:13:32 PM

^ because people don't really understand what they do. I know I didn't until I came to work here. Now I really can see the advantages to using an agency.

However, there are some SHADY ass staffing agencies out there.

8/25/2008 9:32:11 AM

I've never used a headhunter before, but I used to a be a contractor and I was able to negotiate my salary. My contacting company was paid about 15% on top of that and then I was paid directly by my contracting company, not by the place where I worked.

8/25/2008 10:02:37 AM

The idea is the headhunters look nationally for people who are qualified, do backround checks, check refrences and so on. this ensures that the canidate that the company meets (flies out in my case) is a top canidate. This saves money and time in the long run.

8/25/2008 10:30:22 AM

i negotiated. we're good.

8/25/2008 12:39:56 PM

headhunters are dumb. I told some lady my expected salary and she laughed. I got an offer for 5k more than my expected salary finding a job on my own.

8/27/2008 1:06:29 AM

a recruiting service contacted me and i asked "is the salary negotiable?". she said no, i told her to take a hike. you don't try to cheat me out of money. ever. esp. if there is a large difference between the avg. pay for the area and what they are offering.

man, i've gotten many jobs based on my communications skills and confidence. my work history is ok, but you wouldn't believe how many applicants there are that can't seem to get a point across. ANY point. where do these people come from.

8/27/2008 1:16:07 AM

I'm a headhunter and not ashamed. There are plus and minuses...

As far as negotiating a salary, DEFINITELY do it. Most companies will put together an offer, call the recruiter and ask what they think about it. They of course will then call you and say a potential offer is on the table.

Personally, my goal is to make as much money as possible. Recruiters get paid a percent off your salary. For instance, I placed a guy from California to a job in MA with a semiconductor manufacturer. He was a Phd EE, brilliant guy and they really wanted him. He originally wanted 125k plus relo...but we ended up getting him 130k, a signing bonus and relo package with extra months at a nice exec condo.

My company made %20 on the 130k, and I got a portion of that. Before the headhunter even called you, they negotiated an agreement. As a contractor, you cost more to the company that is using you, because the staffing agency covers worker's comp and some possible benefits, so contractors can run anywhere from 35% to even 60%

There is a lot of stuff to it and I've actually thought about writing a short book about it. Good headhunters with good accounts can get your resume places that don't have online postings...they can also really help in the negotiation process.

When negotiating, don't treat it like buying a car. On average most people that negotiate get 2 offers, then the company that wants the candidate wipes their hands of it. Rarely do I see a recruiter succesfully go back to a company 3 times asking for more.

Sometimes you will have to formally reject an offer. If it's the first one, I'd recommend doing it but you never know.

8/27/2008 1:30:43 PM

Quote :

"I've actually thought about writing a short book about it. "

why not.

8/27/2008 3:32:37 PM