Who Contingent Recruitment is best for
- One-off or occasional hires
- Teams trialling OpenSource as a new partner
- Filling a single open role quickly
- Topping up an existing in-house effort
Contingent Recruitment
Contingent Recruitment
The lowest-commitment way to work with us. You only pay when we successfully place a candidate, ideal for ad-hoc hiring or trialling us as a new partner. The screen is just as rigorous as everything else we do.
What contingent recruitment is, and when to use it
Contingent recruitment is the lowest-commitment way to work with us: you only pay when we successfully place someone. It suits one-off hires, filling a single role quickly, or trialling OpenSource before a deeper engagement. The commercial model is lighter, but the screen is not.
Every candidate is technically assessed by us before you see them, so even on a contingent basis you only spend interview time on people who can genuinely do the job. If a role turns into ongoing hiring, we can move you to an embedded or retained model that fits the volume, but there is no obligation to. It is a straightforward, no-risk way to start.
How Contingent Recruitment works
- Brief. A focused intake call to understand the role, your team and what “great” looks like.
- Source. We tap our network and screen actively, you see only candidates we’d hire ourselves.
- Shortlist. A technically screened shortlist, usually within days, with honest write-ups on each person.
- Place. We support interviews, offers and onboarding, and you only pay on a successful hire.
FAQ
Contingent Recruitment, answered
How does contingent recruitment pricing work?
You pay a fee only when we successfully place a candidate, calculated as a percentage of first-year salary. There is no upfront or retainer cost, which makes it the lowest-commitment way to work with us.
Is there a rebate or guarantee period?
Yes. We work to a rebate period on placements, so if a hire does not work out within the agreed window, you are protected. We will confirm the exact terms up front, in writing, before you engage us.
How quickly can you deliver a contingent shortlist?
For most roles, a technically screened shortlist within days. Because we screen every candidate ourselves and keep an active network, contingent does not mean slower or lower quality, the screen is the same as every other model we run.
When should I use contingent instead of retained or embedded recruitment?
Contingent suits one-off or occasional hires, filling a single role, or trialling us as a partner. For senior or business-critical roles use retained search; for hiring at volume use embedded / RPO. We will recommend the right model honestly for your stage.