How Is a Headhunter Paid?

Paid per Hire

In some instances, headhunters are paid per hire, meaning that the headhunter must find potential candidates and the hiring company has the opportunity to interview the headhunter's top candidates. If the hiring company decides to hire one of the headhunter's candidates, he will be paid either a previously agreed on rate or a percentage of the candidate's annual salary.

Paid per Applicant

In other instances, headhunters are paid per applicant, meaning that the headhunter finds potential candidates and then presents the qualified candidates to the hiring company. The company then pays the headhunter a fee per applicant to have the opportunity to interview. The headhunter's ability to find qualified candidates is very important in this role, because a company is much less likely to use her services again if the headhunter suggests unqualified candidates just to get the commission. Generally, the hiring company will get an overview of the potential candidates without contact information and make a decision whether to purchase the contact information.

Paid per Hour

Finally, some headhunters are paid per hour. This is essentially hiring a recruiter to find and interview possible candidates. The headhunter can have an unlimited time to find the right candidate or can have a deadline for hourly pay. The headhunter is being paid for the time spent looking for candidates and the time spent interviewing, regardless of whether he finds a qualified candidate.