Recruiting guides for independent recruiters
This hub is for independent and freelance recruiters, and for people thinking of becoming one. It explains how to win clients, how placement fees and commissions work, the difference between contingent and retained searches, and how to source candidates with Boolean search.
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- How to Become an Independent Recruiter (US Guide): Step-by-step guide to becoming an independent recruiter in the US: choose a niche, set fees, sign clients, handle taxes and find candidates.
- How to Get Recruiting Clients: A Practical Playbook: Find hiring companies, pitch them with a role-specific offer, and sign a fee agreement. A repeatable client-acquisition routine for recruiters.
- Boolean Search Strings for Sourcing Candidates: Copy-paste Boolean strings for recruiters: operators explained, title and skill strings, exclusions and Google X-ray searches, with how to adapt them.
- How to Choose an ATS as a Solo Recruiter: The criteria that matter, a scoring table and a trial checklist for picking an applicant tracking system when you work alone.
Fees and agreements
- Recruiter Placement Fee Percentage: How to Set Yours: How placement fee percentages are set, what compensation they apply to, how guarantees change what you collect, with worked USD examples.
- How to Calculate a Recruiter Placement Fee: The formulas for a fee, a split between recruiters and a guarantee refund, with worked examples.
- Recruiter Commission Structure: Splits, Tiers, Draws: How recruiter commission works: base-plus-commission, straight commission, tiered splits and draws, with worked examples for a USD 24,000 fee.
- Contingent vs Retained Recruiting: Differences, Costs: Contingent recruiters are paid on a hire; retained recruiters are paid in stages. Compare fees, exclusivity, risk and when each model fits.
Recruiting in India
- Freelance Recruiter in India: Work From Home Guide: How to work as a freelance recruiter in India: models, how payouts per closure work, tax basics, tools and risks, with Rs examples.
- Recruitment Commission in India: 8.33% of CTC Explained: What the 8.33% of annual CTC recruitment fee means, how to calculate it in Rs, how splits and replacement periods work, and what is law versus custom.
Tools and templates
- Recruiter fee agreement template: a starting point for your client terms.
Earnings, splits and starting an agency
- Recruiter Salary and Earnings: Salary, Commission, Fees
- Recruiter Guarantee Period: Terms, Refunds, Replacement
- Split Placements: How 50/50 Recruiter Splits Work
- How to Start a Recruiting Agency: 10 Steps
More for recruiters in India
- Recruiter Payout Per Closure in India: Invoice to Cash
- How to Start a Recruitment Consultancy in India
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By LiveRec Editorial. Read our editorial standards.