

Ask HN: How much do tech recruiters make? - martinshen

As we&#x27;ve been hiring, we have received a ton of calls and emails from recruiters. I know they take 20% on average of the first year of salary. What&#x27;s the hit rate for most of these recruiters? How much do they usually earn annually (range?).<p>Also, does anyone have advice as to the best format to work with recruiters?
======
relaunched
20% is light. I'd say 30% is the norm and higher, as the market gets hotter.

It's hard to say. Independent recruiters vs. agency recruiters have different
deals and earning potential, overhead and the like. Good, independent
recruiters make a lot of money.

Are you thinking about the cost of hiring a recruiter vs. the cost of using a
3rd party? Recruiting has to be a core competency of a growing company. And
the network of existing employees is the best place to look for new talent. I
know it's a time sync and pain in the @ss, but it's super important that you
get hiring right.

If you are going to use a recruiter, you need very clear expectations in terms
of what skills, experience, requirements you are looking for and stick to
them. Also, do everything in as timely of a manner as possible. You should
also note, recruiters have best customers also. If you don't have very
specific and unique requirements, you can assume the 'best' candidates you'll
get are the ones better customers have passed on (doesn't mean they aren't
right for your company, but just an FYI).

Lastly, very few recruiters have strong networks they've cultivated. Most of
the time, they are just more ambitious / aggressive pounding the pavement and
social media.

------
jyu
Obligatory mention of Elaine Wherry's recruiter posts:

[http://www.ewherry.com/2012/06/the-recruiter-
honeypot/](http://www.ewherry.com/2012/06/the-recruiter-honeypot/)

[http://www.ewherry.com/2012/08/the-best-recruiters-
followup/](http://www.ewherry.com/2012/08/the-best-recruiters-followup/)

------
Matt_Mickiewicz
Full-time recruiters would make around $100k-$120K at an agency in San
Francisco, and be expected to place 1-2 candidates per month.

The standard fee charged to companies is 25%, though that is often negotiable.
At Hired.com we charge 15% (20% of which goes back to the
Engineer/Designer/Data Scientist when they get hired).

