[solved] and recruiting agencies
A percentage of salary, or a fixed fee.
Most recruiting agencies work on contingency: several firms can work the same role, and the one whose candidate is hired earns a fee, typically 20% to 25% of first-year base salary for professional roles. [solved] runs each search end to end, from defining the role to the signed offer, at a fixed fee set by the role's scope. Every shortlisted candidate arrives assessed on agreed outcomes and identity verified.
What the fee looks like on your hire
Move the salary to your role's base. The agency fee grows with it; the [solved] fee stays fixed.
$180,000
$26,000 to $35,000
Agency range: typical contingency fees for professional roles, 20% to 25% of first-year base salary. Fees vary by firm, role and market.
Side by side
How each works
Recruiting agencies
An agency takes on your role, often alongside other firms, and presents candidates from its network and its own searching. The fee is due when one of its candidates is hired and starts. Agencies range from generalist firms to specialists who know one market closely, so depth and method vary from firm to firm.
[solved]
One of our senior talent partners defines the role with you in one working session and confirms the direction with a few calibration profiles before anyone is contacted. Each shortlisted candidate is assessed on the outcomes you approved, identity verified, and arrives with a Candidate Evidence Brief.
When an agency is the better choice
- You are hiring contractors at volume, where the agency carries payroll and can staff many seats quickly.
- You prefer no fee at all until a hire starts.
When [solved] fits better
- The hire is consequential, and you want evidence before your team spends interview time.
- You want a fixed fee, known before the search begins.
- You want most of the fee tied to a signed hire. Three-quarters of the fee is due only when your hire signs, and the retainer is returned in full if the shortlist misses the criteria you agreed.
- You want to see the search as it moves, in one Hiring Workspace.
The usual agency rhythm is a burst of CVs, then silence until you chase. This felt much more grown-up. I knew what was happening, hiring managers knew what they owed, and candidates weren't left hanging.
Questions
How much do recruiting agencies charge?
Most contingency agencies charge a percentage of the hire's first-year base salary, typically 20% to 25% for professional roles, due when the hire starts. Fees vary by firm, role and market.
Is anything due before a hire?
A retainer begins the search: $2,500 for Specialist Search or $5,000 for Leadership Search. The balance is due when your hire signs. If the shortlist misses the criteria you agreed, the retainer is returned in full, and if you stop a search, the retainer carries over when the role reopens or a new search begins.
How does a fixed fee compare with an agency fee?
On a $180,000 hire, a 20% to 25% agency fee is $36,000 to $45,000. A [solved] Specialist Search is $10,000 and a Leadership Search is $20,000, whatever the salary.
Can I work with an agency and [solved] at the same time?
Yes, with Standard Search. Exclusive Search makes [solved] your only external firm for 20 business days, with a preferred rate and 180-day replacement coverage.
When is an agency the better choice?
For contract hiring at volume, where an agency carries payroll and can staff many seats quickly, and for teams that prefer a fee due only once a hire starts.
Tell us about the role. Within one business day, we confirm whether we are the right firm to lead the search.
Bring the job description you have, or the role in your head. We define the role with you.
Sources: industry recruiting-fee guides, 2025 to 2026; Top Echelon survey of agency recruiter guarantees, 2019. Last reviewed October 2026.