Recruiterflow iconRecruiterflowSep 17, 2026

Retained vs Contingency Search: The Difference, and What Each One Demands

Retained search involves an upfront fee for a committed, structured hiring engagement, while contingency search pays only when a candidate is successfully placed. Recruiterflow's time-to-fill benchmark analysis found that retained searches convert 77.9% of shortlisted candidates to interviews, compared with 44.3% for contingency searches, reflecting the...

Retained vs Contingency Search: The Difference, and What Each One Demands

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Retained search involves an upfront fee for a committed, structured hiring engagement, while contingency search pays only when a candidate is successfully placed.

Recruiterflow's time-to-fill benchmark analysis found that retained searches convert 77.9% of shortlisted candidates to interviews, compared with 44.3% for contingency searches, reflecting the...

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Retained search involves an upfront fee for a committed, structured hiring engagement, while contingency search pays only when a candidate is successfully placed. Recruiterflow's time-to-fill benchmark analysis found that retained searches convert 77.9% of shortlisted candidates to interviews, compared with 44.3% for contingency searches, reflecting the... Payment timing is only the most visible difference.

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Payment timing is only the most visible difference.

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