Do recruiters pay a Rec2Rec?

TL;DR

• Recruiters never pay Managed Growth Partners (MGP). The hiring agency asked for the search, so it pays the fee, and there is no retainer.
• New South Wales (NSW) has a clear rule. An employment placement service there must not charge a job seeker a fee for finding them work.
• A fee to start a job is a warning sign. Scamwatch lists a recruitment fee, or paying for training materials before you start, as a sign of a job scam.

Decision matrix: ways a recruiter can look for their next role

A Rec2Rec (recruitment to recruitment) firm

• Best when: a recruiter wants to hear about roles that aren’t advertised.
• Watch out for: any request for money, and a firm that doesn’t ask before each CV (curriculum vitae) goes out.
• Cost or effort: nothing to the recruiter at MGP. Time for a briefing call.

Applying directly to agencies or in-house teams

• Best when: a recruiter already has a short list of target employers, such as two agencies with strong tech desks.
• Watch out for: no one compares offers for the recruiter.
• Cost or effort: free. Time for each application.

Job boards and LinkedIn

• Best when: a recruiter is openly looking and wants to see a lot of roles quickly.
• Watch out for: a lot of noise, and anything public can be seen by others.
• Cost or effort: free. Screening time.

The recruiter’s own network

• Best when: the recruiter knows where they want to go.
• Watch out for: it’s hard to compare offers, and the market can be small.
• Cost or effort: free. It uses relationship capital.

The case for going direct: If a recruiter already knows the agency they want and its owner wants to talk, a direct conversation is quicker and keeps their details with fewer people. A Rec2Rec helps most when they want to compare roles they can’t see on their own.

Verdict: A recruiter shouldn’t expect to pay to be found a role, and in NSW a placement service must not charge a job seeker for finding them work. Use a Rec2Rec to compare roles that are hard to see alone, and choose one that asks before every CV goes out. The exception is a recruiter who already knows where they want to go and is wanted there, who may do better going direct.

Who pays a Rec2Rec when a recruiter moves?

With MGP, the hiring agency pays. Recruiters never pay, the agency that hires them pays our fee and there is no retainer. Our fees guide explains how the agency fee works.

“Tech recruiters” means agency recruiters who place tech roles and in-house recruiters at tech companies. Other recruiters are welcome too.

Say a recruiter on a tech contract desk, placing cloud or data engineers, moves to another agency’s tech desk. The hiring agency pays, and the recruiter pays nothing. Or say an in-house talent partner at a software company is weighing a move into agency recruitment. The answer is the same: the agency that hires them pays.

The same applies to recruiters in any sector.

Why does the hiring business pay, not the recruiter?

The business asking for the search is the customer, so it pays the fee. The recruiter is the person being placed, not the buyer. Some states also limit what can be charged to job seekers:

• New South Wales: an employment placement service must not charge a job seeker a fee for finding them work, under the NSW rules for placement services.
• Queensland: private employment agents must follow a code of conduct that restricts the fees they can charge work seekers, as set out in Queensland’s rules for employment agents.
• Elsewhere: rules differ between states, so check before paying anyone.

This is general information, not legal advice.

When is a fee request a red flag?

When anyone asks for money to start a job or to put a recruiter forward, stop and check. Scamwatch’s job scam warning signs include being asked to pay a recruitment fee, or to pay for training materials, before you begin the job.

Scamwatch also warns about:

• unexpected contact by text message or an encrypted app such as WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram
• a quick hiring process with no interview or discussion of qualifications, experience or references
• someone pretending to be a well-known recruitment agency
• a request for passport or identity documents before you are certain the firm is genuine

Say a recruiter gets an unexpected WhatsApp message about a remote tech talent role that needs a paid onboarding course before day one. That is a warning sign worth checking, and the same holds in any sector. Scamwatch’s advice is to know who you are dealing with and to contact recruitment agencies using phone numbers you have found yourself.

What should a recruiter ask a Rec2Rec before sharing a CV?

Ask whether there is any charge, who pays and whether the firm will ask before each CV goes out. Clear answers, in writing, protect the recruiter.

• Is there any charge to me, now or later? The answer should be no.
• Who pays you if I move?
• Will you ask me before each CV goes out? Under Australian privacy guidance, consent must be informed, voluntary, current and specific, and the person must have the capacity to give it, as the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) explains in what valid consent means.
• Would any charge to me be disclosed in writing first? The Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing Association (RCSA) is an industry body. RCSA guidance (2019) says members should only charge a workseeker where the charge is lawful, not banned by any applicable code or contract, disclosed in writing and fair and reasonable. It is industry guidance, not law.
• What happens to my details if I decide not to move?

When is a free Rec2Rec not the best route?

When a recruiter already knows the agency they want, and is wanted there. Going direct may be quicker, and their details stay with fewer people.

A job board suits someone who is openly looking and wants volume. Free to the recruiter doesn’t mean right for every move.

A Rec2Rec helps most when the goal is to compare roles that aren’t advertised. That is where MGP’s tech-led Rec2Rec service fits.

How MGP can help

Managed Growth Partners (MGP) is a tech-led Rec2Rec firm that helps tech recruiters find their next role, confidentially and at no cost to them. Recruiters never pay us, and we always get a recruiter’s consent before sending their CV. To talk it through, book a confidential call.