The norm in Australia is (still!) for external recruiters to charge their Clients a % fee of the candidate starting salary package.  This is often overkill if you are looking to fill roles with (say) a salary package of $100k TEC or less.  For these more ‘junior’ roles, it can usually be more cost effective to engage an external recruiter who will charge you on a ‘fee-for-service basis’ (hourly rate), rather than charge a % fee of salary package.

Why?  Because such roles are often easier and quicker to fill than more senior roles – and should really cost you no more than $3000-$4000 to fill if you engage an external recruiter on a fee-for-service basis.  Compare a $3000-$4000 fee to a 15% or above fee on a salary package of (say) $80,000.  Multiply that saving by the amount of times you engage an external recruiter to fill the more junior roles in a given year!

Wilbart Associates has been a pioneer in the ‘fee-for-service’ space for over 15 years, with some of Australia’s largest employers using the service.  Many of our large Clients have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars using our ‘CATS’ service – ask us about it the next time you don’t want to be overcharged for recruiting a role in the sub $100k bracket!