Briefing · Judgment · Copywriting · The machine, marked in red

Mitch Sullivan

I teach recruiters to write – and to tell when the writing’s wrong.

Hiring companies regularly try to lowball agency recruiters. 

I think it’s because they think recruiters just hit F5 on our computer to pull up a list of suitable candidates who are all dying to work for that particular company.

If you’re an agency recruiter (and if you’re reading this, many of you are), the next time a prospective client asks why your fees are so high, instead of trying to justify it (which can take ages), answer with this; 

“Because recruiting can be a really shitty job. If you don’t believe me, try doing it everyday for the next month.”

If they ask why you do it, just be honest and tell them; 

“Because I have a high threshold for pain. Plus, it can pay reasonably well.”

They’ll respect your honesty and probably like that you didn’t say “Because I like helping people”. Then, if they’re still haggling over fees, offer them this price list;

  • I do all the recruiting – 20%
  • I do all the recruiting and you advise me – 25%
  • I do some of the recruiting and you help me – 15%
  • You do all the recruiting and I advise you – 10%
  • You do all the recruiting and I do nothing – Free

You ought to be having fun when negotiating with clients. It’s important for your morale. And if the client has a sense of humour, it’s a double win.

PS… If you’re being asked this question about your fees by an internal recruiter, you’ll probably need to justify them.

If you would like more thoughts and musings on recruitment, you might want to download Mitch’s free book “On Recruitment”.