🤝 Direct Hire Fee Calculator
A direct hire fee is what a client pays you for placing a candidate in a permanent role, usually a percentage of the first-year salary. This calculator, straight from Dee's How To Charge workbook, prices the placement three ways: contingency (paid at placement), engaged (upfront fee plus balance), and retained (installments through the search). It also shows what your replacement guarantee really costs and what a year of placements projects to. Run your numbers once free; the $27 one-time unlock keeps every section live forever and includes the Excel workbook.
Contingency model (fee paid at placement)
The classic direct hire deal: your fee is a percentage of the candidate's first-year salary, paid when they start. Standard fees range from 15% to 30% depending on the role, difficulty, and your market. Do not undercharge.
What the client is paying this employee per year. Get this from the offer letter or client.
Your placement fee as a percentage. Standard range: 15% to 30%. Higher for executive, niche, or hard-to-fill roles.
Fee scenarios by percentage
The same salary run against five fee percentages, so you can see what each point of fee is worth before you negotiate.
Low end. Use for high-volume, easy-to-fill roles or new client relationships.
Competitive mid-range. Good for administrative, clinical support, or light industrial.
Industry standard for most professional and clinical placements.
Premium. Use for specialized roles, niche markets, or exclusive agreements.
Top tier. Executive, C-suite, or extremely hard-to-fill positions.
Replacement guarantee (falloff protection)
Most direct hire agreements include a guarantee period. If the candidate leaves or is terminated within that window, you replace them at no additional fee (or refund a prorated amount). This is standard. Plan for it.
Standard: 30, 60, or 90 days. Longer guarantees win deals but increase your risk.
What % of your placements leave within the guarantee window? Track this. Industry avg: 3% to 8%.
Annual revenue projection
How many permanent placements do you plan to close this year?
Engaged search model (upfront fee + balance at placement)
An engaged search means the client pays a non-refundable engagement fee upfront before you begin sourcing. This shows commitment and gives you cash flow. The balance is due at placement; if no placement is made, you keep the engagement fee. This model works for ANY role, not just executive positions.
Expected salary for the role you are filling.
Your full placement fee as a %. Same ranges as contingency: 15% to 30%.
Typical range: $500 to $5,000. Collected before you begin sourcing. You keep this regardless of outcome.
How many engaged search placements do you expect to close?
Retained search model (fee in installments)
A retained search means the client pays your fee in scheduled installments, typically thirds: one-third at kickoff, one-third at candidate shortlist, and one-third at placement. You earn money throughout the process. This is NOT just for executive roles; any dedicated, high-priority search can justify a retainer.
Expected salary for the role.
Retained searches typically command 20% to 30% because you are dedicating resources.
How many retained searches do you expect to complete?
Estimates for planning, not financial advice. Rates, premiums, and burden numbers are the workbook's guidance ranges; your market and your carriers decide the real ones.
Does this resonate?
One placement fee can fund a whole launch. Build the agency behind it.
If placing people in permanent roles sounds like your kind of business, the platform can turn it into a real plan: positioning, client agreements, and the week-by-week path from first job order to a repeatable desk.
Build my launch plan free →Good questions about this math
What is a typical direct hire placement fee percentage?
The workbook's guidance is 15% to 30% of the candidate's first-year salary. Administrative and light industrial roles usually sit at 15% to 20%, clinical support at 18% to 22%, RNs, IT, and finance at 20% to 25%, and director through C-suite at 25% to 30% or more. Price on role difficulty and your market, and do not undercharge.
What is the difference between contingency, engaged, and retained fees?
Contingency means you are paid only when the candidate starts: no placement, no fee. Engaged adds a non-refundable upfront engagement fee (typically $500 to $5,000) with the balance due at placement, so a dead search still covers your sourcing time. Retained splits the full fee into installments, commonly thirds at kickoff, shortlist, and placement, so you are paid throughout the search. The calculator runs all three side by side.
How do guarantee periods and replacements work?
Most direct hire agreements include a 30, 60, or 90 day guarantee: if the candidate leaves or is terminated in that window, you replace them at no additional fee or refund a prorated amount. The sheet multiplies your placement fee by your historical falloff rate to show the revenue at risk, then subtracts it from your annual projection so you plan on the realistic number.
How does the fee scale with salary?
Linearly: the fee is salary times your percentage, so a $95,000 placement at the same 20% bills more than an $80,000 one. That is why the scenario ladder matters. On an $80,000 salary, the difference between 15% and 20% is $4,000 per placement, and across a year of placements those points compound into real revenue.
A client wants to negotiate my fee down. Should I?
Not without getting something back. The workbook's rule: if a client pushes for 15% instead of 20%, ask for exclusivity, a volume commitment, or faster payment terms in exchange. Also ask whether a client unwilling to commit is shopping you against five other agencies. Engaged and retained structures are often the better answer than a lower percentage.
Do I get the Excel version?
Yes. The $27 unlock includes the standalone Direct Hire Fees workbook from Dee's How To Charge master, plus the START HERE guide tab, yours to download and keep.
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