Hiring process

Contingency or retained search: which one fits your role

August 2, 2026 · Talentfinders Inc.

The two engagement models change who carries the risk, how the work is prioritised, and how quickly a search moves. Here is how to choose.

Both models are legitimate, and the right choice depends on how scarce the candidate pool is and how much certainty you need about capacity. Talentfinders runs both.

What is a contingency search?

A contingency search is paid only on a successful hire. The recruiter carries the financial risk of the search, and you pay nothing if no one is placed. It suits roles with a reasonably deep candidate pool and a clear definition of success, which describes most individual-contributor engineering hires.

At Talentfinders that fee is 25% of the candidate's first-year salary, and it is not invoiced until the candidate completes the performance guarantee period. If the hire does not complete that period, a replacement search is provided at no additional cost.

What is a retained search?

A retained search commits part of the fee up front, which buys dedicated capacity and a deeper, more systematic process. It suits leadership roles, confidential replacements, and searches where the qualified population is small enough that the work is closer to mapping a market than filtering a funnel.

The tradeoff is straightforward. You take on some risk in exchange for guaranteed attention and a more exhaustive process.

Which model should you choose?

Choose contingency when the role is well defined, the candidate pool is reasonably deep, and you want to pay only for outcomes. Choose retained when the search is confidential, the role is a leadership hire, or the qualified population is small enough that success depends on exhaustively mapping the market rather than filtering inbound interest.

A few signals that point toward retained:

The role reports to the CEO or owns a function.
You are replacing someone who is still in the seat.
The qualified population is plausibly under a few hundred people nationally.
Previous contingency attempts produced volume but no fit.

Does the engagement model change the quality bar?

The engagement model allocates risk and capacity; it does not set the screening standard. The same scorecard, the same domain-specific screen, and the same guarantee apply either way. What retained buys is dedicated time on a small population, which matters when the constraint is finding qualified people at all rather than choosing among them.

How does the guarantee work in each model?

The guarantee is the same in both: no fee is invoiced until the placed candidate completes the performance guarantee period, and a candidate who does not complete it is replaced at no additional cost. That structure keeps the incentive on placements that last rather than placements that close quickly.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between contingency and retained search?

In a contingency search the fee is paid only when a candidate is hired, so the recruiter carries the risk. In a retained search part of the fee is committed up front, which buys dedicated capacity and a deeper process. Contingency suits well-defined roles; retained suits scarce, confidential, or leadership roles.

Does contingency search mean lower quality?

No. The engagement model determines how risk and capacity are allocated, not the standard of screening. A contingency search on a well-defined role with a clear scorecard produces the same quality bar. Retained becomes worthwhile when the candidate pool is small enough that the search needs guaranteed dedicated time.

Written by

The Talentfinders Team

Reviewed by the Talentfinders search desk. Talentfinders places senior engineers and technical leaders for gaming and AI teams across the United States. Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the team before publication.

Hiring for a gaming or AI team?

Talentfinders delivers shortlists in three to five days, on a success-based fee. United States, onsite and remote.

Start a search