en

What does a contract recruiter do?

Back to top


How can businesses hire professionals who are fully vetted and ready to start immediately? One of the easiest ways to find interim or contract hires is to partner with a contract recruiter. These recruiters can help you bypass common hiring challenges by tapping into a pool of vetted talent ready for an interim role.

As more companies opt for flexible work arrangements, a contract recruiter ensures your organization gets the right talent at the right time–– without a costly or lengthy recruitment process.

What is a contract recruiter?

While some recruiters focus on placing candidates in permanent positions, others focus on recruiting contractors, interim hires, and temporary placements. Contract recruiters typically have a pool of vetted talent ready for immediate start dates. This means open positions can be filled very quickly - if you contact a contract recruiter on a Monday and you’re likely to have an interim placement ready before Friday.

Many contract recruiting agencies also cover the administrative costs of an interim hire or short-term placement, including their benefits and PTO, so everyone’s covered –– without you taking on additional line-item costs.

There are six benefits to partnering with a contract recruiter, described in detail below.

1 Faster time-to-hire

Need talent now? Contract recruiters often have a network of pre-vetted candidates they can quickly place within a company for specialized projects such as a system implementation. These candidates often cover an interim leave such as maternity or long-term medical leave, or handle a role until a permanent candidate is identified. In some cases, a recruiter can even place an interim hire that can start as soon as the next day. That’s a huge improvement over traditional hiring timelines, which can be three months or longer.

2 On-demand basis

Here when you need them, gone when you don’t. With a contract recruiter, you’re only paying for the service when you need it, versus an in-house specialist who is always on your payroll. If your hiring needs are cyclical, like staffing up during busy season, the contract recruiter can streamline this process and prevent your managers from taking on the hiring burden –– saving your business time and money.

3 Unique perspective

Contract recruiters are responsible for filling several positions at once. A successful contract recruiter is naturally curious with the ability to quickly pick up knowledge on the go. Working with a wide array of clients across different opportunities with a variety of priorities and structure gives contract recruiters a unique perspective within the function and industry at hand. They understand what’s possible in the current talent market and move quickly to support your needs. In other words, your recruiter will be able to provide pointed insights at speed, a crucial element for successful interim hiring.

4 Cost-effective hires

Companies spend an average of $4,700 to onboard a new full-time hire, on top of what they’ve already spent on the talent acquisition process. Contract recruiters can help your business minimize these hiring expenses by finding professionals who are fully vetted, ready to hit the ground running from day one and stay on only for the timeline needed.

A contract professional does not go on your payroll, and, in most cases, your contract recruiter manages onboarding, benefits, FICA payroll deductions and other back-office requirements.

Interim Executives & Professionals

Adapt and accelerate with interim talent

Learn more

5 An extension of your current talent strategy

Maybe you have an in-house talent acquisition specialist or work with an agency for full-time placements. Think of a contract recruiter as an addition to this hiring team rather than a replacement. Recruiting contractors and interim hires is different than filling full-time positions. A contract recruiter specializes in these hires and has access to candidates who are fully vetted and ready for immediate placement–– something recruiters who focus on full-time hires are unlikely to have.

Depending on your talent needs, both contract recruiters and permanent recruiters can be part of your hiring team.

6 A long-term partner

Successful contract recruiters cultivate a relationship of trust and respect with both clients and candidates. They do this by understanding an organization’s hiring needs and considering these needs in the context of broader market trends. This holistic approach ensures organizations fill their immediate vacancies while also positioning their businesses for long-term success in a changing market. Contract recruiters also invest time in their candidates to understand the types of positions that will be most rewarding to interim hires. The result is a “win-win” for businesses and contractors.

Find out more about contract recruiters today

Eager to learn more about talent recruitment for both contract and full-time employees? At Korn Ferry, we’ll help your organization understand how changing market conditions are impacting hiring strategies so you can obtain and retain the best contract talent available.

Learn more about our Interim Executives & Professionals hiring capabilities today.

Key takeaways

  • What is a contract recruiter
  • How your organization could benefit from a contract recruiter

Featured insights