Contingency or retained search: how to choose
Data Center Headhunters recruits critical facilities, data center operations, construction and delivery, commissioning, power and cooling, and executive talent for colocation, hyperscale and enterprise sites. We research the market, contact working people and qualify a shortlist for your opening. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Both models are legitimate. They solve different problems.
This is what we do all day: recruit data center professionals.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Data centers only, construction to operations
- Local and 100% travel candidates
- Replacement guarantee on standard searches
Contingency
The firm is paid only if you hire someone it presented. The client carries little financial risk. The firm carries all of it, so it focuses on searches it believes it can fill.
Retained
The firm is paid whether or not the role is filled, typically in stages. Retained search suits confidential, exclusive, very senior roles where the client wants dedicated resources and exclusivity.
Ready to start? Tell us the role.
When contingency fits
Critical leaders and specialists below the C suite, where a strong candidate can be found by direct research and the client wants to pay only for a result.
When retained fits
Board level or confidential searches where the client wants exclusivity and dedicated process. If that is your situation, a retained firm may be the right choice and we will tell you so.
Ready to start? Tell us the role.
A decision checklist
Yes to the first three points toward retained. Yes to the last two points toward contingency.
- Is the role confidential, and must the client name stay hidden for weeks?
- Do you need an exclusive firm with dedicated resources?
- Is the role at the board or C suite level?
- Is the likely candidate findable by direct research and calls?
- Do you want to pay only if a hire happens?
What we would tell you across the table
If your search needs exclusivity, we will say so and suggest a retained firm. If your search is a critical leader or specialist below the C suite, contingency with direct outreach is usually enough, and you carry no risk if it does not close.
Need this person?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
How do you choose between contingency and retained search?
Choose by how many good candidates exist and how much confidentiality you need. Contingency suits roles where qualified people exist in reasonable numbers and you want to pay only on a hire. Retained suits rare leadership roles, confidential replacements and searches that need a deep market map before anyone is approached.
The difference is not effort or quality by default. It is how the risk is shared. Under contingency the recruiter carries the risk of a search that does not close. Under retained, you pay part of the fee before a hire in exchange for dedicated time and a defined scope.
Most technical and field roles in data center construction and operations fit contingency well. Senior executive roles sometimes justify a retained structure.
Some firms also offer hybrids, such as a small engagement fee credited against the final fee. These can work, but read how the credit applies if the search ends without a hire, and whether the scope is fixed in writing.
What should you ask any recruiter before signing either way?
Ask how many searches the recruiter is running at once, who will actually make the calls and how candidates are qualified before you see them. Those answers matter more than the fee structure, because a crowded desk produces thin short lists under either model.
Ask too what happens if your brief changes, how replacement terms work and whether the recruiter will tell you honestly when a role is priced below the market.
Read the written agreement before outreach starts. Fee basis, payment timing and replacement terms should all be stated there in plain words.
Why do we work on contingency?
Our searches focus on roles where we already speak with the people who do the work. That network lets us take on the risk of a search, so you pay nothing upfront and owe a fee only when you hire someone we introduced. It keeps both sides focused on the result.
For confidential executive work we discuss structure case by case, and our executive search page explains how those mandates run.
Whichever model you choose, a clear brief and a fast interview process do more for the result than the fee structure. Candidates judge your company by how quickly and honestly the process moves.
Where should you go next?
These pages carry on from here. Each one covers a related decision in more depth, so pick the one closest to the question you still have about this hire, the data behind it or how we work with you.
How a search runs
How does The Six-Step Search work?
We use executive-search discipline for technical, frontline and leadership assignments. That means understanding the work, researching the right market and holding meaningful conversations before recommending an introduction. The questions change with the assignment. A shortlist is an outcome of that judgment, not the whole service.
- 01
Search Calibration
We agree what the person must accomplish and what they will actually own. Construction, commissioning and live operations need different questions. We clarify systems, site type, scale, decision authority, reporting lines and the team around the hire.
- 02
Market Mapping
We research comparable sites, projects and teams, then consider adjacent backgrounds where the experience could transfer. A matching title is a starting point, not evidence that someone has handled the same responsibility.
- 03
Professional Contact Intelligence
Contact research helps us approach relevant people appropriately. It enables the search; it is not the product. Public records can be incomplete or out of date, so employment history and responsibility remain questions to discuss and confirm where appropriate.
- 04
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We explain the actual work and why the opportunity may be relevant, then follow up thoughtfully and respectfully. We listen to whether a move makes sense for that person rather than treating a response as proof of interest or fit.
- 05
Live Candidate Qualification
We ask about work personally owned, decisions made and what happened when a plan went wrong. We discuss motivation and practical terms: compensation, shifts, travel, per diem where relevant, availability and authority. We distinguish the candidate's account from anything independently confirmed.
- 06
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You receive a reasoned brief: why the person may fit, supporting examples, uncertainties and useful interview questions. We agree which credentials, references or other checks are appropriate and who will complete them. We stay involved through feedback, offer discussions and the start, rather than stopping at an introduction.
Questions
Is retained search better quality than contingency?
Not by default. Quality depends on how candidates are approached and qualified, which you should ask about under either model.
When does a retained structure make sense?
For rare leadership roles, confidential replacements or searches that need a full market map before any approach.
Can a contingency search be exclusive?
Yes. Many clients give one recruiter a role exclusively for an agreed period, which avoids several firms calling the same people.