A contract recruiter is a recruiter you bring in for a set period to work inside your team, usually paid by the hour or month. A fractional recruiter does the same part-time, often for several companies at once. Both cost less than an agency when you have several roles to fill, because you pay for time, not a percentage of each salary.
What does a contract recruiter do?
A contract recruiter works as part of your company for a few months. They use your systems, represent your brand and run the full process: writing job ads, sourcing, screening, scheduling interviews and closing offers. When the contract ends, the knowledge they built stays with your team if you document it.
What is a fractional recruiter?
A fractional recruiter is a senior recruiter who works a fixed share of their week for you, for example two days. It suits startups and smaller companies that hire steadily but not enough for a full-time recruiter, and want experience they could not afford to employ full-time.
Contract recruiter, fractional recruiter, agency and RPO compared
| Contract recruiter | Fractional recruiter | Agency | RPO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Hourly or monthly | Monthly retainer for a share of the week | Usually 15–25% of salary per hire | Monthly fee plus per hire, by contract |
| Best for | A hiring push over a few months | Steady hiring without a full-time recruiter | Single hard-to-fill roles | Large, ongoing hiring programmes |
| Works inside your team | Yes | Partly | No | Partly |
| Commitment | Weeks to months | Months | Per role | Often a year or more |
When a contract recruiter makes sense
- You have several similar roles to fill in a short period
- Your in-house team is stretched by a project, expansion or seasonal peak
- You want the process run your way, inside your ATS
- Agency fees across many hires would cost more than a few months of a recruiter's time
When it does not
- One senior hire where you need an existing network: an agency or executive search fits better
- You lack candidates, not recruiter time. A recruiter cannot screen people who never apply
- You need it to work next week and have no time to onboard someone
The missing piece: candidate flow
Many teams hire a contract recruiter and find the real problem is that too few relevant people apply. Eight out of ten good candidates are not looking, so job boards alone do not fill the pipeline. A sourcing layer fixes that part.
SmartHire runs targeted social media campaigns to reach people who are not job hunting, screens them against your requirements and sends qualified candidates straight to your recruiter or ATS. First candidates usually arrive within 3–5 days. Pairing a contract recruiter with steady candidate flow is often cheaper than paying an agency per hire.
How to hire a contract recruiter
- Write down the roles, volume and deadline before you talk to anyone
- Look for experience with the same type of roles, not just recruiting in general
- Agree on weekly targets you can measure, for example screened candidates and interviews booked
- Give them access to your ATS, hiring managers and job ad budget from day one
- Ask for a handover: notes, templates and the talent pool they built
How much does a contract recruiter cost?
Rates vary by country, seniority and specialism, and are usually set by the hour, day or month. Compare the total for the contract period with what an agency would charge at 15–25% of salary for the same number of hires.
What is the difference between a contract recruiter and a recruitment agency?
A contract recruiter works for you and is paid for time. An agency works for many clients, finds candidates from its own network and is usually paid a fee per successful hire.
Is a fractional recruiter worth it for a startup?
Often, yes, if you hire a few people every quarter. You get senior recruiting experience for a share of the cost of a full-time hire, and you can scale the hours up or down.
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