Recruiter: The fee is 25%
HR: That's too high. We never pay more than 20%.
R: Oh my! What would you overpay like that?
HR: What?
R: If you're paying 20%, you should be paying 10%. The people who go to 20% are just throwing resumes over to see what sticks. If you can get them to 20%, you should keep pushing them down to 10%.
HR: Well, we pay 20%, so we can get a higher quality of recruiting.
R: Do you?
HR: Yes.
R: But do you?
HR: I, think so.
R: Do you?
HR: I, but, see...
R: Do you?
HR: Look, we pay 20%.
R: I'd never take 20%. How could I charge you so much for so little work?
HR: Are you saying you'd do it for 10%?
R: Oh, not at all. I charge 25%.
HR: That's more than 20%. Aren't you overcharging?
R: Maybe. Also, I don't offer a 6 month guarantee.
HR: You don't offer a guarantee?
R: I guarantee my work. When you hire someone and they accept the offer, you're saying I did my job. If they leave or you fire them, you're saying you didn't do your job, but you want me to pay for it.
HR: But it's standard.
R: I think I understand now. You pay 20% for work that is only worth 10% because you're expecting that 50% of the time, you make bad hiring decisions. That makes sense.
HR: So you'll do 20?
R: Not at all.
HR: Can you recommend someone who can?
R: I mean, I could tell you people who charge that, but I couldn't recommend them. They only charge 20% - and half of their people are going to quit or get fired. No, no - I respect you too much to give you the names of bad recruiters.
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