What is contingency search?
Contingency search is a pay-on-placement model: Vantage only invoices once a candidate we've placed actually starts. It's typically used for less senior or higher-volume roles across both Rec2Rec and Recruiting & Talent Acquisition, where speed and a wider net matter more than exclusivity.
When contingency search makes sense
- Individual recruiter and resourcer moves between agencies (Rec2Rec)
- Individual in-house recruiter and sourcer hires (Recruiting & Talent Acquisition)
- Roles with a broader, more accessible candidate pool
- Time-sensitive hires where multiple search paths run in parallel
How it differs from retained
Because contingency search is only paid on success, we typically run it alongside other open contingency roles rather than as a single dedicated search — for that level of dedicated focus, see retained search.
Contingency search is available across both our Rec2Rec and Recruiting & Talent Acquisition practices, in all nine markets we cover.