Do Recruiters Charge Fees for Their Services? If you are a job seeker, you should not be charged a fee by a staffing agency. The recruiter's fee is paid by the employer once you are hired, not the job seeker. Furthermore, no money is deducted from your paycheck, and recruiters do not take any portion of your pay, or even decide your pay rate. The client company determines the pay rate they will offer and then pays a separate fee to compensate the recruiter for their services. Staffing agencies make no salary or hiring decisions. If you are an employer, you will be charged a fee only if the staffing agency fills your open position. The recruiter will find and present candidates to you, and if you hire one of them, you will be charged a fee after they start. The fee is agreed on in advance and is usually a percentage calculated using the candidate's salary or hourly wage. This means high-paying or hard-to-fill positions requiring more expertise or effort to fill will usually carry a higher fee. On the other hand, you owe nothing if you do not select any of the recruiter's candidates. Whether you are a job seeker or an employer, there is no financial risk to working with a staffing agency. A recruiter is only paid if they are successful in their job, so if you're an employer, there is no risk to allowing them to try to fill your open positions. And if you're a job seeker, working with a staffing agency is free!