Split fee recruiting is when two recruiters share one placement fee. One recruiter has the job, usually because they own the relationship with the hiring company. The other recruiter has the candidate. When that candidate is hired, the fee the company pays is divided between them.
It's one of the oldest arrangements in contingency recruiting, and it solves a simple problem. A recruiter with more open jobs than they can fill gets help filling them. A recruiter with strong candidates but no matching jobs gets a place to put them. Both get paid on a placement that might not have happened otherwise.
The two sides of a split
The job side (also called the client side or the posting recruiter) owns the relationship with the hiring company. They negotiated the fee agreement, they know the hiring manager, and they invoice the client when a hire is made.
The candidate side (the submitting recruiter) finds the candidate, does the phone screen, presents the opportunity and manages the candidate through interviews and the offer.
Neither side can close the placement alone. That's the whole point.
How the fee is divided
In contingency recruiting the placement fee is usually a percentage of the hire's first year base salary, commonly somewhere between 15% and 25%, though some clients pay a flat fee instead. In a split, that fee is divided between the two recruiters according to the split they agreed to before the candidate was submitted.
The most common arrangement is a 50/50 split. Other splits, like 60/40 or 70/30, show up when one side does noticeably more of the work, or when a network or platform takes a share.
Example
Base salary: $100,000
Placement fee at 20%: $20,000
50/50 split: $10,000 to the job side, $10,000 to the candidate side
Payment usually follows the client's terms. The client pays the job side, often net 30 after the start date, and the job side then pays the candidate side its share.
Why recruiters work splits
- More jobs without more business development. You can work open roles you didn't have to sell.
- More placements from candidates you already have. A great candidate who doesn't fit your current jobs can still turn into a fee.
- Faster fills for your own clients. Posting a job to other recruiters puts more people on it at once.
- Reach outside your niche or region. A partner in another market can fill a role you couldn't.
Where splits go wrong
Most split fee horror stories come down to the same few problems:
- Getting cut out. The client or the other recruiter goes around you and hires your candidate directly, or for a different role.
- Vague terms. The split, the guarantee or the payment timing was never written down, so it's argued about after the fact.
- Slow or no payment. The client paid, but the money never makes it to the candidate side.
- Silence. Candidates get submitted and never hear back, and the recruiter who sent them has no visibility into what happened.
What a split fee agreement should cover
Before you submit a candidate on a split, make sure these are agreed in writing:
- The placement fee, as a percentage or flat amount
- The split between the two recruiters
- The client's guarantee period and what happens if the hire leaves inside it
- How long the submitting recruiter owns the candidate, and whether that covers other roles at the same client
- When and how each side gets paid
- What happens if the client hires the candidate outside the original job
Informal splits between recruiters who trust each other can work fine. The risk grows when you split with people you don't know, which is exactly when you need the terms to be clear.
How IronBase handles split fee placements
IronBase is a recruiting marketplace built around the problems above.
- Terms on every job card. The fee, the split, the guarantee and the openings are shown before you submit, and the fee calculator shows your exact take.
- 12 months of candidate ownership. Your candidate is yours for 12 months from submission. If the client hires them off platform, your split is still owed and IronBase enforces it.
- IronBase handles the payout. The poster invoices the client, IronBase collects your share from the poster and pays it to you, following the client's terms.
- Visibility into every job. See how responsive the poster is, how many candidates are in the pipeline and how they scored, before you decide to work a job.
- Free to join. Membership, posting your own split fee jobs, submitting candidates and messaging are free, forever.
IronBase also has direct employer jobs that come straight from IronBase clients, where the submitting recruiter keeps 80% of the fee.
Common questions
What is a typical split fee?
A 50/50 split is the most common arrangement, with the recruiter who has the job and the recruiter who has the candidate each taking half of the placement fee. Other splits, like 60/40 or 70/30, are used when one side carries more of the work or the relationship.
Who pays the recruiters in a split fee placement?
The hiring company pays the full placement fee to the recruiter who owns the client relationship. That recruiter then pays the candidate side its share. On IronBase, IronBase collects the submitting recruiter's share from the poster and pays it out.
What happens if the candidate leaves during the guarantee period?
That depends on the agreement with the client. Most guarantees offer a replacement candidate or a full or partial refund if the hire leaves within the window, often 60 to 90 days. A good split agreement says how both recruiters share that risk.
How do I protect myself from being cut out of a split?
Put the terms in writing before you submit: the fee, the split, the guarantee, how long you own the candidate and when you get paid. Working through a platform that records every submission and enforces the terms removes most of the risk.
Free to join. Terms on every card.
Browse direct employer and split fee jobs, post your own, and get paid on every placement.