First party and retained are both paid to recruit not only when someone is hired, the difference is internal employee of HR vs contracted outsider. Everyone el

First party and retained are both paid to recruit not only when someone is hired, the difference is internal employee of HR vs contracted outsider. Everyone else is contingent. The difference is whether or not there is a contract with the employer before the recruiter talks to candidates. On the first party and retained side, contracted recruiters have less incentive to jerk a candidate around because their relationship with the candidate potentially extends beyond a single employer. A first party recruiter is more likely to tire kick candidates for roles that don’t exist.