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HeadRace for Employers - Search Products
HeadRace for Employers - Search Products

Breakdown of each of the 3 HeadRace search products: Direct, SCALE, and Referrals

Understanding Each Search Type

What are the different search types? (Referral vs. SCALE vs. Direct)

Referral - a network-driven 1-to-many product that opens up your role publicly for submissions from all professional recruiters on HeadRace. This gives your role maximum visibility and allows you to cast an extremely wide net in just a few clicks. Expect great candidate quality, lower candidate flow, medium level of service, and fixed $ pricing: ~$5k - $20k per hire.

SCALE - a scalable 1-to-many product that connects you with several expert recruiters who have demonstrated experience filling roles like yours. HeadRace's system intelligently matches you with the best recruiters for your role. Expect great candidate quality, high candidate flow, and a medium level of service from several engaged recruiters. Enjoy flexible pricing, set as a % of your candidate’s first year compensation: ~$15k - $35k per hire.

Direct - a 1:1 search product that provides you with a dedicated, expert recruiter to fill a specific role. Expect excellent quality candidate, medium level of candidate flow, and an extremely high level of service. Pricing is negotiated between you and the recruiter and typically involves some upfront or guaranteed payment: ~$35k+ (all-in, not all guaranteed)

Leveraging multiple search products at once

With HeadRace, employers have the flexibility to leverage any combination of search products at once. The HeadRace platform allows employers to activate or de-activate search products with just the click of a button.

Here is a simple example of how you can leverage multiple search products at once:

Hiring for a senior software engineer w/ first year comp of $150k

Direct: Engage a dedicated recruiter to assist with this hire via a Direct search. You and the recruiter agree to a 20% fee with $5k guaranteed to the recruiter upfront (note: just example terms). The recruiter partners with you closely to generate outstanding quality candidates for your role.

Your exposure: $5k guaranteed, total cost of $30k for a hire ($150k x 20%)

Likelihood of hire: high

SCALE: Open the role up for SCALE recruiters, experts in their craft who are handpicked by you and the HeadRace team. You set the fee to 15% of first year comp (note: just example terms) for a successful hire — no guaranteed money. 5-10 expert recruiters generate significant top-of-funnel candidate flow for your review.

Your exposure: nothing guaranteed, total cost of $22.5k for a hire ($150k x 15%)

Likelihood of hire: medium

Referrals: Publish the role to the broader recruiter platform with Referrals. Now you tap into the networks of hundreds of recruiters on HeadRace to create even more candidate flow. You set the fee to $10k per successful hire (note: just example terms) — only pay for a placement. Quality of these candidates remain high, though the candidate flow from each individual recruiter may be lower.

Your exposure: nothing guaranteed, total cost of $10k for a hire

Likelihood of hire: low

If there are multiple openings for this role, you can see that your blended cost per hire will likely be lower than any other hiring method — you increase the likelihood that you find a great quality via SCALE and Referrals without sacrificing the high service you get from a Direct search.

Pros/cons of each search type

Pros/cons of each search type

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I can’t decide which search type is best. Who can I ask for help?

While the resources here should help you develop a better understanding of each different search type, we realize it can be confusing and there isn’t necessarily always a ‘right’ answer.

Not to fear — the HeadRace Customer Success team is here to help. Reach out to

support@headrace.com⁠

with any specific questions.

Detailed comparison of each search type

Detailed comparison of each search type

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Referrals FAQ

What are Referrals?

Referrals is a network-driven 1-to-many search product that opens your role publicly for submissions from all recruiters on HeadRace. This gives your role maximum visibility and allows you to cast an extremely wide net in just a few clicks. Expect a medium level of service and fixed, flat $ pricing.

When should I use Referrals for my role?

Referrals are best used for higher volume, less specialized roles. This search product is also useful for employers that are NOT expecting a ton of active engagement from recruiters. This is due to the lower-than-average pricing typically see in Referrals. Most recruiters will view these opportunities as opportunities to drop off extra candidates that are involved in other processes. So we believe this search product best for employers who are willing to hire opportunistically for evergreen roles.

What should I expect with a Referrals role?

Referrals are most commonly attached to existing SCALE and/or Direct searches, but can be used standalone as well. You should expect the following:

Set your own fixed flat $ fee. Usually ~$5k - $20k per hire. Only pay upon placement.

Engagement across the entire HeadRace ecosystem. Candidate flow you otherwise would not be able to source within your own network.

High quality candidate statuses with lower per-recruiter candidate flow.

You are responsible for managing the candidates through your interview process. The recruiter simply sources the candidate and makes the introduction to you.

Who can see and work on my Referral role?

Unlike other search products (SCALE, Direct), Referrals are open to the entire ecosystem of recruiters on HeadRace. However, you can rest assured that not anyone can join HeadRace — we review and speak with every single recruiter before they are eligible to join the marketplace. This includes a deep dive on their recruiting experience as well as a virtual conversation around how HeadRace works and the associated expectations to maintain access to the platform. In general, only the top ~10% of recruiters are eligible to join HeadRace.

What is the price of Referrals?

You are empowered to set any price you like for your Referral role. And remember, you only pay when you make a successful hire.

Note that the higher the average price, the better the engagement from the recruiter network. You are always free to edit your price up/down depending on how much engagement you are seeing.

How does a Referral role work from start to finish?

For Referrals, the order of operations is as follows:

Create your role

Fill out your role dossier

Set your Referral bounty (amount you will pay for a successful hire)

Publish to the marketplace

Receive candidates from a wide network of recruiters on HeadRace

Accept/pass candidates based on your review

Accepted candidates trigger an email introducing you directly to the candidate

You manage the candidate through your interview process

You hire the candidate, hooray!

You receive an invoice from HeadRace and pay your Referral reward

Continue hiring more candidates through this role, or close it out

Step-by-step guide to posting the role, reviewing, and hiring candidates

Click Roles

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Click Create Role

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Fill in your role details, click Create

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Click Role Dossier

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Fill our your role dossier, including info about your company and the specific role

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Click Search Products then click Referrals

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Fill in your Referral reward amount, then click Publish

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Confirm your Referral reward, then click Publish

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Confirm your role is Published

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Review submitted candidates

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Review your candidate submissions and Accept/Pass

Accept candidates to be introduced via email, and uploaded to your ATS (if connected)

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You now manage the candidate through your interview process

When you hire a candidate, drag them to the Hired column

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Fill in the hired candidate’s information (including the offer letter) and click Submit

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If you’re done hiring for the role, update the status to Closed. If you’d like to pause the role and resume at a future date, click Pause

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How to edit the price of your Referral role

You may want to edit the price up/down of your Referral role due to varying levels of engagement. In general we recommend setting the initial price of your role at around $10k.

If you want to edit the price of your Referral role, simply follow these steps:

Navigate to Search Products > Referrals, then click on Update Status, click Close Referrals

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Input your new price in the bounty box and then click Relaunch Referrals

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Confirm you are good with the new terms, then click Publish

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Your role is now live once again with a new price

How to pause / resume your Referral role

You may want to pause your Referral role to work through a large backlog of candidate submissions. Simply follow these steps to pause/resume your role:

Navigate to Search Products > Referrals, then click on Update Status, click Pause Referrals

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Now your role will be denoted with a Paused symbol

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To resume, click Update Status, then click Resume Referrals. Now your role is once again live and visible to the HeadRace Marketplace

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How to end / close your Referral role

Once you are done hiring for this role, closing/deactivating your Referral role is simple. Follow these steps:

Navigate to Search Products > Referrals, then click on Update Status, click Close Referrals

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Now your role will be denoted with a Inactive symbol

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SCALE FAQ

What is SCALE?

SCALE is a scalable 1-to-many product that connects you with several expert recruiters who have demonstrated experience filling roles like yours. HeadRace's system intelligently matches you with the best recruiters for your role. Expect great candidate quality, high candidate flow, and a medium level of service from several engaged recruiters. Enjoy flexible pricing, set as a % of your candidate’s first year compensation: ~$15k - $35k per hire.

When should I use SCALE for my role?

SCALE is best used for higher volume, less specialized roles. This search product is perfect for employers seeking wide engagement from several vetted, expert recruiters at one time. SCALE is the best product to juice top-of-funnel candidate flow, while maintaining great candidate quality. Most recruiters will view SCALE roles as opportunities to engage on a standard contingent search, so employers should not expect frequent communication with recruiters.

What should I expect with a SCALE role?

SCALE roles can be set up standalone but we typically see them paired with Referral roles (see previous question). You should expect the following:

Set your price. SCALE roles are priced as a % of first year cash comp for a hired candidate. Usually ~$15k - $35k per hire. Only pay upon placement.

Engagement through an invite only system. HeadRace will hand pick several expert recruiters perfectly suited for your role, but you have the ability to search, discover, and invite other recruiters to your SCALE role as well.

High quality candidate statuses with high overall candidate flow.

Recruiters will provide some assistance, but you are generally responsible for managing the candidates through your interview process.

You can activate Slack channels with any recruiter if you’d like to establish more efficient communication.

Who can see and work on my SCALE role?

SCALE roles are invite only roles, and reserved specifically for recruiters who have a proven track record of placing candidates in roles similar to yours. The HeadRace team will use our matching algorithm to invite a select group of recruiters to work on your SCALE role, but you will also have the ability to invite more recruiters through our recruiter discovery feature. See that section of our FAQ to learn more about recruiter discovery.

What is the price of SCALE?

You are empowered to set any price you like for your SCALE role. And remember, you only pay when you make a successful hire.

Note that the higher the average price, the better the engagement from the recruiter network. You are always free to edit your price up/down depending on how much engagement you are seeing.

How does a SCALE role work from start to finish?

For SCALE, the order of operations is as follows:

Create your role

Fill out your role dossier

Set your SCALE price (amount you will pay for a successful hire)

Publish to the marketplace

HeadRace will invite selected recruiters to work on your role; you have the option to discover and invite other recruiters as well

Receive candidates from recruiters working on your SCALE role

Accept/pass candidates based on your review

Accepted candidates trigger an email introducing you directly to the candidate

You manage the candidate through your interview process

You hire the candidate, hooray!

You receive an invoice from HeadRace and pay your SCALE reward

Continue hiring more candidates through this role, or close it out

Step-by-step guide to posting the role, inviting recruiters, and reviewing/hiring candidates

Click Roles

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Click Create Role

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Fill in your role details, click Create

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Click Role Dossier

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Fill our your role dossier, including info about your company and the specific role

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Click Search Products then click SCALE

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Fill in your SCALE reward amount, then click Publish

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Confirm your SCALE reward, then click Publish

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Confirm your role is Published

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Review Recommended Recruiters and invite any you like to work on your SCALE Role.

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Click Discover Recruiters to review a longer list of recruiters who might be a good fit to work your role. Filter recruiters based on what stage of companies they usually work with, their price, their placement time, etc. Click Invite to Role to invite the recruiter to your SCALE role.

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Review candidate submissions

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Click into the candidate to view the candidate details

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Accept candidates to be introduced via email, and uploaded to your ATS (if connected)

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You now manage the candidate through your interview process

When you hire a candidate, drag them to the Hired column

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Fill in the hired candidate’s information (including the offer letter) and click Submit

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If you’re done hiring for the role, update the status to Closed. If you’d like to pause the role and resume at a future date, click Pause

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How to edit the price of your SCALE role

You may want to edit the price up/down of your SCALE role due to varying levels of engagement. In general we recommend setting the initial price of your between 15% - 20%.

If you want to edit the price of your SCALE role, simply follow these steps:

Navigate to Search Products > Referrals, then click on Update Status, click Close SCALE

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Confirm you are closing this SCALE search, select the Replacing with New Agreement option

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Input your new price and then click Relaunch SCALE

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Confirm you are good with the new terms, then click Publish

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Your role is now live once again with a new price

How to pause / resume your SCALE role

You may want to pause your SCALE role to work through a large backlog of candidate submissions. Simply follow these steps to pause/resume your role:

Navigate to Search Products > SCALE, then click on Update Status, click Pause SCALE

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Now your role will be denoted with a Paused symbol

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To resume, click Update Status, then click Resume SCALE. Now your role is once again live and visible to the HeadRace Marketplace

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How to end / close your SCALE role

Once you are done hiring for this role, closing/deactivating your SCALE role is simple. Follow these steps:

Navigate to Search Products > SCALE, then click on Update Status, click Close SCALE

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Now your role will be denoted with a Inactive symbol

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Direct FAQ

What is Direct?

Direct is a 1-to-1 search product that provides you with a dedicated, expert recruiter to fill a specific role. Expect excellent quality candidates, a medium level of candidate flow, and an extremely high level of service. Pricing is negotiated between you and the recruiter and typically involves some upfront or guaranteed payment: ~$35k+ per hire (all-in, not all guaranteed).

When should I use Direct for my role?

Direct is best suited for specialized and/or leadership roles (Director, VP, SVP, CXO, etc.). These roles are typically difficult to source for and require the full engagement of 1 or 2 recruiters, making them a good fit for the HeadRace Direct product. Typically, these specialized/leadership roles are associated with some amount of guaranteed money paid to the recruiter as a show of commitment before they begin to dedicate significant time and resources to fill the role. HeadRace does not negotiate on behalf of recruiters, so the ultimate contract/agreement you arrive at will be a negotiation between you and the recruiter(s) we introduce you to.

What should I expect with a Direct role?

Direct roles are oftentimes set up standalone, but in certain instances can be paired with SCALE/Referrals. You should expect the following:

Receive intelligent recommendations for which recruiters to speak with. You can also search and discover other recruiters and request to speak with them as well.

Meet with recruiters and discuss your role. Mutually negotiate the terms of your search, including pricing and guarantee periods.

Extremely high quality candidate statuses with a medium level of candidate flow.

Recruiters will work side-by-side with you throughout the entire process. Expect the recruiter(s) to manage candidates from start to finish.

Dedicated 1:1 Slack channels with your selected Direct recruiters.

Who can see and work on my Direct role?

Direct roles are private and not open to the HeadRace Marketplace. The HeadRace team will review recommendations from our intelligent matching algorithm and suggest recruiters for you to speak with. These recruiter selections are powered by data on previous placements made by recruiters on the HeadRace platform. You also have the ability to review the broader network of HeadRace recruiters and individually invite people to speak with regarding your Direct role.

What is the price of Direct?

Unlike Referrals and SCALE searches, Direct searches are priced through a negotiation process between you and the recruiter(s) you speak with.

How does a Direct role work from start to finish?

For Direct, the order of operations is as follows:

Create your role

Fill out your role dossier

Discover and review recruiters

Invite recruiters to meet with you regarding your role

Recruiters will send you proposed search agreement terms via HeadRace

You review the proposals and choose to sign 1 (or more) Direct search agreements

You sign the search agreements using HeadRace digital document signing flow (no DocuSign needed)

Slack channels will be automatically created, connecting you directly with signed recruiters

Receive candidates from recruiters working on your Direct role

Accept/pass candidates based on your review

If your ATS is connected, accepted candidates will appear in your ATS in the first round interview

Recruiters manage their candidates through your interview process

You hire the candidate, hooray!

You receive an invoice from HeadRace and pay according to the search agreement fee schedule

Continue hiring more candidates through this role, or close it out

Step-by-step guide to posting the role, meeting recruiters, and reviewing/hiring candidates

Click Roles

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Click Create Role

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Fill in your role details, click Create

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Click Role Dossier

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Fill our your role dossier, including info about your company and the specific role

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Click Search Products then click Direct

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Review recommended recruiters at the bottom of the page, or search and discover more recruiters in the top right by clicking Discover Recruiters

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The Discover Recruiter button will take you a page that looks like this:

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Once you’ve requested a meeting, you will receive a confirmation modal that looks like this:

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You will also receive an email introduction that looks like this:

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Shortly after, you should expect the recruiter to reach out to schedule time to meet with you

During the call with the recruiter you should discuss what high level terms would be agreeable for this Direct search

The recruiter will then send a search agreement to you via the HeadRace platform. You will be notified via email and Slack, and in-app the experience will look like this. Click View Search Agreement

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You will be redirected to a page that summarizes the terms of the search agreement. Click Sign Agreement to review the actual contract language and terms.

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A confirmation modal will popup, where you can download the terms of the agreement and review. If they look good, you can sign using the digital signing tool in the modal.

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Once signed, your Search Products page will look like this, confirming that your search agreement with that recruiter is active:

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Recruiters will now submit candidates to you. Review them here:

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Click into the candidate to expand their details:

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Accept candidates to be introduced via email, and uploaded to your ATS (if connected)

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When you hire a candidate, drag them to the Hired column

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Fill in the hired candidate’s information (including the offer letter) and click Submit

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If you’re done hiring for the role, you will need to close all active search agreements on the role. To do that

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Click Terminate Agreement

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Now your Direct search with this recruiter will be closed. If you wish to re-open this search, you will need to sign a new search agreement by following the steps above.

Understanding Each Search Type

What are the different search types? (Referral vs. SCALE vs. Direct)

Leveraging multiple search products at once

Pros/cons of each search type

I can’t decide which search type is best. Who can I ask for help?

Detailed comparison of each search type

Referrals FAQ

What are Referrals?

When should I use Referrals for my role?

What should I expect with a Referrals role?

Who can see and work on my Referral role?

What is the price of Referrals?