Know the fee before
the search begins.
Permanent recruitment fees are typically 15% of the successful candidate's first-year salary package. Estimate the placement fee for a permanent hire before booking a hiring call.
Auxen Partners supports project-driven businesses across construction, engineering, mining, energy and industrial hiring. This estimate is for permanent recruitment before final terms are agreed.
- ▸ No padded shortlists
- ▸ Direct candidate outreach
- ▸ Market mapping before search
- ▸ Focused on project-critical roles
Indicative only. Final terms are confirmed in the signed Terms of Business before any search begins.
Placement Fee Estimate
Based on Auxen's 15% permanent recruitment fee.
Standard permanent search calculated at 15% of the successful candidate's first-year salary package.
Estimated Auxen fee $18,000. 15% of $120,000 first-year salary package.
What you get
Final terms are confirmed in the signed Terms of Business before any search begins.
No personal details are required to use this calculator.
Your hiring economics
Auxen compared with internal recruitment
Internal recruitment capacity is a fixed annual cost. Auxen is a cost per successful placement. Which is cheaper depends on how many people you hire in a year — so set your own assumptions below and the comparison follows them.
An internal recruiter whose whole role is hiring. All of the salary counts as recruitment cost.
Base salary before on-costs.
The whole role is recruitment.
Per year. Not pro-rated by time spent recruiting.
1–50 per year. This is what decides which model costs less.
Auxen
$18,000
per successful placement · 15% of $120,000
- At 4 hires a year
- $72,000
- Commitment
- Payable on placement
Dedicated recruiter
$32,688
effective cost per hire · $130,750 a year ÷ 4 hires
- Annual recruitment cost
- $130,750
- Commitment
- Fixed, whether or not a role is filled
Difference across the year
$58,750
lower with Auxen at this volume
Break-even
~8 hires/year
above this volume, internal capacity costs less per hire
At 4 hires per year, a dedicated internal recruiter works out to approximately $32,688 per hire — $130,750 a year spread across 4 hires. Auxen would cost approximately $18,000 per successful placement, or $72,000 across the same volume.
That is approximately $58,750 less across the selected annual hiring volume, and it is only payable when a placement is actually made.
Break-even sits at roughly 8 hires a year under these assumptions — above that, internal capacity becomes the lower-cost option on direct cost alone.
Recruitment cost is only one part of the equation.
While the role stays open, the work it was supposed to cover does not get done. That is usually the larger number, and it is the one that moves a programme.
Working days assumed: 220 a year.
Estimated vacancy impact
$30,682
$682 a day × 45 days
Valued at the role's own fully loaded cost for the time it stays open. It does not attempt to price schedule slip or the load carried by the rest of the team.
We'll pressure-test these assumptions against the roles you're actually hiring.
Illustrative estimate based on the assumptions entered. Actual internal employment, advertising and recruitment costs vary by organisation.
Choose the model that matches the role
Contingent Search
Best for
Individual hires · Clear, well-defined roles · Standard project-support roles
Fee
15% of the first-year salary package, payable on the candidate's start date.
Pay on placement. The most flexible model.
Start a searchPriority / Exclusive Search
Best for
Urgent project-critical roles · Hard-to-fill technical roles · Roles causing delivery pressure
Fee
17% of the package, with an optional engagement fee credited to the final placement fee.
Exclusive focus and priority turnaround.
Discuss this roleRetained Search
Best for
Senior project leadership · Confidential replacement searches · Roles that cannot afford a miss
Fee
15% of the package, split across engagement, shortlist and placement.
Committed, structured search for critical hires.
Request a market mapContract / Project Recruitment
Best for
Urgent project support · FIFO / site roles · Interim cover & workload spikes
Fee
Priced per engagement — an hourly or daily rate, not a percentage.
Fast resourcing for interim and site roles.
Talk through the roleA clear search process
A clear search process before a shortlist is ever sent.
Role Diagnosis
Clarify the role, urgency, salary, project context and non-negotiables.
Clarify the role, urgency, salary, project context and non-negotiables.
Have a role in mind?
Send the details and we'll review the role and recommend the right search model and a clear view of the market.
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