Recently I have received several emails concerning Contract Recruiter pay rates and each email spoke of pay rates exceeding $100. per hour.  It got me to thinking about how Contract Recruiters set their pay rate and whether the recruiting industry in general is working towards improved income levels as well?

The old statement that ?you get what you pay for? seems to apply for Contract Recruiters.  But, how is this relationship measured when it comes to Contract Recruiters and employers in the setting of fee levels?  Are we all the same or do you really get more if you are experienced or have some special capabilities?

Let me use an example that I was personally involved in a few months back.  I was contacted by a past client who was ?desperate? to bolster the attendance at an upcoming recruiting night for their company.  I had worked on a contract in the past for this client and recruited sales people for the same seasonal position.  The call came in to my office on a Thursday and the recruiting event was the following Tuesday!  Well, after some short discussion, I agreed to work on the project right through the weekend and see if I could increase attendance for them at the event.  In my mind, this was exceptional effort and should include an exceptional hourly fee!  Well, needless to say, it was my opinion only, ha.  The client started the fee discussion at the same ?OK? fee they had paid me in the past.  I couldn?t believe it!  Drop all my current projects, work through the weekend, and do it for what you paid me 6 months earlier for a 6 week project!

That example got me to thinking that something was wrong with my ?value proposition?.  I should have been able to double the fee that I charged in the past.  There was probably no one else they could contact who would come up to speed fast enough to do anything, and yet, I was not prepared in advance like I should have been to present my value. 

Bottom line, are we thinking ahead about our value and how to sell it as Contract Recruiters?  Do we have a written list or marketing plan that we can quickly reference to use as a tool for negotiation?  What can we do to better market our skills even if an unsolicited opportunity presents itself and we are not in the marketing frame of mind?

By the way, I did take the job at a slightly increased rate over my previous effort but vowed to myself to be better prepared in the future to negotiate!