When Should Your Startup Hire a Recruiter?

# When Should Your Startup Hire a Recruiter?

Every startup reaches a point where founder-led recruiting becomes unsustainable. But hiring a recruiter too early wastes resources, while hiring too late costs you momentum and talent.

Signs You Need a Recruiter

### Volume Indicators - You're trying to hire 5+ people in the next 6 months - Founders are spending 20+ hours per week on recruiting - Your pipeline is consistently empty

### Quality Indicators - You're missing great candidates to slower processes - Candidate experience is suffering - You're not building relationships for future hiring

### Strategic Indicators - You need specialized sourcing capabilities - Employer branding needs attention - You're entering competitive talent markets

The ROI Calculation

A recruiter costs $80-150K fully loaded. They should: - Make 15-25 hires per year - Reduce cost per hire (vs. agencies) - Improve time to fill - Build sustainable pipeline

If you're paying $25K+ per agency hire and making 5+ hires per year, an in-house recruiter likely makes sense.

What to Look for in Your First Recruiter

### Full-Cycle Capability They should handle: - Sourcing and outreach - Screening and coordination - Offer negotiation - Employer branding

### Startup Experience Big company recruiters often struggle with: - Limited resources - Wearing multiple hats - Selling an unproven company - Moving quickly

### Functional Knowledge Ideally experienced in your primary hiring areas (engineering, sales, etc.).

Alternatives to Consider

### Fractional/Part-Time Recruiters Good for 1-3 hires per quarter. Lower commitment, still builds capability.

### Recruiting Agencies Good for specialized or executive roles. Higher cost but no ongoing commitment.

### RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) Good for scaling quickly. Outsourced team handles high-volume recruiting.

Making the Decision

Ask yourself: 1. How many hires in the next 12 months? 2. How much founder time is recruiting consuming? 3. Is recruiting a core competency you want to build? 4. What's your budget for talent acquisition?

The right answer depends on your specific situation. But if you're feeling the pain of under-resourced recruiting, it's probably time to act.