Why we moved to retained-only search
Published April 2026 · Mycelium Robotics
The short version
We used to run contingent and exclusive searches alongside retained. In 2026 we stopped. Every search we run now is retained, on a single published retainer.
The change came from a hard look at outcomes. Contingent search works in volume markets. It does not work in specialist robotics. We were doing some of our best work on retained mandates and watching contingent searches stall, drift, or close on a candidate the client compromised on. That is bad for the client and bad for us.
Below is the case for contingent, the hidden costs in specialist robotics, and what retained-only gives clients in return.
The case for contingent
Contingent search has a real and obvious appeal. The client commits nothing upfront. The fee is paid only on placement. The recruiter carries all the risk. From the buyer's perspective, contingent looks free until the moment a hire happens, at which point the cost is justified by the outcome.
In high-volume, well-defined hiring, contingent works. Mid-level software engineering roles in deep markets, accountancy positions, standardised commercial roles. Where the brief is clear, the candidate pool is large, and any one of several agencies can produce viable shortlists, paying only on success is rational.
The model is the dominant one across the recruitment industry for good reason. It removes friction at the point of engagement and transfers risk to the supplier.
The hidden costs in specialist robotics
Robotics is not a volume market. The candidate pools for perception, SLAM, controls, autonomy, and applied ML are small, interconnected, and largely passive. The work required to run a good search is mapping, qualifying, and approaching engineers individually with substance, not blasting a job description into a CRM.
Three structural problems show up when contingent meets specialist robotics:
Attention is rationed by risk. A contingent recruiter with ten active mandates rationally prioritises the easier ones. Fast wins go first. Specialist robotics roles, which need patient outreach and senior calibration, quietly slip down the queue. The client cannot see this happening until the search has already drifted for six weeks.
Multiple agencies, same engineers. In a market where the candidates know each other and word travels fast, having three contingent agencies approaching the same fifty engineers about the same role does not create competitive coverage. It creates noise, brand damage, and confusion. A senior perception engineer who has been pitched the same vacancy by two recruiters with two different framings does not engage. The role gets a reputation among the very people you needed to hire.
Closing pressure overrides fit. When the recruiter has invested unpaid effort, there is enormous pressure to convert any viable candidate into an offer. Marginal candidates get over-positioned. Concerns get smoothed over. Counter-offers get fought instead of respected. The placement gets made, the fee gets paid, and the hire fails six months later. Everyone agrees something went wrong, but no single decision was clearly responsible.
These costs are real but invisible at the point of engagement. The client only sees them in the rearview, after a failed hire, a prolonged vacancy, or a candidate joining a competitor while their shortlist sat in review.
Why we made the call
We could keep running both models and let clients choose. That was the path of least resistance. The problem with offering both is that contingent quietly funds the bad outcomes. Clients would start with contingent because it looked cheaper, hit the costs above, and either churn or convert to retained partway through. Either way they paid more than they would have on a clean retained brief from day one.
Retained-only is a constraint that protects clients from themselves. It also protects us from running searches we know cannot succeed under the model.
The trade-off is that some clients will not engage. That is fine. If the role is genuinely a volume hire, retained is the wrong instrument and we are not the right firm. We would rather lose that engagement than take it on terms that produce a worse outcome.
What retained-only gives clients
Dedicated focus from day one. Every search begins with a market map, not a CV blast. Senior time is committed before any candidate hears about your role. The recruiter doing the work is the one who briefed you.
Honest calibration. Without contingent pressure to close at any cost, we can tell you when a candidate looks strong on paper but does not fit, and when a candidate you would have screened out is actually the right hire. The conversation stays useful even when the news is inconvenient.
Lower headline fees than industry retained. Industry-standard retained search runs at 28 to 33 percent of first-year base. Our retainer is 25 percent. The published-fee structure means there is no negotiation overhead and no hidden surcharge for difficulty.
A guarantee twice the industry standard. Industry standard is a 12-week rebate window. Ours runs 6 months, matching the payment window. If the hire leaves during the window, the remaining scheduled payments stop. No clawback, no rebate process, no small print.
One published rate. Every client pays the same fee. No tiered service menu, no negotiated discount, no variable-by-client pricing. You know what the search costs before you commit.
When retained is the wrong fit
Retained does not fit every hire. If the role sits below $150,000 base and the candidate pool is genuinely large, the fee economics rarely justify a retainer. We will say so on the first call.
If the brief is not yet defined, retained is premature. Spend another two weeks scoping the role, then come back. We would rather start a clean engagement than charge for a search that shifts mid-flight.
If you need three of the same role at speed and any of them is a valid hire, that is a contingent or in-house sourcing problem. Retained search optimises for the right one out of fifty, not three out of fifty.
Frequently asked questions
Will you run a contingent search if I push for one?
No. We declined this kind of work as a category, not a per-client decision. Continuing to offer it would undermine the structural reasons we made the change. If retained is the wrong fit for your role, we will tell you and refer you to a firm that runs the right model for the brief.
What happens if the role I am hiring for is below $150k base?
We will tell you on the first call. For lower-banded roles the retained fee economics often do not justify the engagement, and we are not the right partner. We will explain why and point you toward sourcing approaches that fit better.
Is your retained fee lower than industry standard?
Yes. Industry-standard retained search runs at 28 to 33 percent of first-year base salary. Our retainer is 25 percent. The lower fee is possible because we are a small operation with no layered account management, no junior researcher tier, and no separate exclusive or contingent product to subsidise.
What is the upfront commitment?
The first month of the fee is paid upfront on engagement to secure the search. The remaining 5 monthly payments begin on the candidate's start date and run for the next five months. Total fee is 25 percent of first-year base salary, paid monthly across 6 months.
What if the hire leaves during the guarantee window?
The remaining scheduled payments stop. No rebate, no clawback, no admin. Payments already made are not refunded. The mechanic applies whether the candidate resigns, is let go, or the role is eliminated within the 6-month payment window.
Did this change affect candidate experience too?
Yes, intentionally. Retained-only means we approach engineers with one consistent message about a role, with senior involvement from the recruiter, and with the time to brief them properly. Multiple-agency contingent dynamics, where the same engineer hears about the same role from three sources with three different framings, are gone.
Hiring on a brief that fits retained?
Tell us about the role. We will tell you quickly whether retained search fits your brief.