You get plenty of calls from recruiters in Germany offering to work on your roles for free. They’re happy to work on a success basis, so it looks like a zero-risk engagement with no commitment from your side. It’s even tempting to bring in several agencies at once. It’s all free, and more agencies should mean more quality candidates, right?
Then the weeks pass. You get some CVs and a few interviews, but it’s not what you’re looking for. Your recruiters lose interest and stop sending profiles. That’s fine, because new agencies keep knocking on your door wanting to “partner with you” to find the best talent on the market. And so the cycle continues.
Working this way does sometimes pay off, but in most cases it doesn’t. I’ve written this article for HR and hiring managers to explain why this strategy fails more often than it delivers.
Why do recruiters in Germany work for free?
Are they crazy? Do they have nothing better to do?
It doesn’t quite make sense compared to other industries. You wouldn’t implement your product and involve your technical team without a financial commitment from the customer.
The reason is the contingency model, where the agency is only paid for a successful hire. It means there are no consequences for not placing anyone. With no commitment on either side, agencies can take on as many clients as they want.
Haven’t they found anyone for you? So what? They weren’t getting paid anyway. Working with hundreds of companies gives them a better chance of placing a candidate or two somewhere, and it doesn’t matter to them whether that’s at your company or not.
Why you should rethink your hiring strategy
The hiring market has shifted. The Federal Employment Agency’s latest skills shortage analysis no longer classes IT sales as a shortage occupation, which can make it tempting to cast the net wide. But more CVs don’t mean better hires. What I see all the time is that the strongest salespeople have become more cautious about leaving their companies, even for genuinely attractive roles. Reaching them takes a careful, well-managed approach, and multiple agencies make that much harder.
1. Brand protection: how German recruiters represent you
When several agencies work on your roles, are you confident they all represent your brand well? First impressions matter. In a niche market, you only get one chance to get a candidate’s attention. If they aren’t sold on the opportunity the first time, they’ll be even less willing to hear about it from another recruiter. Which brings me to my next point.
2. Chaos in a small candidate market
This happens when the same candidates are approached about your role by different recruiters. The pool of experienced, German-speaking sales people in software is small, and they talk to each other. It doesn’t look good when one recruiter pitches your opportunity and another pitches the same role the next day. As one of my candidates once told me, “It comes across as desperate.”
3. Lost time and lost revenue
That’s what ineffective recruitment costs you.
Time, because you’re onboarding more and more agencies, negotiating contracts and briefing each one separately.
Money, because in sales especially, every month a seat stays empty is a month without that person generating revenue for your business.
How to choose the right recruiters in Germany
Whether it’s me or someone else, work with a specialist: someone who regularly recruits for your territory and these types of roles, and who has strong referrals. Before you sign, ask a few questions:
- How many companies are they currently recruiting similar roles for?
- Who are the last few people they placed in roles like yours, and can you speak to those clients?
- How will they approach candidates, and how will they present your company?
Fewer partners who are properly committed to your roles will almost always get you further than a long list of agencies working on a “maybe”.
If you’re building a sales team in Germany, tell us about your vacancies or see the roles we recruit for. Once your team is in place, you might also find this useful: how to keep your German sales team motivated.
