A Contract Recruiter is typically hired by a single client, on a temporary basis, to act as the client's agent in the recruiting and employment function for a set period of time, and charges an hourly rate for services, not to be confused with headhunters who work with 20-30 companies at a time and charge fees as high as 30% first year annual earnings per hire.
 
Companies hire a contract recruiter (a) when they don't have staff to handle increased recruiting volume and a permanent increase in staff isn't warranted, (b) when they may not have a recruiter with technical recruiting experience in-house, or (c) to cover leaves-of-absence when HR may be temporarily shorthanded. I work on- or off-site for only you, and I get paid by the hour, not by the hire.  
 
For example, at some point over the next few months you may find yourself in a position where suddenly you have 10-15 technical openings added to your plate. Because of all your other duties you won't be able to focus even 50% of your time on filling these jobs, even though they may be mission critical. One option is to put all the specs out to headhunters and pay ridiculous fees, yet you'll still have to screen all those resumes and interview all those candidates, check their references (don't let the agencies check references on their own candidates!), etc. Another option would be to hire a full-time recruiter, but once these jobs are filled and you're over the hump, what do you do with that recruiter -- lay him/her off? As a contract recruiter you would hire me as your solution to a temporary need. I would become part of your staff for a pre-determined period, manage the employment process, work with your line managers, provide you with reports to keep you informed of my activities, source, schedule, interview, offer and close candidates and fill your jobs. Once the volume is at a level that can be managed by your permanent staff, I move on.

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