Keystone versus hiring in-house
An in-house recruiter is the right call at a certain volume. Below it, the math points the other way.
| In-house recruiter | Keystone | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | A salary and tools, $90,000 to $150,000 a year, paid whether or not anyone is hired | A fee per hire, paid when the hire signs, nothing between searches |
| Breakeven | Roughly six to eight engineering hires a year, depending on the fee | Below that |
| Reach | Their network, LinkedIn seats, inbound applicants | Hundreds of scored profiles per role, including passive candidates |
| Method | Depends on the person hired | The same written scorecard, scoring and structured call on every search |
| Ramp | Three to six months to be fully productive | Ten business days to the first shortlist |
| Until your recruiter starts | Roles wait | We run the search in parallel on a success fee, and you keep whichever candidate is better |
When in-house is the better choice: you are hiring more than eight engineers a year, or hiring is a permanent, daily function of the company. Many companies use both: an in-house recruiter for volume, Keystone for the hard senior roles.
Compare: agency, in-house, job board
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