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> his headhunter placed him in the job, the headhunting firm got 25% of his
> first year's salary.
>
> I always thought that the company that hires the employee paid the
> headhunter fee out of their own pocket, _not_ out of the hiree's actual
> salary (even if the fee is a percentage of said salary). Did my friend's
> boyfriend get shafted?
Oh boy did he ever! There are still a few holdovers from about a decade ago, when
headhunters charged the employEE a fee. However in the past 5+ years, there
hasn't been any reason to do so - qualified labor has been scarce enough that
employERs have gladly footed the agency fee.
Your friend's boyfriend ought to go back to the agency and ask why they charged
him a fee when the employer probably paid the fee. There might be grounds for
fraud here.Certainly bad business practices.