Recruiting Cost Calculator

Total recruiting cost across advertising, agency fees, referral bonuses and internal time.

About Recruiting Cost Calculator

The result is the signed sum of its components: positive items are added and deductions subtracted. Expressing it as a share of the positive components shows how much of the gross figure survives to the bottom line. Working the recruitment budget up from its components makes clear which line is moving it, which a single headline number hides.

Formula

Recruiting Cost

Total Recruiting Cost = Job advertising and sourcing tools + Agency and search fees + Referral bonuses paid + Internal interviewer and coordinator time + Assessments and background checks

Job advertising and sourcing tools: Component of the recruitment budget
Agency and search fees: Component of the recruitment budget
Referral bonuses paid: Component of the recruitment budget
Internal interviewer and coordinator time: Component of the recruitment budget
Assessments and background checks: Component of the recruitment budget

Worked example

With the default values below, Recruiting Cost Calculator returns Total Recruiting Cost of 168,000.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Job advertising and sourcing tools: 12,000
Agency and search fees: 90,000
Referral bonuses paid: 12,000
Internal interviewer and coordinator time: 48,000
Assessments and background checks: 6,000

Results

Total Recruiting Cost: 168,000.00
Total Positive Components: 168,000.00
Total Deductions: 0.00
Result as Share of Positive Components: 100.00%
Verdict: Positive — the components net to a surplus

Step by step

1Values used
2Recruiting Cost
3Total Recruiting Cost= 168,000.00
4Total Positive Components= 168,000.00
5Total Deductions= 0.00
6Result as Share of Positive Components= 100.00
7Verdict= Positive — the components net to a surplus

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Recruiting Cost calculated?

Total Recruiting Cost = Job advertising and sourcing tools + Agency and search fees + Referral bonuses paid + Internal interviewer and coordinator time + Assessments and background checks The result is the signed sum of its components: positive items are added and deductions subtracted. Expressing it as a share of the positive components shows how much of the gross figure survives to the bottom line.

Why does Recruiting Cost matter?

Working the recruitment budget up from its components makes clear which line is moving it, which a single headline number hides.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 5 inputs: Job advertising and sourcing tools, Agency and search fees, Referral bonuses paid, Internal interviewer and coordinator time, Assessments and background checks. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.