Questions to ask an offshore recruiter before you pay

Every offshore recruiter will tell you they're selective. 'Rigorous vetting,' 'top 1%,' 'filters out 99.7%' — numbers that appear on every website and can't be checked anywhere. The problem isn't that recruiters lie outright; it's that the claims are structured so you can't falsify them before paying.

The questions below are designed to produce answers you can evaluate — not reassurances you have to take on faith. Ask them before signing anything. If a recruiter won't answer directly, that's your answer.

What exactly does your screening process measure, and can I see the rubric?

This is the single most revealing question. A recruiter with a real process can tell you, in concrete terms, what they test and how they weight each component. A recruiter running on gut feel will pivot to adjectives: 'exceptional communication,' 'cultural fit,' 'passion for the role.'

What you want to hear is something like: scored work sample, scenario judgment, experience specificity, written English, salary-band fit — with weights attached to each. If they publish the rubric publicly, even better, because then you know the finalists you read were actually scored against it, not just cherry-picked.

If the answer is 'we have a multi-step interview process,' ask what each step measures and how it's scored. Vague process descriptions and auditable rubrics are not the same thing.

When exactly do I pay, and what does the fee cover?

Offshore recruiting fees come in two main shapes. Percentage-fee agencies charge 25-35% of first-year salary at the point of hire — on a common role, that lands somewhere between $4,500 and $6,300. Flat-fee models charge a fixed amount, usually triggered when you want to meet finalists rather than when you place someone.

The timing matters as much as the amount. A fee that's due the moment you review candidates is a different commitment than one due only when you decide to interview. Ask whether the search phase, the brief, the screening, the scored shortlist, costs you anything before you decide to move forward.

Also ask what's excluded. Does the fee cover only one role? Does it expire if you don't hire within sixty days? Is a re-run included if no finalist clears your bar, or does that cost extra?

What does your replacement guarantee actually cover?

Every recruiter offers a replacement guarantee. The word 'guarantee' is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Ask for the exact conditions in writing before you pay anything.

Common exclusions: the guarantee voids if the hire quits rather than being let go; it requires you to have followed their onboarding checklist; it expires after 90 days; it covers only one replacement and costs a partial fee for a second. None of these are unreasonable in isolation, but you should know which apply before you sign.

Ask specifically: does the guarantee apply if the person resigns voluntarily? What's the replacement timeline, and does a replacement search cost anything?

Which countries do you source from, and why those countries?

The Philippines, Colombia, Mexico, South Africa, and Argentina each have different cost bands, time-zone overlap with the US, and labor-market depth for specific roles. A recruiter sourcing exclusively from one country for every role isn't necessarily wrong, but they should be able to explain the reasoning.

For example, Colombia sits in US Central time year-round, useful if you need full-day overlap without asking someone to work evenings. South Africa at UTC+2 is the strongest option for UK-hours coverage. The Philippines at UTC+8 means US-morning shifts fall in the evening there, which most candidates in that market expect and plan for.

If a recruiter can't explain why they source from the countries they do, or claims country doesn't matter, push harder. Time zone, local labor-market depth, and salary band all vary meaningfully by country.

Are candidates screened on work output or on interviews alone?

Interviews measure how someone presents. Graded work samples measure what they can actually do. These are not the same, and for roles like bookkeeping, copywriting, or e-commerce management, the gap between interview performance and on-the-job output can be significant.

Ask whether candidates complete a role-specific task, a drafted email, a formatted spreadsheet, a sample product description, and whether that task is scored against defined criteria or just reviewed impressionistically. If it's the latter, you're back to gut feel with extra steps.

A recruiter who uses work samples should also be able to tell you what percentage of applicants pass the work-sample stage. If that number isn't tracked, the sample isn't really being used as a filter.

How do you define the role before screening starts?

A bad brief produces bad finalists. If a recruiter starts screening the same week you describe the role in a twenty-minute call, either the brief is shallow or the screening is fast, usually both. Ask what a role brief includes and who writes it.

Some recruiters use an AI-generated hiring brief built from your input, which can be useful if the brief is shared with you to review before screening starts. Others work from a short form and begin immediately. The question is whether you have a chance to verify that the screener is filtering for the right things before candidates are scored.

Also ask how salary band is handled. If the recruiter doesn't establish a band early and publish it to candidates, you'll get finalists whose expectations you haven't confirmed, and a mismatch there wastes everyone's time.

Where Rolemote fits if you want these answers in writing

Rolemote publishes its screening rubric at /how-we-screen: graded work sample 35%, scenario judgment 25%, experience specificity 20%, written English 15%, salary-band fit 5%. The weights are fixed, not adjusted per recruiter. The search phase, brief, screening, scored shortlist, runs free. A flat fee applies only when you ask to meet finalists, not before. If no one clears your bar, a re-run costs nothing.

For comparison, typical percentage-fee agencies in this category charge 25-35% of first-year salary, roughly $4,500-$6,300 on common roles. Rolemote's flat fee is $1,995. There's also an optional Success Plan at $99/month per active hire that includes lifetime replacement and monthly AI check-ins designed to flag quit-risk before someone hands in their notice.

The questions in this post apply to any recruiter, including us. If you'd ask them of someone else, ask them of us too. The rubric is public; the terms are stated plainly. That's the point.