I was surprised to learn today that the candidate I interviewed (who came from a head hunter vice someone submitting direct through our job post portal), was 25% of the first year s salary.As the person doing the hiring that kind of incentives me to strive for a lower salary, at least for that first year. I m not going to do that since we aren t in diar straits, the offer will be appropriate for the role and industry comps, I was just surprised to learn that and wondered if anyone on HN was surprised as well.I was a head hunter candidate/new hire previously and now I m wondering if/how that up-front fee may have affected my own offer at that time.Honestly, the candidate is worth the head hunter fee, but I m more looking at this through the lens of the job candidate who could have applied on their own. As a direct candidate, you can negotiate for a sign-on bonus that is, say 15% of your target salary, and the hiring company shouldn t blink an eye (if you confidently know you re a solid candidate that is).