Set the recruiter’s search mandate for your mortgage support hire

Before briefing one recruiter or several, agree who may approach candidates, when fees arise and what the recruiter will deliver. Keep permission for your own advertising and employee referrals explicit. An exclusive search and an upfront payment are separate choices; a label alone does not tell you what you are buying.

For a brokerage hiring a loan processor or client service manager, the practical output is a short search mandate agreed with the recruiter before work starts. Use the four-part record below alongside the proposed terms. It is a purchasing worksheet, not a substitute contract or a ruling on a disputed fee.

Separate sourcing rights from payment events

Mortgage recruitment suppliers do promote different approaches. FinTalent's FAQ favours executive search because it wants to represent the business without competing simultaneously with other agencies and the employer's internal search. That is the supplier's stated approach, not evidence that one method produces better hires. Read FinTalent's explanation.

An Australian example shows why the label needs unpacking. Elias Recruitment's published permanent-employment terms, effective January 2025, describe an exclusive placement fee payable on success, an engaged service with an upfront payment and balance on success, and retained fees in stages. Its separate administration-fee clause also covers terminating, postponing, changing or not proceeding with a non-retained assignment after candidates have been referred. A success-based placement fee therefore does not mean no other charge can arise. These are that legal-recruitment firm's terms, not standard mortgage recruitment conditions. See the Elias fee schedule.

Ask two separate questions: which other sourcing activity may continue, and which events create a payment obligation? Then ask whether permitted direct applications or referrals have their own fee treatment. Permission to use a channel should not be treated as an answer about its cost.

Complete a four-part search mandate

Start with a settled loan processor hiring brief. The role brief defines the work and required capability. This record defines how the search will operate. Ask the recruiter to confirm it agrees with the proposed terms, including any negotiated exceptions.

Search mandate record to complete before authorising work

Part	What to record	Question that exposes an omission
1. Channel permissions	Other recruiters, brokerage advertising, direct applicants, employee referrals and existing applicants; permitted, paused or subject to a named exception.	Can our team keep referring people, and who may contact them?
2. Payment events	Each fee trigger, calculation basis, due event and treatment of permitted employer-sourced candidates.	What could become payable before a person starts or if we do not appoint?
3. Search deliverables	Agreed research, outreach, candidate evidence, progress updates and review date; responsibilities for employer feedback.	What will we receive at the first review if nobody is ready for interview?
4. Introduction reconciliation	Existing applicant exceptions, evidence required for a disputed introduction and named people who will resolve conflicting submissions.	What happens if a referral is already being represented for this vacancy?

The RCSA professional code asks its members to take reasonable steps, appropriate to their circumstances, towards clear engagement scope and adequately informed consent. This is a member standard, not a rule establishing every recruiter's terms or a claim about Mortgage Talent's membership. Read Part B, clause 8 of the RCSA code.

Compare two offers without relying on their labels

The following proposals are entirely fictional. Neither describes Mortgage Talent, FinTalent, Elias or an observed client engagement. Imagine a brokerage needs a processor who can manage document collection and lender follow-up, with the broker retaining credit advice and approval responsibilities.

Illustrative comparison for the same processor vacancy

Decision	Proposal A	Proposal B
Recruiter access	One agency authorised for the agreed search period.	One agency authorised for the agreed research assignment.
Employer channels	Advertising paused. One existing applicant expressly excluded from the agency assignment; new referrals require agreement before pursuit.	Employee referrals may continue. Their fee treatment needs a separate answer; other advertising is paused.
Payment events	Placement fee when an agency-sourced hire starts; the named existing applicant carries no placement fee under this fictional agreement.	Research fee at commencement and a separate appointment fee on the agreed trigger. Referral fee treatment is unresolved.
Search evidence	Agreed outreach summary and candidate-to-role assessments at the first review.	Agreed market map, outreach findings and recommendation at the first review.
Owner's decision	Proceed only if pausing the other channels suits the hiring plan and remaining terms are acceptable.	Clarify referral payment treatment before authorising the assignment.

Both proposals restrict agency access. Only one has an upfront research payment. Proposal B's referral permission does not resolve its missing fee provision. If maintaining employee referrals is essential, negotiate that permission and the associated payment treatment together, then check the final documents reflect the agreement.

Do not rank these offers by the presence of an upfront fee alone. Compare the promised work with what the brokerage needs: a candidate search against a settled brief, or research to test whether the proposed capability and working arrangements are attracting interest. Neither fictional offer promises a successful appointment.

If you want several agencies, put that forward as a different mandate: identify the permitted agencies, settle introduction handling and keep one brokerage contact responsible for coordination. Compare it on the same four parts. A sole-agency proposal that requires you to stop a channel you need is a negotiation point, even if its payment trigger suits you.

Test the mandate with an arriving referral

Suppose an employee refers a former colleague after the search begins. The recruiter says it has already discussed this vacancy with that person. This is the moment to use the agreed introduction process, not invent a first-email-wins rule.

Existing familiarity does not answer every contractual question. Elias's published terms, for example, address a candidate previously known to the employer who had not been invited to interview for the same active position. That is a source-specific fee provision, not a general Australian rule or a finding that a disputed charge is enforceable. Check the Elias procuring-cause clause.

Ask the nominated owner to compare the actual agreement, any recorded exception and the relevant introduction history before making a fee commitment or issuing conflicting interview instructions. Seek contract advice if the entitlement remains disputed. Keep the applicant informed about the hiring process without asking them to settle the commercial disagreement.

Candidate permission to be represented and any employer fee question need separate answers. Keep evidence sharing proportionate instead of circulating a full candidate pack to every agency involved. If the mandate includes reference checks, agree the contact and purpose with the candidate and use the candidate reference-check workflow to define that separate step.

Agree useful search evidence, then authorise one version

For this processor vacancy, request progress against the actual constraints: lender-follow-up experience, working hours, office attendance and the agreed review boundary. At the first review, useful evidence might explain which requirement is limiting interest and whether the recruiter recommends changing the brief. Ask for anonymised themes where identifiable candidate information is unnecessary.

Agree the brokerage's side too: one decision-maker, interview availability and a feedback deadline. These are proposed operating commitments, not guaranteed recruitment outcomes. If the search changes, confirm revised channel permissions, deliverables and payment events before authorising more work.

Keep the accepted mandate and applicable terms together. Before release, check that your hiring manager, referrers and recruiter have the same instructions. Discuss your mortgage support search with the vacancy brief, channels you want to retain and search evidence you need. Ask about the actual proposed service and terms before choosing a mandate.