Headhunters earn their fees by finding employees for their clients. The fees can be a fixed amount for a given assignment or they can be a percentage of the compensation package accepted by the employee. Headhunters can work on a continegency basis which means they only get paid if they place a candidate. When headhunters do retained work, they usually have an exclusive on the assignment and will work on it until it is complete; should a client cancel work on a role, the firm will still get paid for the work done.