NO PLACEMENT FEE. EVER.

Stop reading
CVs. Start
interviewing.

We screen every applicant, identify the ones worth your time, and deliver a structured shortlist of every qualifying candidate — typically 3–5, never padded to reach a number. Within 5 business days. Fixed fee. No agency markup. No subscription.

No placement fee GDPR compliant Works with any ATS or inbox 25 years HR expertise

SHORTLIST DELIVERED

Senior Product Manager

Sarah R.

7 yrs · B2B SaaS · Strong match

94%

Marcus C.

5 yrs · FinTech · Meets all criteria

88%

Aoife O'B.

6 yrs · eComm · 1 flag noted

81%

127 SCREENED · 3 QUALIFIED · STANDARD · €649 ✓ Delivered in 4 days

No placement fee

No monthly subscription

No retainer

No percentage of salary

Fixed fee per role. Full stop.

Quality

Not quantity — every candidate earned their place

5 days

Typical turnaround

€349

Starting price per role

25 yrs

HR expertise behind it

Any ATS

Or no ATS at all

The real cost of hiring

The inbox is where good hires get lost

THE PROBLEM

Hiring is harder and less reliable than it used to be

🤖AI-generated CVs make it impossible to read candidates at face value
📬High volume means strong candidates get buried in the pile
⏰Hiring managers spend 6–10 hours per role on screening alone
📋Inconsistent screening means different candidates are judged differently
💸Agencies solve it — but charge 15–20% of salary to do so

Result: time lost, strong candidates missed, bad hires that cost far more than any fee.

THE HIRE DECODED APPROACH

Every applicant reviewed. Only the right ones reach you.

✓Every application screened against your signed brief — no shortcuts
✓AI-generated CVs identified and assessed on substance, not style
✓Consistent scoring framework applied across all candidates
✓Red flags documented so you can probe them in interview
✓Structured shortlist delivered — ready for your first interview

You get back 6–10 hours per role and a shortlist you can stand behind.

IS THIS FOR YOU?

You need us right now if…

📥You've posted a role and applications are piling up
🏢You're hiring without an in-house recruiter
💸You've used an agency before and the fee stung
📊You want a structured, defensible shortlist
🔄You don't hire constantly — a subscription makes no sense

If any of the above applies — we can help.

Already mid-process?

We fit in wherever you are

✓You've already posted — applications are coming in right now
✓You have no ATS — you're just using a jobs board and email
✓You started screening yourself but got overwhelmed
✓You want help from job description through to final interview
✓You need a result in days, not weeks

Already posted your role? Join mid-process.

You don't need to have planned ahead. If applications are already open and you're feeling the inbox pressure — that's exactly the moment we're built for. Share your live posting and current applicant count and we'll take it from there.

No commitment until you've seen our intake form and agreed the scope.

The deliverable

The right candidates. Not a fixed number.

Every qualifying candidate is shortlisted — typically a handful, never padded to hit a target. Here's what you receive for each person who earned their place.

Candidate Summary

Concise overview of background, relevant experience, and current situation — written for a hiring manager, not an HR file.

Criteria Match Score

Scored against your must-haves with clear rationale. You can see exactly why each candidate made the cut — and defend it if challenged.

Risks & Red Flags

Gaps, inconsistencies, or concerns we spotted — documented so you can probe them in interview rather than discover them after hiring.

Interview Recommendation

Ranked order with our reasoning. You decide who to hire — we give you the structured foundation to make that decision well.

How it works

A process you can trust

Every engagement follows the same rigorous methodology — whether you have 12 applicants or 200.

You complete the Role Intake Brief

10 minutes. You define must-haves, dealbreakers, and salary band. This brief is signed — it's the agreed basis for all screening decisions and protects both parties.

We assess your job description

If you have an existing posting, we review it before screening begins. If it's likely to affect applicant quality we flag it in writing so you can decide whether to proceed or revise.

We access applicants securely

Via your ATS, a secure export, or shared inbox. No ATS? A dedicated hiring email works just as well. All data handled under a signed GDPR Data Processing Agreement.

Every applicant is screened

All applications reviewed against your brief. Not a sample — every one. The same consistent criteria applied across the whole pool, regardless of volume.

You receive the shortlist pack

Within 5 business days: every qualifying candidate — profiled, scored, and ranked — with documented rationale and recommended interview order. We never pad a shortlist to hit a number, and we never cut a strong candidate to keep it short. If the pool is thin, we flag it before screening completes — not after you've paid. Where no qualifying candidates exist, we deliver a Findings Report and refund 50% of the fee.

OUR SCREENING METHODOLOGY

📋

Criteria-first screening

Must-haves and dealbreakers applied before anything else. Instinct comes last, not first.

🔍

Substance over presentation

We look past AI polish to assess what the candidate has actually done and whether it maps to your role.

⚖️

Consistent scoring

The same framework applied to every candidate in the pool. No variation because it was a Friday afternoon.

🚩

Active flag identification

We look specifically for gaps and embellishments — and document them rather than silently screening people out.

📄

Transparent rationale

Every shortlist decision has a reason attached. You can audit our thinking and use it to guide interviews.

We work with your situation

Wherever you are in the process, we fit in

You don't need to have the right tools in place or have planned ahead. We adapt to where you are.

JUST POSTED

You've posted and applications are coming in

The most common scenario. You post, the inbox fills up, and you realise you don't have time to do it properly. Hand it over now.

Works with any jobs board — LinkedIn, Indeed, IrishJobs
No ATS required — a shared inbox is all we need
Start screening as soon as the pool is live

MID-PROCESS

You've started screening but need help finishing it

Maybe you've done a first pass and got stuck, or the role has been open longer than expected. We pick up mid-stream without starting over.

We review all applicants, including ones you've seen
No penalty for an existing job description — we work with it
Honest assessment if the posting needs adjustment

FULL SUPPORT

You want support from job description through to interview

Some companies need more than a shortlist. We support the full process — from writing the JD to attending final interviews in an advisory role.

Job description writing and role positioning
Interview coordination and candidate briefing
Interview attendance and post-interview debrief

Common questions

Things people ask before they commit

We'd rather you asked these now than wondered after paying.

What if you deliver a shortlist and I think the candidates are wrong?

On Standard and above, if the shortlist doesn't reflect the brief you signed, we'll re-screen with your feedback at no additional charge — once per engagement. The signed intake brief means we both know what "right" looks like before we start.

What if there aren't enough qualified candidates in the pool?

If the pool looks thin early, we tell you before screening is complete — not after you've paid. You can choose to pause and repost, or proceed knowing the likely outcome. Where screening completes and no candidates meet the agreed criteria, we deliver a Findings Report showing everything screened, why candidates didn't qualify, and exactly what to change. 50% of the fee is refunded automatically — we issue the credit note with the report, you don't have to ask for it.

We don't use an ATS — we just post on jobs boards. Can you still help?

Absolutely — this is our most common client type. A dedicated hiring email address is all we need. You don't need any special tools. Most of our clients hire 2–6 people a year and have no recruitment infrastructure at all.

Why should I trust your judgment over my own?

You shouldn't replace your judgment — you should augment it. 25 years of HR experience, including global recruitment responsibility, is applied to every screening decision. You make the hire. We give you the evidence to make it well.

How does my candidate data stay protected?

We operate as your Data Processor under a signed GDPR DPA — included with every engagement at no extra cost. All candidate data is deleted within 30 days of delivery. Never shared, never sold, secure channels only.

Why pay upfront?

We're a fixed-fee service, not a contingency recruiter, so payment before work begins is standard. For first-time clients, a 50% deposit is available on request. Once you've completed three or more roles with us, net-7 terms apply automatically.

Pricing

Fixed fees. No surprises.

Every tier includes a fully documented shortlist pack and a signed GDPR DPA. All fees are in EUR. No placement fee. No percentage of salary. No hidden cost. For roles receiving over 150 applications, a high-volume supplement of €100 applies — always confirmed before screening begins.

Essentials

€349

per role · one-off payment

For roles where you need the inbox cleared and candidates ranked against your criteria.

✓Every qualifying candidate shortlisted
✓Profile per candidate — never padded, never cut
✓Screened against your signed brief
✓5-day turnaround
✓GDPR DPA included

Not an agency. Not a subscription. Just the part you need.

For a €50,000 hire, a recruitment agency typically charges €7,500–€10,000. A monthly platform charges you whether you're hiring or not. Hire Decoded charges once, for one role, when you need it.

We don't place candidates so we don't take a percentage. We work with your existing tools so there's nothing to set up. And we cover every outcome in writing before you pay, so there are no surprises.

Criteria

Agency / Platform

Hire Decoded

Typical cost per hire

€7k–€10k+

€349–€749

Commitment model

Retainer or contract

Per role, pay once

Human review of CVs

Agency only

Always ✓

Works with your ATS

Often replaces it

Yes, or no ATS needed

GDPR DPA included

Varies

Every engagement ✓

Revision if brief not met

Varies

Standard & above ✓

Turnaround

Weeks

5 business days

Why trust Hire Decoded

The service is the proof

We don't ask you to take our word for it. Everything about how we work is documented, transparent, and contractual before you pay a penny.

📋

Signed brief before we touch anything

The must-haves and dealbreakers you sign off become the legal basis for every screening decision. No ambiguity about what we were asked to find — and no room for dispute about whether we delivered.

🔬

Every decision has a documented reason

We deliver scored, rationale-backed profiles. Our work is fully auditable from the first CV to the final recommendation. You can question our thinking and use it to guide your interviews.

⚖️

Contractual outcomes, not promises

Every scenario is covered in writing before you pay — what happens with a thin pool, what a Findings Report contains, when a revision applies. You know exactly what you're buying.

🔒

GDPR compliance in every engagement

A Data Processing Agreement is included with every engagement at no extra cost. Candidate data deleted within 30 days, never sold, handled via secure channels only.

🎯

25 years of hiring expertise

Built by an HR professional with 25 years of experience — including over a decade with global recruitment responsibility across multiple sectors and seniority levels.

🔄

One revision pass included

If the shortlist doesn't reflect your brief on Standard and above, we re-screen with your feedback at no charge. We want to get it right — and we've structured the service so you have a mechanism to hold us to that.

Built on deep hiring experience.
Delivered through a documented, repeatable process.

First engagement? 50% deposit available on request.