Recruitment agency in the Philippines
We run the search. You make the hire.
Virtual Staffer is a recruitment agency that sources, screens and tests remote professionals, mainly from the Philippines, and delivers a shortlist. You interview, choose and engage the hire, as your employee or contractor. The fee is $800 flat per hire, $400 at shortlist and $400 at start, with one free replacement search if the hire leaves within 30 days.
2,600+ complete candidate profiles, 500+ of them active in the last 30 days.
Who it is for
Is a recruitment agency the right way for you to hire?
Know in a minute whether this fits, and where to go if it does not.
This service is for a business owner or operations lead who wants one good remote hire and does not have the hours, or the confidence in their own screening, to run the search. You want the person on your own team, under your direction, and you want to pay one known fee rather than a monthly margin.
When is it a good fit?
- You are hiring one remote professional, for an admin, support, marketing, operations or finance role, and the budget is in US dollars.
- You want to interview a short list of screened people, not read every application.
- You want to be the one who engages the hire, as your employee or contractor.
When is another option better?
You would rather run the search yourself: Prefer to search yourself? The self-service plans are on Pricing.
You want someone else to be the legal employer:
Prefer not to be the employer?You have already found the person and need them employed:
Already found your person?
The problem
Why does hiring a remote professional take so much of your time?
If you have tried to hire alone, some of this will sound familiar.
- “I posted a job and got a pile of applications I don’t have time to read.”
- “Everyone looks good on paper. I can’t tell who can actually do the work.”
- “I don’t know what a salary in the Philippines should be.”
- “My last hire stopped showing up after two weeks and I had to start over.”
- “I don’t want an agency taking a cut of their pay every month. I just want the right person found.”
The cost is rarely the job post. It is your own hours spent screening, the weeks the role stays open while work piles up, and the full restart when a hire does not work out. A placement moves the search, the first rounds of filtering and the testing to us, and leaves the decision with you.
How it works
How does the recruitment process work?
Start with one conversation, and spend your own time only on people worth interviewing.
Four stages, from the first call to the first month.
1. How do we start? One call, and the role defined.
We begin with a discovery call. The first call is free and commits you to nothing. We then review your job description, or write it with you, so the role attracts the right people, and we map the salary against your US dollar budget so you know what your budget buys before you interview. Before we introduce any candidate, you sign the agreement.
2. What do we do? We search, screen and test.
We source candidates, hold screening interviews and run an aptitude test. If you want a test of the actual work, we run a role-specific skills test on request, included in the fee (you provide any software access it needs). We then endorse a shortlist to you: each candidate’s CV, redacted and laid out in our own format, with our notes from the screening interview and the aptitude test result. First candidate profiles arrive within 7 to 14 days of the signed agreement. The first $400 is due when the shortlist is delivered.
3. What do you do? You interview, choose and hire.
You interview the shortlist. We recommend two levels of interview and no more than three. You choose, and you engage the person yourself, as your employee or contractor. The second $400 is due when the hire starts.
4. What happens after they start? We check in.
We check in around day 15 and day 30, inside the 30-day replacement window, so a problem surfaces while the free replacement search still applies.
Vetting
How are candidates screened and tested?
See evidence of the skill, not just a CV.
Every candidate on your shortlist has already been through three checks.
A screening interview.We speak to each candidate before you do, so communication and fit are checked before you spend an hour on them.
An aptitude test.Every endorsed candidate is assessed, not just interviewed.
A role-specific skills test, if you ask for one.If the role has real work you want to see, we test for it. It is included in the fee. You provide any software access the test needs.
We do not rank candidates with scores or claim a fixed number of people pass. You see who made the shortlist and decide for yourself.
What you get
What do you receive when the shortlist is delivered?
Compare candidates side by side, quickly and fairly.
You receive an endorsed shortlist. Each candidate comes as a redacted CV in Virtual Staffer's own format, with our notes from the screening interview and the aptitude test result, so every profile has the same structure and you can compare them directly. That delivery is what the first $400 pays for. You are then free to interview whoever you want, and to decide that no one fits (see the FAQ for what happens next).
Price and terms
How much does it cost, and what are the terms?
One known price for any role, paid as the work is delivered.
The fee is $800 per hire. It is the same for every role, whether the hire is full-time or part-time, and there is no monthly fee after it.
$400 when the shortlist is delivered.
$400 when the hire starts.
One free replacement search if the hire leaves within 30 days of starting.
12-month protection. The fee applies to any candidate Virtual Staffer introduced who you hire within 12 months of the introduction.
Two hires from one shortlist are two fees.
No penalties or surcharges. If a hire we introduced was not reported to us and comes to light, we invoice the normal fee, nothing more.
A signed agreement comes first. You sign before any candidate is introduced. This page summarizes the terms. The agreement you sign governs.
Side by side
Which way of hiring fits you?
There are three ways to hire through Virtual Staffer. Each fits a different situation, and none is the "right" one for everybody.
| Search yourself (self-service platform) | Recruitment and placement (this page) | Offshore staffing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who finds and screens candidates | You | Virtual Staffer | Virtual Staffer |
| Who interviews and chooses | You | You | You, from our shortlist |
| Who is the legal employer | You, as employee or contractor | You, as employee or contractor | Our Philippine partner |
| Who directs the daily work | You | You | You |
| What you pay | Free plan; paid plans Basic $49 and Pro $99 a month | $800 once: $400 at shortlist, $400 at start | One all-inclusive monthly fee per staff member, by quote |
| If the hire leaves early | You search again | One free replacement search if they leave within 30 days of starting | One free replacement if they leave within 30 days (not if you end the arrangement) |
| Moving the person onto your own contract later | Already yours | Already yours | Free after 12 months, $800 placement fee before |
| Agreement | Plan terms | Signed agreement before any introduction | Signed terms before the start |
| See plans | How offshore staffing works |
Hiring them as a contractor keeps it simple. If you want them employed, with Philippine contributions and leave, add our employer of record.
Who we place
Which roles can you find for me?
Any role the process fits, at the same $800.
We run the search for admin, support, marketing, operations and finance roles, among others. Each role below links to its self-service page, which shows what that role does and costs to hire on your own. If you would rather have us run the search for it, this page is the way.
Do you place specialist roles too?
Yes, and it is not a separate offer. A specialist role, such as a finance or software development role, goes through the same process at the same $800 flat fee. Software development staff augmentation shows one example of the kind of role.
Finance roles
Should you hire your own accountant or bookkeeper instead of outsourcing the work?
Your own bookkeeper or accountant, working in your systems, under your direction.
Anyone searching for Philippines accounting outsourcing is usually choosing between a firm that does the work and a person of their own. Hiring your own accountant or bookkeeper means they work in your accounting system, on your priorities, and report to you, rather than handing the books to a firm. The same goes for Philippines bookkeeping outsourcing: you can have a dedicated person instead of a service. We find and screen candidates for accounting, bookkeeping and tax roles through the process above, at the same $800 fee.
The tradeoff, plainly: you supervise the work. Professional sign-off, tax advice and filings stay with a qualified, licensed professional, and we do not make claims about any candidate's licences or qualifications. See the accounting virtual assistant page for the role itself.
What do people ask before they hire through a recruitment agency?
Ready to have us run the search?
Book a call, tell us about the role and your budget, and we will explain what the search would look like. The first call is free and commits you to nothing.