Who we are
Metcalf Search is a fractional recruiting firm based in Grove City, Ohio, serving small and mid-sized businesses across the United States. Metcalf Search, LLC is run by Jay Metcalf, Managing Partner. When these terms say "we," "us," or "Metcalf Search," they mean Metcalf Search. When they say "you," they mean the person or business visiting our websites. "Our websites" means metcalfsearch.com and apply.ms, including client careers pages hosted on apply.ms.
How you can use this site
You can read everything on metcalfsearch.com and apply.ms, link to any page, share the content with colleagues, quote short passages with attribution, and submit forms or send email to start a conversation. You may not scrape the site for content, republish substantial portions of the writing as if it were your own, use the Metcalf Search name or logo to imply an affiliation or endorsement that does not exist, or attempt to access parts of the site you were not given access to. The content on the site, including the STACK Method framework, the page copy, and the visual system, is owned by Metcalf Search and is published here for your reading and reference, not for resale or republication.
Disclaimers
Everything on this site is provided as-is, for general informational purposes. The pages describe how Metcalf Search thinks about recruiting and how Metcalf Search tends to work, but nothing on the site is a binding offer, a guarantee of any specific result, or a substitute for the partnership agreement that governs an actual partnership. We do our best to keep prices, tier descriptions, and availability current, but we may change them at any time. If you are relying on something specific you read here, the responsible thing is to confirm it with us before acting on it.
Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Metcalf Search is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of metcalfsearch.com or apply.ms, including lost profits, lost opportunities, or lost data, even if we have been told that those damages are possible. If, despite that limitation, we are found liable for something connected to your use of this site, our total liability is capped at one hundred U.S. dollars. The terms of any active recruiting partnership, including any caps and remedies in that partnership's signed agreement, take precedence over this paragraph for matters arising from the partnership itself.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute arising out of or related to these terms or your use of metcalfsearch.com or apply.ms will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Franklin County, Ohio, and you and Metcalf Search both consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
Partnership agreement: Recruiting Partner, Plus and Pro
This agreement governs every Metcalf Search fractional recruiting partnership. Activating a tier on its page accepts it.
This Agreement ("Agreement") is made between Metcalf Search, LLC, an Ohio limited liability company ("Metcalf"), and the entity or individual subscribing to Metcalf's services ("Client"). The "Effective Date" of this Agreement is the date of the Client's initial subscription payment.
Partnership commitment: this Agreement engages Metcalf as a strategic recruiting and retention partner. It reflects our shared commitment to ethical, effective, and human-centered recruiting that strives to solve the "who" for your operation.
1. Partnership tiers and scope of service
1.1. Core services. All Partnership Tiers include Metcalf's complete, end-to-end recruiting service: strategic planning (job description and scorecard development); full-cycle candidate sourcing, screening and pipeline management; interview coordination and hiring manager calibration; offer management, negotiation and closing support; professional management of all inbound applications; a retention toolkit to help keep new and existing employees; and the MS Rosie hiring desk (careers page and applicant tracking) with job advertising spend.
1.2. Partnership service levels.
- (a) Recruiting Partner. A strategic remote partnership. Includes a bi-weekly talent huddle (video), standard business day support by email and phone, a kickoff visit, and onsite support as needed at Metcalf's discretion. Customized retention toolkit. One (1) active role at a time.
- (b) Recruiting Partner Plus. An embedded partnership. Includes a weekly talent huddle (video), standard business day support, and up to eight (8) hours of onsite time per month, scheduled with Client (for example, one full day or two half days). Enhanced, customized retention toolkit. Up to three (3) concurrent active roles.
- (c) Recruiting Partner Pro. A fully integrated partnership. Includes a dedicated Metcalf recruiter onsite three (3) full days per week on a set schedule, priority support, and a weekly talent huddle. Enterprise, customized retention toolkit. All open roles within the scope agreed at kickoff.
- (d) Onsite time. Onsite time may be used for interview days, hiring manager sessions, debriefs, and strategy sessions with leadership. Unused onsite time does not roll over to a later month and has no cash value.
- (e) Additional onsite days. Client may request onsite time beyond what the selected tier includes. Each additional day is billed at a flat $2,500, including standard travel within the continental United States.
- (f) Expedited travel. Visits scheduled less than 14 days out, or international travel, may incur additional costs with Client approval. All visits are subject to availability.
1.3. Service fees. The monthly fee for the selected tier is defined in Client's active subscription order at checkout. By keeping an active subscription, Client locks in the rate in effect at the time of initial payment ("Grandfathered Rate").
2. Term and billing
2.1. Term. This Agreement begins on the Effective Date and continues month to month ("Term").
2.2. Cancellation. Client may end this Agreement for any reason with ten (10) days written notice. Termination is effective at the end of the monthly billing cycle in which the notice period is satisfied.
2.3. Billing. The first invoice, for one full monthly fee, is due on activation. It sets the "Billing Anniversary" and covers the first month of service. All later monthly fees are billed automatically on the Billing Anniversary each month.
2.4. Payment method. Client agrees to provide and maintain a valid, automated payment method (ACH transfer or card on file) for all recurring monthly fees.
2.5. Late payment. If any payment is more than seven (7) days past due, Metcalf may pause services until payment is received, and Client's payment obligations continue.
3. Partnership and tier management
3.1. Changing tiers. Client may change tiers at any time through the Metcalf Search subscription portal. (a) Upgrades take effect immediately, with a one-time prorated charge for the difference through the end of the current billing cycle; the new monthly fee applies from the next Billing Anniversary. (b) Downgrades take effect immediately, with a prorated credit for the unused part of the higher tier applied to future invoices. No cash refunds are issued for mid-cycle downgrades.
3.2. Continuous partnership guarantee. This model replaces traditional per-hire guarantees. If a candidate placed by Metcalf resigns or is terminated for performance while this Agreement is active, Metcalf reopens the search for that role as part of the ongoing service. The guarantee applies only to candidates placed during the active term and for roles supported under this Agreement.
4. The Talent Points program
Talent Points are a voluntary loyalty incentive and do not create a monetary or contractual obligation.
4.1. Earning points. Client earns one (1) Talent Point for every ten dollars ($10.00) of paid monthly fee. Metcalf may also award discretionary bonus points for promotions, referrals, or other milestones.
4.2. Redemption and value. One (1) Talent Point is redeemable for one dollar ($1.00) of spending power on approved recruiting expenses, which may include sponsored job posts, premium candidate assessments, background checks, and candidate signing bonuses. Other search-related expenses can be approved in writing.
4.3. No cash value. Talent Points have no cash value, are not transferable, and cannot be redeemed for cash or as a discount on fees. All accumulated Talent Points are forfeited when this Agreement ends for any reason.
5. Confidentiality and conflicts of interest
5.1. Confidentiality. Metcalf treats all non-public information relating to Client (including hiring plans, salary bands, and candidate data) as strictly confidential, to the standard of a trusted fiduciary. Confidentiality obligations survive termination of this Agreement for two (2) years.
5.2. Conflicts of interest. Metcalf runs dedicated, separate searches for each client and never shares candidates between clients, except where a candidate applies independently or is otherwise publicly available. Metcalf will be fully transparent and seek Client's written consent if any potential conflict arises.
6. General terms
6.1. Fee disputes. Client agrees to resolve any fee dispute directly with Metcalf in good faith and not to initiate card chargebacks or bank payment disputes; doing so is a material breach of this Agreement.
6.2. Governing law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Ohio. The parties agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Franklin County, Ohio, for any dispute arising from this Agreement.
6.3. Scope of services. Metcalf acts as a strategic recruiting partner and advisor, not as legal counsel, an HR consultant, or a benefits administrator. All services, tools, and advice (including on compliance and retention) are best-practice frameworks from a talent acquisition perspective. Client is solely responsible for all final employment decisions, HR policies, and its own legal and regulatory compliance.
6.4. Effect of termination. (a) Grandfathered pricing holds only while the subscription stays continuously active; any cancellation, lapse, or non-payment ends it. (b) Reactivation after cancellation or lapse requires a new subscription at then-current pricing.
6.5. Limitation of liability. Except for gross negligence, willful misconduct, or breach of confidentiality, Metcalf's total liability under this Agreement will not exceed one (1) month of Client's current partnership fee.
6.6. Notices. Written notice under this Agreement may be given by email to [email protected] and to Client's email address on file.
6.7. Access to client systems. If Client gives Metcalf access to internal software, email, or data systems, that access is governed by a separate Data Security Addendum, which, once signed by both parties, is incorporated into this Agreement.
7. Acceptance and subscription
7.1. Acceptance. Client accepts this Agreement by making the initial subscription payment through the Metcalf Search payment portal.
7.2. Tier selection. Client's tier and monthly fee are confirmed by the subscription selected at checkout.
7.3. Binding effect. By keeping an active subscription, Client agrees to be bound by this Agreement, including its cancellation and pricing continuity terms.
MS Rosie, the Small Business Hiring Desk
This section applies to anyone with a desk at MS Rosie, the Small Business Hiring Desk run by Metcalf Search, LLC at apply.ms, however you came in: a Free Desk, the Team plan paid monthly or by the year, a desk that came with a Metcalf Search recruiting partnership, or a page we host for a friend of the firm. It sits on top of the site terms above; where the two differ about the Hiring Desk, this section wins. It is not the fractional recruiting partnership agreement, which remains a separate signed document for clients whose recruiting we run. Subscribing through the plan page is your agreement to this section.
What you get. A hosted careers page at the apply.ms address you choose, an applicant pipeline with every application filed on the role it came in for, sign-in seats for your team (up to five), and the option to connect your own Claude account to your desk. Features are described on the plan page at apply.ms and may be added to or improved over time. The assistant features inside the desk use metered artificial intelligence services; ordinary use is included in the plan, and we will tell you before any change to that.
The Free Desk. The Free Desk is one seat and one role at a time. Rosie reads up to 25 resumes a month; a resume past that number is kept and read the next month or when you upgrade. Candidates on a role closed more than 30 days ago are kept and can be read but not moved until you upgrade. A Free Desk with no sign-in for six months is closed after thirty days notice by email and its data deleted. You can upgrade to the Team plan at any time and keep everything. We may change the limits of the Free Desk with thirty days notice.
The annual plan. The Team plan can be paid by the year at the annual price on the plan page, billed once in advance. It includes a setup call by phone or video with us. A cancelled annual plan stays open until the end of the paid year; there are no refunds for the unused part. Renewal is billed on the anniversary at the price then shown, with thirty days notice of any change.
A desk that came with a partnership. If your desk came with a Metcalf Search recruiting partnership, the partnership agreement governs its price, term and ending. When the partnership ends you can keep the desk on the Team plan; the Free Desk is not offered to a desk that came with a partnership.
Pages we host as a courtesy. Where we host a careers page or desk for you without charge, it is a courtesy, not a contract: we may ask you to move to a plan, or close the page, with thirty days notice by email. The data rules in this section apply to it just the same.
Billing. The Team plan is billed in advance through Stripe on the day you signed up, monthly or yearly as you chose, at the price shown on the plan page when you bought it. We give at least thirty days' notice by email before any price change takes effect. You can update your card, download invoices, and cancel from Settings, Billing, Manage billing inside your desk, or by writing to us. A cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid month or, on the annual plan, the paid year; there are no refunds for a partial period. A cancelled Team desk can carry on as a Free Desk unless it came with a partnership.
If a payment fails. Your desk stays open for fourteen days after a failed payment so you can update the card or export your data. If no payment has arrived by then, every seat is turned off and the desk closes. The careers page you published stays up unless you ask us to take it down.
Your data. Everything you put into the desk, and every application that arrives through your careers page, belongs to you. You can export all of it at any time from Settings, Your data: one download that carries your people, roles, applications, notes, contacts, interviews, and resumes. After your access ends, by cancellation or when the fourteen-day window after a failed payment runs out, the desk closes and your data is deleted, so export first. We never sell your data or your applicants' data, and we use it only to run the desk for you.
Applicants. You are the employer of record for every role on your careers page. You are responsible for how you treat applicants and for complying with the employment laws that apply to you. The desk sends applicants nothing on your behalf except the receipt for their own application; every other message to a candidate is written and sent by you.
Referral credit. When a customer you invite becomes a paying subscriber, your next invoice is reduced by the percentage shown on your Settings screen for as long as that account keeps paying. The credit lapses the month the referred account stops paying. It applies to your subscription only and is never paid out in cash.
Acceptable use. Use the desk for your own hiring. Do not post roles that do not exist, collect applications for a business you do not represent, or use the desk to send unsolicited messages. We may suspend a desk that is used that way, with notice by email where we can give it.
Help. Write to [email protected], or read apply.ms/support. We answer the same day on weekdays.
Contact
For any question about these terms, write to [email protected] or call 614.434.6646. Hiring Desk subscribers can also write to [email protected].