How a search runs

Stage 1

What does the market actually look like?

Before anyone is contacted, you get a written map of the talent pool: how many people hold this role within range of your location, where they work now, and what the band actually pays rather than what you hoped it pays.

This exists so a disagreement happens in week one. If the map shows your salary band sits under the market, you can raise it, change the scope, or widen the geography while the search has cost you nothing.

Stage 2

Who gets approached, and how?

Direct outreach to people who are not applying to anything. For most roles above entry level the strongest candidates are already employed and not reading job boards, which is why a posting alone returns a thin pool.

Every candidate is screened against your requirements before you see them. You get a short list with notes on each person, not a forwarded stack of resumes.

Stage 3

Who keeps the process moving?

Scheduling, candidate prep and follow-up are handled on your behalf, and candidates are kept engaged between your interview stages.

This is the stage where most searches fail. A strong candidate who waits eleven days between a first and second interview takes another offer, and the employer concludes the market is tight when the real problem was the gap.

Stage 4

How does it close?

Offer guidance, negotiation support, and a confirmed start date. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days. That is a typical window and not a commitment.

If the person does not work out within 45 days of starting, the replacement search runs at 50% off the original fee.

What do you need from me?

The requisition, a decision on the band, and interview slots you will actually keep. The third one is the single biggest lever you control. Searches where the employer holds two standing slots a week close faster than searches where every interview is negotiated from scratch.