How to Choose an Executive Search Firm: A Buyer's Guide

Once you have decided that a senior hire needs an executive search firm, the next decision is which one. Several firms will pitch, and their pitches can sound alike: a network, a rigorous process, experience in your sector. The differences that matter are harder to see. Who will actually run your search? Which companies has the firm agreed not to recruit from? And what are you committing to pay?

The choice matters because a retained search firm is generally paid for the work whether or not you hire one of its candidates, and because for the length of the search it will be the voice of your company to the people you most want to hire.

This guide walks through the decision in order: what to settle before you call anyone, how to build a short list, the questions to ask in the pitch and what a good answer sounds like, the terms to read before you sign, and how to work with the firm once the search starts. If you are still deciding whether to use a search firm at all, start with what executive search firms do and how a search works.

DisclosureJake Jorgovan co-founded Alpha Apex Group, which is mentioned in this article.

1. Settle the brief before you call a firm

The best firm cannot fix a vague brief. If your leadership team does not agree on what the role is for, each firm will pitch to its own guess, and the one you choose will spend the first weeks finding out what you meant.

Settle three things first.

What the role must achieve

Write down what the new leader will own, who they report to, and what has to be true at the end of their first year. I'd also write down what success looks like at 90 days. That is the document I described in a 2020 episode on making a hire succeed: the criteria the person needs to have met 90 days in, ideally written before the hire is made, so they know what success means in your organization.

Understand the function well enough to judge candidates

A firm will present a shortlist, and you have to tell a strong candidate from a well-presented one. In a 2025 conversation with Alex McClafferty (opens in a new tab), I said "there's some level of competency you need in all aspects of the business to be able to hire someone effectively." I went through several painful finance hires before I learned the function myself; after that, looking for a fractional CFO, I knew what to look for. If you are hiring a leader for a function you have never run, learn enough of it to follow the shortlist conversations, and bring someone who has run it onto the panel.

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Selected mean validity estimates from the 2022 reanalysis, reproduced in Sackett and colleagues’ 2023 follow-up: structured interviews 0.42, work samples 0.33, and unstructured interviews 0.19. These are corrected correlations with job performance, not percentages of candidates a method predicts correctly. Validity varies across settings.doi.org (opens in a new tab)

Who decides, and how confidential the search is

Name the people who will interview finalists and the one person who makes the final call. If the search must stay quiet (the incumbent has not left yet, or the role signals a strategy change), say so before any firm starts making calls.

2. Build a short list

Inviting two to four firms gives you a real comparison without turning the pitch into a beauty contest. Look for these before you invite a firm.

Recent searches like yours

The firm's experience should match the role and the kind of company: the function, the level, the sector, the size, ownership and geography. A firm that places chief financial officers for private equity portfolio companies may not be the right one for a public company's CFO, even though the title is the same. Ask for examples of recent comparable searches, described as far as confidentiality allows. If the search crosses countries or regions, ask who will run it in each market.

Which companies the firm cannot approach

This question is easy to forget. A search firm's existing client relationships can restrict its access to your target companies. Heidrick & Struggles' annual report for 2024 (opens in a new tab) describes the practice: it may agree not to recruit a client's employees for a set period, typically no more than a year from the start of a search. Clients frequently ask for such restrictions on certain employees, often limited by time or geography. The same report notes that firms with a smaller client base may be subject to fewer of these arrangements.

So write down the five or ten companies where you expect the best candidates to work, and ask each firm which of them it cannot approach.

The lead consultant's capacity

The person who pitches is not always the person who runs the search. Ask who will lead it day to day, who supports them, and how many other searches they are running at the same time.

Professional standards

Membership of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (opens in a new tab) (AESC) is one useful screen. The AESC says its member firms are vetted, through an audit of their practices, client references and endorsements from other members, and recommit each year to its professional practice standards. Membership is a commitment to those standards, not a guarantee of results. If a firm is a member, the AESC Client Bill of Rights (opens in a new tab) tells you what it has committed to; if not, ask what written standards it follows on conflicts and confidentiality.

Retained or contingency

AESC members, by the AESC's description, work on a retained and exclusive basis for executive search. Contingency recruiters are paid only when you hire one of their candidates, and the AESC says (opens in a new tab) they typically fill entry- to mid-level positions. This guide assumes a retained search for a senior hire. Ask each firm how it will map the relevant market and keep the search confidential, including where off-limits restrictions limit its reach. The explainer linked above sets out the difference between the two models.

3. Questions to ask an executive search firm in the pitch

Ask every firm the same questions, so you can compare the answers. The table shows what a strong answer and a warning sign sound like. Both columns are this guide's advice.

The last question is worth asking even though no firm will enjoy it. Use it to see how the firm explains problems, takes responsibility and changes its approach.

Two more habits help. Ask for a written outline of the process with milestones before you sign. And speak to people who have hired through the firm recently, including people beyond the references it offers first.

The full question set, to copy into your notes for each pitch:

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A visual guide to the questions in this article. Confirm commitments with the actual search team rather than relying on the firm’s name.

4. Check the engagement letter

The AESC's client standards (opens in a new tab) call for a written engagement agreement naming the lead advisor, the scope, the timing, the fees, the payment schedule and the deliverables. Depending on the assignment, it may also cover guarantees, off-limits restrictions, conflicts and data management. Read the letter against that list before you sign.

Four terms deserve the most attention.

The fee and when you pay it

Retained firms are generally paid for the search itself, whether or not you hire. Korn Ferry's annual report for fiscal 2026 (opens in a new tab) says its search fee is "generally one-third of the estimated first-year cash compensation of the placed candidate," plus a percentage to cover indirect expenses. An extra "uptick" fee applies if the final pay package is higher than estimated. Heidrick & Struggles' 2024 report describes billing the retainer and indirect expenses in thirds over three months from the month the client accepts the contract. Check whether your letter follows that pattern, what "compensation" includes, and which expenses are billed on top.

The guarantee

Heidrick & Struggles' 2024 report says its contracts contain a replacement guarantee: an additional search, free of charge except for expenses, if the client terminates the hire for performance reasons within a specified period. Read the exact conditions in your letter: the length of the period, which departures count, and what you still pay.

Off-limits

Agree which of your people the firm will not recruit after the search, and for how long. This protects you, and it is the same arrangement that limits which companies the firm can approach for you.

Communication and confidentiality

The AESC standards expect ongoing communication about the market's response, the candidates being developed and any obstacles to the search. They also say client and candidate information is never shared beyond the scope of the assignment. Write the reporting cadence and confidentiality arrangements into the letter so neither side has to guess.

The AESC also says a search can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the role and the talent available. Treat any firm's timeline as an estimate with milestones, and ask what happens to the fee if you pause or cancel the search.

5. Work with the firm once the search starts

A search is joint work, and your side of it matters as much as the firm's.

• Tell the firm the whole story. Why the role is open, what went wrong with the last person in it, the difficult stakeholders, the real budget. The firm is selling your opportunity to people who already have good jobs, and a surprise late in the process costs you candidates.
• Keep one point of contact. One person on your side who can answer questions within a day and gather the panel's views.
• Give feedback quickly. After every interview, tell the firm what you liked and what you did not, in specifics. Slow feedback loses candidates; vague feedback produces more of the same.
• Don't move the goalposts. If the brief changes after the market map, say so and agree what it means for the timeline. Changing what you want halfway through, without saying so, sends the firm back to the start.
• Don't rush the firm into a weaker shortlist. A tight deadline is fair to state at the start. Pressure partway through pushes the firm toward whoever is available.
• Plan the first months. The AESC expects its members to be available to help clients with onboarding and integration. Agree in advance what that means for your hire, and have the 90-day success document ready for day one.

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An original summary of the responsibilities described in the article. Exact responsibilities and guarantees belong in the engagement letter.

Questions buyers ask

How many firms should pitch?

Two to four. Each pitch takes your team's time, and you need only enough firms to compare approaches. Send each firm the same brief and ask the same questions.

Can we use more than one firm for the same role?

Retained searches are generally exclusive, and AESC members commit to that model, so check the exclusivity terms before appointing a second firm. If you use several contingency agencies instead, agree how candidate approaches will be coordinated: the AESC warns that agencies may contact the same people.

What does a successful search rate tell us?

Ask what the rate measures before comparing it with another firm's figure: how the firm defines a completed search, and how many of its recent searches for similar roles ended in a hire who is still in the job.

What does an executive search cost?

Heidrick & Struggles' 2024 annual report says retained firms are typically paid a retainer of about one-third of the estimated first-year compensation for the role. Korn Ferry's fiscal 2026 report gives "generally one-third" of estimated first-year cash compensation for its own searches, plus expenses. Heidrick & Struggles reported average revenue of $146,000 per executive search in 2024, across all its searches. Your own quote depends on the role and the firm; the guide to what executive search firms charge goes into the detail.