Who does an executive search firm work for?

Who pays, and how

A retained search firm is hired by a company to fill one role. Heidrick & Struggles describes the model in its annual report for 2024: retained firms are generally paid whether or not the client hires a candidate they found, and are generally retained on an exclusive basis. The typical retainer, it says, is about one-third of the estimated first-year pay for the role, with a further third of any excess if the person hired is paid more.Heidrick 10-K, 2024

Contingency firms work differently. They are paid only when a candidate they put forward is hired.Heidrick 10-K, 2024

Either way, the fee is billed to the client, and the firm answers to whoever pays it.

What a firm owes the people it calls

The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants publishes a Candidate Bill of Rights that its member firms sign up to. It is a useful test of any firm, member or not.AESC

• Exclusivity. A member firm has an exclusive agreement with its client for each assignment. The AESC suggests asking anyone who approaches you whether they have an exclusive assignment for this search, and walking away if the answer is no.
• Confidentiality. The firm commits to protecting the confidentiality of your interest. It may not name the client in the first conversation, and the level of confidentiality of each assignment should be agreed and made clear to you.
• Communication. It should explain the role, name the client at the appropriate point, give you progress updates, and tell you when you are no longer being considered. The AESC notes that this may only come after another candidate has accepted an offer.
• Your data. You can ask a member firm to remove you from its database.AESC

Why some firms will never call you

Search firms often agree not to recruit from their clients. Heidrick & Struggles says it may refrain from recruiting a client's employees, sometimes those of its affiliates too, typically for up to a year from the start of a search, and that clients frequently require it to leave certain of their employees alone when it searches for other clients. How wide the restriction is depends on how much business the client gives the firm.Heidrick 10-K, 2024

So if your employer is a large client of a firm, that firm may not approach you, whatever your record. You cannot see these agreements from outside, and a quiet search that waits for the right call may be waiting for a call that is not allowed to come.

What this means for a quiet search

1. Take the call. A firm with an exclusive assignment is the direct route into that role, and the conversation commits you to nothing.
2. Ask three things early: is the assignment exclusive, when will the client be named, and who will see your details before you agree.
3. Do not mistake the relationship. The firm is assessing you for its client; it is not looking after your search as a whole.
4. Do not wait for it. The firms that know the companies you want may be the firms barred from approaching you.

Questions people ask

Will a search firm tell my employer I spoke to them?

A reputable firm should not. The AESC's members commit to protecting the confidentiality of a candidate's interest, and the AESC itself says an unintended disclosure can be highly disruptive to the candidate and to their employer.

Should I send my CV to a search firm speculatively?

You can, but a retained firm works on the roles its clients give it. Your CV is useful to it when it has an assignment you fit, and it may be off-limits from approaching you for some of the companies you would most like to hear from.