Dilys Search Answers
Not every executive search firm is the same. The label covers everything from boutique specialists with deep sector knowledge to volume recruiters who send resumes without much process behind them. Knowing how to evaluate the difference before you commit will save you time, money, and a leadership vacancy that drags on longer than it needs to.
Talk to Dilys Search or book a call first →Executive search decisions carry real stakes. The firm you hire shapes the quality of your shortlist, the pace of your process, and the confidence you have in the hire you make. Choosing poorly means restarting from a worse position — often months later, with more operational pressure and less organizational patience.
The evaluation criteria that matter most are not the ones search firms typically put on their websites. They are the ones you discover by asking direct questions before you sign anything.
Dilys Search brings CEO-level involvement to every mandate, deep knowledge of the sectors we serve, and a process that is transparent about timeline, methodology, and candidate market. We do not hide behind vague timelines or inflate the candidate pool to look busy.
This page is for boards, HR leaders, operators, and ownership groups who are preparing to retain an executive search firm and want to go into that decision with the right questions.
The wrong executive search firm does not save you time — it creates a different kind of problem. You get a shortlist that looks active but lacks depth, or a process that generates meetings without real progress, and by the time you realize the search is not working you have lost weeks.
Evaluating a search firm properly takes about the same amount of effort as a good first interview. The questions below will tell you most of what you need to know.
The first thing to evaluate is sector fit. A generalist recruiter who works across industries will approach your search differently than a firm that has placed leaders in your exact environment.
Ask them directly: how many searches have you completed in this sector? What was the geography? What role level? What was the outcome? Specific answers are a good sign. Vague answers — “we work across many industries” — are not.
For operators in seniors living, long-term care, healthcare, and similar regulated environments, sector knowledge is not a differentiator. It is a prerequisite. The candidate pool is narrow, the compliance requirements are specific, and the leadership context is different from a commercial enterprise. A search firm that does not understand that will waste your time reaching people who are not viable candidates.
Ask a search firm to walk you through their process from signed retainer to shortlist. A firm that has a real methodology will describe it clearly. You should hear specifics: how they define the mandate, how they identify candidates, how they conduct outreach, how they assess fit, and how they keep you informed throughout.
If the answer is vague — “we have a large network and we leverage relationships” — press for more. A network is not a process. How they use that network, and what rigour they apply before putting someone on a shortlist, is what matters.
A good search firm will tell you things you do not necessarily want to hear. If compensation is misaligned with the market, they will say so before the search starts. If the geography limits the candidate pool, they will be direct about it. If your timeline is unrealistic, they will explain why.
Search firms that agree with everything you say and promise fast results without qualification are not partners — they are vendors. And when the search stalls, they will have a new explanation ready that was somehow not visible at the start.
In some firms, the principal sells the mandate and then hands execution to a junior associate. Ask directly who will be running your search day to day, who you will have access to, and what involvement the senior person named in your proposal will have once the retainer is signed.
Dilys Search takes a different position on this. CEO-level involvement from first conversation through final hire is not a sales line — it is how the work actually gets done.
Ask for context on past shortlists. Not names — confidentiality applies — but how many candidates typically make the final slate, what the general fit profile looked like, and how the process worked from shortlist to offer. A firm that has delivered clean, high-quality shortlists will be able to describe that clearly.
Ask this directly: if the search is not producing results after 30 days, what do you do? A firm with a real process will have a real answer — they reassess the mandate definition, revisit compensation, expand the geography, or explore adjacent candidate profiles. If the answer is vague or defensive, take note.
Retained search firms typically charge a percentage of first-year compensation, split across three installments — at mandate signature, shortlist delivery, and offer acceptance. Understand what is included: candidate outreach, assessment, reference checks, and any guarantee period if the hire does not work out.
If you are evaluating search firms for a leadership role that matters, the fee structure is rarely the most important variable. What matters is whether the firm can actually find the right person and help you close them.
See also: what to ask a search firm before you hire them for a specific list of questions to bring into the conversation.
Sector knowledge combined with process transparency. A firm that understands your market and can articulate exactly how they will find candidates is worth far more than one with a large general database.
A retained search firm commits to the mandate, controls the process, and is paid partially upfront. A contingency recruiter submits whoever they have available and only gets paid if you hire someone. The difference in rigor is significant.
Yes. Speaking with two or three firms gives you a comparative sense of how they think about the role, how well they know the market, and how candidly they answer hard questions.
If you are evaluating search firms for a leadership mandate, Dilys Search is worth a direct conversation. We will tell you clearly what we can and cannot do for your specific role.
Talk to Dilys Search or book a call first →