Services / what I actually do
Four Ways To Hire — Each One A Flat Fee.
You can hand me the whole search, or just the piece you're missing — a comp read, an interview framework, or a coordinated build across a few seats. No percentage of salary, no surprise multipliers. Pick the work below and you'll see the number before we ever start.
The full search / start to signed offer
What Six To Nine Weeks Looks Like.
A retained search isn't a black box. Here's the actual sequence — what I'm doing while you wait, and where you'll hear from me along the way.
Kickoff & intake
We sit down — in person or on video — and I pull apart the role until I understand the work, the team it joins, and what “great” means to you specifically. I leave with a written brief you sign off on before I touch the market.
Mapping the market
I map who could do this job — not just who's already raising a hand. That means naming the companies, the titles, and the people behind them, so the search reaches the ones who'd never answer a job post.
Outreach & long conversations
I reach out personally and talk to people at length — usually well over an hour each. I'm reading for fit, motivation, and the honest reasons they'd move. Most never make the slate; that's the point of doing it this way.
The slate lands
You get three to five people I've vetted closely, each with a one-page write-up — why they're on the list, and where the risk sits. Short by design, so your panel can actually go deep on every name.
Interviews, offer, close
Your panel runs my interview framework so everyone scores the same things. When you've chosen, I bring the comp benchmark to the table and help you shape an offer your first pick says yes to.
Engagement fees / billed per search
The Price List.
Flat, per-engagement pricing. Take the whole search or just the part you're missing — every fee here is the fee, before we begin.
The Comp Read
$3,850 flat
Benchmarking on its own — for when you've found someone and just need to know what the offer should be.
- Market + level pay range for the role
- Base, bonus, and equity guidance
- A one-call walkthrough of the numbers
Interview Architecture
$6,400 per role
A written interview framework and scorecard for a search your team is running in-house.
- Role-specific question set
- Panel scorecards + scoring guide
- A 90-minute panel briefing
The Search
$31,500 per engagement
The full retained search — market mapping through signed offer, all three documents included.
- Full market map for the role
- Short, vetted slate with written summaries
- Interview framework + comp benchmark
- Six-month replacement guarantee
Leadership Build
from $72,000
Two or more connected roles — building out a leadership team where the seats have to fit each other.
- Sequenced searches, one coordinated plan
- Team-fit assessment across hires
- Scoped together on a first call
Bolt-ons / add to any engagement
Extras You Can Add On.
Sometimes the search is done but you want one more layer of certainty. These attach to any engagement above — priced flat, the same way.
| Add-on | What you get | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Reference deep-dive | Five or more backchannel references on your finalist — people I find, not the ones they hand you — written up in a single read. | $1,800 |
| Board-ready dossier | Your chosen candidate packaged for a board or investor review: background, comp rationale, and the case for the hire on one tidy page. | $2,200 |
| 90-day onboarding check-in | I check in with both sides at the three-month mark and flag anything drifting early, while it's still easy to fix. | $1,200 |
| Comp refresh | A re-run of the benchmark six months on, for when the market's moved and you want to keep the offer honest. | $1,400 |
| Search status report | A written progress note for your board each fortnight of the search — who I'm talking to and what I'm learning. | Included |
Worth saying out loud / where I'm not the fit
What I Won't Take On.
I'd rather tell you now than three weeks in. If your search is one of these, I'll happily point you somewhere better suited.
High-volume req filling
If you need fifteen seats staffed fast, that's a job for a staffing partner who works at that volume — not a single retained searcher running one role at a time.
Contingent, pay-only-if-it-sticks work
I'm paid to do the search properly, which is exactly what lets me turn the wrong people away. A contingency model would quietly push me toward speed over judgment.
A role you haven't decided on yet
If the seat, the level, or the budget is still in flux, let's wait. I can't map a market for a job that keeps changing shape — and you shouldn't pay me to chase it.
Pick the piece you need. I'll quote it flat, and you'll know the number before we begin.Mercator Talent — Winchester, Virginia