How can I tell an excellent retained search firm from a not-so-great one?
Excellent retained search firms will not let you make Typical Startup Hiring Mistakes. They will reinforce your hiring criteria if they believe they will lead to a successful hire. They will also respectfully challenge you if their extensive experience and accumulated wisdom points towards a different path to success. Excellent retained search firms should be your intelligent filters. Since the search professionals in these firms are, in essence, establishing the caliber of your candidates, they should be high-caliber themselves. They should have strong educational backgrounds, successful high-tech Silicon Valley operating backgrounds and be smart enough to understand the nuances of your strategic positioning, competition and business model. Excellent retained search firms should always meet with your existing management team to assess skill sets, not just titles, and develop a strong feel for team chemistry and company culture. They then find candidates with the right fit in both skil
