The Questions to Ask an Executive Search Firm (That Most Don’t)

July 27, 2026 – Browse a handful of executive search firm websites and they quickly begin to look alike. Every firm makes the same promises about senior expertise and deep networks, a new report from PierceGray. “They all claim to have a proven process and strong track record,” the study said. “There’s just one thing missing: the information you actually need to distinguish one firm from another.”

“The wrong search partner means months lost, a value-creation plan delayed, and sometimes a leader who’s gone within a year,” the PierceGray report explained. So how do you choose the right firm? PierceGray points out some questions to ask. The questions below can help you identify the firms that truly stand apart.

A Firm’s Track Record is the Least Important Question

Hiring a firm with a 20-year history is considerably less risky than hiring one in its first year of business, the PierceGray report noted. “But a firm’s track record is only one piece of the puzzle,” it said. “A list of placements at your industry-and-function intersection shows a firm has been in the room before. It says nothing about how they’ll run your search now. And in our experience, the approach a search firm takes dictates how many candidates it sources for you, how it sources them, and the quality of those candidates – and that’s a big thumb on the scale for who you hire.”

PierceGray stressed that if you don’t ask the right questions up front, you won’t know how a search firm operates until the search process is well underway. By then, it could be too late.

What to Ask an Executive Search Firm Instead

A firm could tell you that they’ve made over 1,600 placements and have a 95 percent referral rate, but that doesn’t reveal nearly as much as the answers to the questions below:

• Do you have a search strategy?
• Who runs the search?
• How do you communicate tradeoffs for candidates?
• What are the numbers behind the numbers?

Do You Have a Search Strategy?

The search strategy dictates how the search will be targeted and run. It can be the difference between a canned process that draws from the same well of candidates and a bespoke search tailored to your needs, according to the PierceGray report. The firm believe the strategy is so important that it is one of the first documents we share with prospective clients.

7 Questions to Ask When Choosing an International Recruiter

International recruiting quickly becomes a different game altogether—one where local networks, cultural fluency, and trusted on-the-ground connections often matter more than the tools or tactics employers rely on at home. However, many employers do not like working with recruitment companies, according to a report from NPAworldwide.

“In markets that employers know well and have social media connections, perhaps it is possible to avoid independent recruiters or at a minimum reduce the dependence on outside agents,” the report said. “When the needs of  companies expand beyond a local market and into countries where there is no physical presence, recruitment agencies may be the only way to achieve the results that are needed.”

PierceGray also noted that a strong search strategy has a point of view, not a wish list of credentials. It includes the following components:

• The role charter.
• A scorecard used to evaluate candidates.
• The target markets from which candidates are sourced.
• Example profiles to showcase the type of candidates you can expect.

These lay the foundation and set the direction for the search, the report explained. PierceGray uses the strategy as its North Star with every engagement. It guides how they target candidates, how they balance sourcing known and new candidates, and how they conduct initial outreach before presenting candidates to a client.

Who Runs the Search?

“At many firms, the senior leader who wins your business isn’t always the one who leads the search,” the PierceGray report said. “A partner may sell the engagement and disappear, leaving the search to a junior team you never evaluated. Good firms will strike a balance so the best talent works on your search without being over-extended. That’s how we do things. We’ve intentionally structured our firm to ensure there’s a senior team member fully engaged in every search, with all the support needed to move quickly and effectively. We have managing directors who’ve been with us for 10+ years and still work directly with new and established clients. Of course, we are also fortunate to have a senior leadership team that genuinely enjoys executing on searches and working with clients.”

How Do You Communicate the Tradeoffs for Candidates?

Presenting a candidate’s upside without being honest about the trade-offs could materially impact the success of a search and the likelihood of a client working with us again, according to the PierceGray report. “You need a search firm that will be forthcoming about the limitations and unknowns for each candidate,” it stressed. “When we introduce a candidate to a client, every profile includes what we like and what we question.”

Related: Why Executive Hiring in 2026 Must Be More Strategic Than Ever

“This is where working with an operator-led firm is so critical,” the report continued. “An operator who’s held the function knows what it actually requires, can assess a candidate rather than pitch one, and can read both kinds of fit: the technical skills the role demands and the harder-to-see skills that determine whether a leader succeeds in your environment.”

What Are the Numbers Behind the Numbers?

The study also noted that every firm says it has great client relationships, a proven process, and a track record of success. Make them prove it by asking for numbers behind the top-line metrics. PierceGray said to ask for the highlights, but then ask these more interesting follow-up questions:

• What’s your average time to complete a search? The more interesting question is why. Our average fluctuates around 104 days. It would be faster if we shied away from challenging searches. Some firms will outright refuse clients they deem to be “too difficult.”
• What’s your geographic distribution? Does the firm work exclusively in major markets, or do they also work in regions where the talent pool is smaller, and the amenities are less enticing? Placing a supply chain lead in the middle of Iowa, which we’ve done, is usually harder than a CFO search in Manhattan.
• What’s your referral rate? Getting referrals is great. The more telling number is how many of the firm’s existing clients are repeat clients. To get even deeper, ask how many executives the firm has placed have then hired the firm for follow-on searches. It says a lot when candidates respect the firm enough to become clients.

“The truth comes out when you poke holes in the surface-level numbers,” the PierceGray report explained. “It’s the only way to understand how the firm operates beneath the shiny exterior.”

“Your search firm will determine who you hire,” the report concluded. “We don’t see it as an overstatement to say that the search firm you work with could be as impactful as the person you hire. After all, the firm determines your options and has a major influence on how you hire and onboard new leaders. And that has a major influence on the success of your company and investment.”

PierceGray is a specialized, retained executive search firm focused on building leadership teams in investor-backed environments. The firm is functionally-focused, hiring executives and building teams in the following disciplines: operations and supply chain, sales and marketing, finance and transformation, and general management. PierceGray’s clients include private equity firms and portfolio companies as well as publicly-held companies across North America. PierceGray has been operating since 2006 and serves clients in nearly every industry sector in North America.

Related: How AI Workflows Are Transforming Executive Search

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media