Executive Hiring Glossary

How retained search differs from contingency recruiting — and why the model determines the outcome.

The exclusive, fee-upfront model that aligns search firm incentives with placement quality.

The structured kickoff that defines success criteria before any sourcing begins.

The written specification of a role — scope, success criteria, and candidate profile.

The structured plan for where and how to find the right candidates for a specific mandate.

The initial broad identification of potential candidates before qualification begins.

A systematic exercise that maps qualified leaders across the market before a search begins.

A comprehensive view of the talent landscape for a specific function, geography, and level.

The search syntax used to identify candidates on LinkedIn, databases, and talent platforms.

The staged flow of candidates from identification through to offer — and how to manage it.

A pre-built database of qualified candidates for recurring hire types and future searches.

Why running a search with a single retained firm produces better outcomes than multi-firm mandates.

How RPO differs from retained search — and which model fits which hiring context.

How retained executive search fees are structured, calculated, and paid.

The post-interview meeting where hiring decisions are made — and why structure matters.

Off-list reference conversations that reveal what formal references won't.

How to conduct reference calls that produce useful signal — not just validation.

The structured set of defined capabilities used to evaluate candidates consistently.

A real success predictor — and the most common cover for bias in executive hiring.

Whether a candidate's experience matches the company's current stage — the most commonly missed criterion.

The alignment between an executive candidate and the founder's working style, values, and expectations.

The real cost of a bad executive hire — and the most common causes at the VP and C-suite level.

The executive who owns the full revenue function — sales, marketing, and customer success.

The executive responsible for technology vision, engineering, and technical strategy.

The executive responsible for financial strategy, reporting, and capital allocation.

The C-suite executive responsible for people strategy, culture, and talent across the organisation.

The executive responsible for operational execution and cross-functional coordination.

The C-suite executive responsible for brand, demand generation, and go-to-market strategy.

The executive responsible for data strategy, governance, and the organisation's use of data as a strategic asset.

A senior operator who extends CEO capacity — distinct from a COO and from an EA.

The executive who owns the sales function — and how to hire the right one for your stage.

The executive responsible for engineering execution, team, and delivery velocity.

The senior leader responsible for demand generation, brand, and go-to-market execution.

The senior leader responsible for product strategy, roadmap, and the product management function.

The executive who owns customer retention, expansion, and NRR — the most important SaaS growth metric.

The senior leader responsible for HR, talent acquisition, culture, and people operations.

A part-time executive who provides senior leadership without a full-time hire — when it works and when it doesn't.

How VP and C-suite comp packages are structured — base, bonus, equity, and benefits.

The complete value of an executive offer — not just base salary.

Options, RSUs, and equity grants — how they work and what they're worth.

When sign-on bonuses make sense — and the terms that protect both parties.

How equity is earned over time — and why the schedule matters as much as the grant size.

The initial period before any equity vests — typically 12 months for executive grants.

Provisions that accelerate equity vesting on acquisition or other trigger events.

How non-competes work in executive contracts — and their enforceability across states.

The contractual period between resignation and departure — and how it affects searches.

Paid absence during a notice period that keeps the executive away from competitors.

The initial employment period during which both parties assess fit — standard outside the US.

The most important hiring metric — and how to measure it at the executive level.

The elapsed time from first contact to accepted offer — and what drives it.

How long it takes a new executive to reach full effectiveness — and how to shorten it.

How long VPs and C-suite leaders stay in role — and what the data reveals about mis-hires.

The gap between final interview and offer letter — and why it's where companies lose strong candidates.

The stage-by-stage progression metric that reveals where searches succeed or fail.

Output per recruiter — and what genuinely limits it (hint: it's rarely the recruiter).

Which channels produce the best executive hires — and how to track it accurately.

The signals that predict executive departure — and how to address them before they become exits.

Preparing the organisation for planned and unplanned leadership transitions.

How leadership teams plan hiring capacity — and where executive search fits in the cycle.

How leadership structures are designed to execute strategy — and when to redesign them.

The ratio of high-performers to total employees — and why it compounds at the leadership level.

When companies pause hiring — and which roles should remain exempt at the executive level.