We've Had a Bad Experience with Search Firms Before

Why Most Search Firm Experiences Are Disappointing

A CEO described a VP of Sales search that ran six months with two different firms. Both firms sent résumés within ten days of engagement, then went quiet. No status updates. No explanation of who was in the pipeline. No context on why candidates didn't progress. The role was eventually filled by a third person they found through their own network — someone the firms never surfaced.

That experience is not unusual. Most companies that have worked with search firms describe some version of the same story: initial responsiveness, then silence, then a trickle of candidates that don't quite fit, then pressure to move forward with someone who isn't right.

Before concluding that executive search firms don't work, it's worth asking which type of search model was being used — because the two dominant models produce fundamentally different outcomes.

Contingency vs. Retained: The Core Difference

Contingency recruiting means the firm only gets paid if they place someone. The incentive is speed and volume, not quality. The firm is competing with other firms and with the company's internal team simultaneously. They have no reason to invest deeply in your search criteria, your business context, or your candidate assessment process — because they may never be paid.

Retained search works differently. The firm is engaged exclusively with a fee structure tied to commitment — not to placement outcome alone. This changes the entire dynamic. There is no incentive to rush. There is no incentive to pressure you toward a candidate who isn't right. The firm's interest is aligned with yours: the right person, in the right role, built to last.

What Actually Goes Wrong in Failed Searches

The failure in most search firm relationships doesn't start with candidate quality. It starts with the intake process — or the absence of one.

A contingency firm's intake conversation is typically 30 minutes and ends with a job description review. A retained firm's intake process should take 90 minutes minimum, covering: the strategic context behind the role, the specific failure modes of the last person in that seat, the culture the hire needs to navigate, the compensation architecture, and what success looks like in 12 and 24 months. Without that depth, every candidate that follows is built on an incomplete foundation.

What a Different Experience Looks Like

A SaaS company came to Majhi Group after two contingency firms had run their VP of Marketing search for a combined five months. Neither firm had surfaced a candidate the CEO felt confident about. The CEO's working theory was that the talent market was thin for the profile they needed.

The Majhi Group intake process revealed something different: the criteria themselves were working against the search. The compensation range was positioned below market for the stage of company. The reporting structure had ambiguity that would concern any high-performing marketing executive. The role description emphasized outputs without articulating the strategic context that would attract a builder rather than an operator.

Before sourcing a single candidate, the search criteria were restructured. The search closed in 34 days from that point. The hire is still in seat.

Why the Guarantee Matters

Majhi Group offers a 90-day replacement guarantee at no charge. This is not a marketing claim — it is a structural commitment that reflects the confidence built into the process. A firm that assesses candidates properly, verifies references thoroughly, and aligns on fit before presenting should stand behind the outcome.

A contingency firm with no fee at risk has no such incentive. A retained firm with a replacement guarantee does. The guarantee is a proxy for the firm's actual belief in their process — and for how much scrutiny they apply before a candidate is ever presented.

Questions Worth Asking Before Engaging Any Search Firm

• What does your intake process look like, and how long does it take?
• What percentage of your placements are passive candidates vs. active job seekers?
• Do you provide weekly status reports as a standard deliverable?
• What is your assessment process beyond interviews and reference checks?
• What is your placement durability track record at 12 and 24 months?
• Do you offer a replacement guarantee, and under what terms?

The answers to those questions will tell you more about a firm's process than any case study they share. A firm that cannot answer them clearly — or deflects — is worth reconsidering before engagement.

What We Do Differently at Majhi Group

Every Majhi Group engagement begins with a search assessment: a structured review of the role criteria, compensation architecture, and hiring context before any sourcing begins. The goal is to find the problems in the search before candidates find them.

Sourcing is built around passive candidates — executives performing in current roles, not looking for their next opportunity. Reaching them requires directness, credibility, and a compelling articulation of why this role is worth their consideration.

Weekly status reports are delivered throughout. Every candidate presentation includes an evidence dossier with performance proof points, risk flags, and fit analysis — not a résumé with a note attached. And the 90-day replacement guarantee is in writing, not in a conversation.

A bad experience with a search firm is not a reason to avoid retained search. It's a reason to understand what retained search actually looks like when the model is built around the right incentives — and the right process.