When should you use a retained search firm?

For senior, business-critical, or confidential roles — C-suite and VP+ hires where reaching passive candidates, assessing rigorously, and managing the process discreetly matters more than speed or volume.

What Is Retained Executive Search?

Q: What is retained executive search?

Retained executive search is a consultative, exclusive hiring process for senior leadership roles. The company engages a search firm on a retainer to manage the search end to end — defining the role, mapping the market, approaching and assessing candidates (including those not actively looking), and managing the process through to offer.

Q: What is the difference between retained and contingent search?

In retained search the firm is engaged exclusively and paid in stages to run a thorough, consultative process for senior roles. In contingent search, multiple recruiters compete and are paid only on a placement, which suits higher-volume or more junior hiring but rarely the confidential, hard-to-fill executive mandate.

2 min read · Updated June 29, 2026

By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants

The short answerRetained executive search is a consultative, exclusive process for hiring senior leaders. You engage a firm on a retainer to run the search end to end — defining the role, mapping the market, approaching and assessing candidates (including those not looking), and managing it through to offer. It's built for the C-suite and VP+ roles where rigor, reach, and discretion matter more than speed or volume.

If you're hiring senior leadership for the first time with a search firm, the model matters. Here's what retained executive search is, how it differs from contingent recruiting, and when to use it.

How retained search works

The company engages the firm exclusively and pays in stages (typically across the life of the search) rather than only on a placement. In return, the firm runs a thorough, consultative process:

Define — the role, the brief, the success profile, and the realistic market.
Map — the full target universe, including passive candidates who aren't job-hunting.
Engage & assess — approach, evaluate, and rigorously assess against the mandate.
Manage — references, the offer, and onboarding, all handled discreetly.

Retained vs. contingent search

In contingent search, several recruiters compete and are paid only when one places a candidate. It suits higher-volume or more junior hiring. Retained search is exclusive and consultative — designed for senior, hard-to-fill, or confidential roles where reaching the right passive candidates and assessing them properly is the whole point. For a CEO, CMO, or other C-suite hire, the depth and discretion of a retained process is usually decisive.

When to use retained search

Use it for senior, business-critical, or confidential mandates — C-suite and VP+ roles where the best candidate almost certainly isn't applying to job ads. It's also the right choice when the search needs to be run quietly, or when the brief calls for genuine market intelligence, not just a stack of résumés.

Planning a senior leadership hire?

Norman Consultants is a retained executive search firm specializing in beauty and the broader consumer landscape.

Explore our executive search practice →

Frequently asked questions