Solutions
Retained Search
Exclusive, senior search for the hires that define your next chapter — mapped, engaged and closed by a partner who is accountable to one client at a time.
The hires that matter most deserve more than a CV blast
Senior and leadership hires set the ceiling for what your team can do. They need a dedicated search model — retained search is.
- Senior and leadership roles open for months while the business waits
- Multiple hiring channels producing overlapping shortlists
- No real market mapping, no competitor intel, no narrative
- Candidate experience that damages your brand before they even meet you
- Mis-hires at the top that cost a year of momentum
A retained search, run with craft
Scope the search
We map the role, the team, the success profile and the market — so the brief reflects the hire you actually need, not the JD you inherited.
Map the market
Targeted research across competitors, adjacent industries and stealth talent. You see the full picture, not just who's actively looking.
Engage with craft
Direct, personal outreach. Every candidate hears a story about your company that makes them want to take the call.
Assess and shortlist
Structured interviews, references and calibration. You receive a tight shortlist with deep written profiles — not just a stack of CVs.
Close the hire
Offer strategy, comp benchmarking and counter-offer management — so the candidate you want is the candidate who signs.
Land and stay
Onboarding check-ins through the first 90 days. We're accountable for the hire, not just the placement.
Why Retained Search?
Retained means exclusive. One search, one partner, one accountable outcome. EMNET commits the time, research and senior attention that the most important hires require.
You get market mapping, candidate intelligence, structured assessment and a candidate experience that protects your brand — from first outreach through the first 90 days.
Who it's for
- Founders hiring their first VP, Head of or C-level
- Seed to series funded scale-ups making business-critical senior hires
- Boards and CEOs running confidential or replacement searches
- Teams that need a more focused, accountable search model
- Companies hiring into new markets or new disciplines
- Tech startups across any sector or vertical
Built in true partnership with founders
“EMNET ran a retained search for our VP Engineering and delivered a shortlist of three exceptional people in five weeks. We hired number one.”