Hire the leaders your business needs next.
Leadership and executive search for companies hiring managers through the C-suite. Every candidate is interviewed in depth and presented on a private website built for your decision, at a 25% fee, not the one-third global search firms typically charge.
A clear process, clear fees and a written agreement before any work begins.
No payment required to get set up.
Managers · Directors · Vice Presidents · C-suite
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Our placements include organizations like
The White House · NASA · Google · Boeing · Lockheed Martin · Big 4 firms · Fortune 100 companies · DoD programs · Manufacturing · Oil and gas · Startups
Every search starts here
We look where other firms stop looking.
Beyond the job boards
We map who's actually doing this job today, at your competitors and beyond, not just who's applying.
Beyond the inbox
When email and LinkedIn go unanswered, we write handwritten letters, and when it matters, we show up in person.
Beyond the résumé
One-to-two-hour interviews uncover what a résumé never shows: judgment, motivation and fit.
Then we bring you two candidates you'll struggle to choose between.
Included in every search.
The depth you'd expect from a global search firm. Delivered personally.
Every step below happens on every search, so the only thing you need to decide is whether the candidate is the right fit.
Our goal: your hire from the first two candidates we present, and a tough choice between them.
- 01
Intake that goes deeper than a job description
No two companies, teams or goals are alike. Our intake covers the outcomes this hire must deliver, your 30-60-90-day and first-year milestones if you have them, what's truly required versus nice to have, and the team they'll join, including its history, the good and the bad. That lets us speak to candidates as an extension of your leadership: building real excitement, qualifying for skills and culture fit, and doing due diligence on your behalf. Candidates know exactly what they're walking into, so your hire is set up to succeed and stay. Where we've run similar searches, we'll share what we learned. Every search is built from scratch, so you never get leftover candidates from someone else's.
You get: a search partner who represents your company to candidates like one of your own leaders.
- 02
Outreach that reaches the people others can't
As soon as your engagement fee is received, our outreach campaign begins. We go directly after your ideal profile, including people who aren't looking, through direct digital outreach, handwritten letters, and in-person approaches when someone can't be reached any other way. When the easy channels run dry, we keep going.
You get: the right people hearing about your role, not just whoever applied.
- 03
Interviews that go deep
We interview every candidate for one to two hours, covering their experience, results, motivations and how they'd approach your role. Only candidates who clear our bar are presented to you. Hired or not, every candidate should walk away thinking more of your company.
You get: only candidates we would stand behind.
- 04
A private website for every candidate we present
Instead of a résumé and a guess, you get a private web page built on each candidate: a short video of them discussing their background, our assessment against each requirement with the reasoning behind every rating, the practical details, and why we recommend them. Their résumé and LinkedIn are linked, and we also email the résumé.
You get: more signal on every candidate before you spend a minute interviewing them.
- 05
We keep going until you've hired
Approved candidates move into your interview process while we keep sourcing, right up until you tell us you've chosen your hire. Along the way, we share real-time market feedback on compensation, candidate response and approach whenever it helps you decide.
You get: a search that never stalls, and market insight when it matters.
Most firms send a résumé. We send a website.
A private website on each candidate we present, shared only with your hiring team.
Candidate A · VP of Operations
Recommended: Advance
SampleVideo preview: background and experience
- Multi-site operations leadershipExceeds
Led a multi-site operation through a regional expansion.
- P&L ownershipMeets
Owned a division budget and reported results to the CEO.
- Scaling a team through growthExceeds
Built the operations team from a small core to a full leadership layer.
- Availability
- 30 days
- Location
- Open to relocation
- Relocation
- Not a factor
- Compensation target
- Within your range
- Status
- Employed, seeking a larger scope
- Background check and drug screen
- Ready to complete both
Why we recommend
Has already delivered the kind of multi-site growth your first-year plan calls for, and wants the larger scope this role offers.
- A short video of the candidate discussing their background and experience
- A rating against each requirement of the role, with the reasoning behind every rating
- Their motivations, and how they relate to this role
- How soon they could start
- Location, openness to relocation, and the relocation cost if it's a factor
- Their compensation target range
- Current employment status and reasons for looking
- Readiness to complete a background check and drug screen, in the candidate's own words
- Links to their résumé and LinkedIn, with the résumé also sent by email
- Why we recommend advancing them
Candidate A · VP of Operations
Recommended: AdvanceSampleVideo preview: background and experience
- Multi-site operations leadershipExceeds
Led a multi-site operation through a regional expansion.
- P&L ownershipMeets
Owned a division budget and reported results to the CEO.
- Scaling a team through growthExceeds
Built the operations team from a small core to a full leadership layer.
- Availability
- 30 days
- Location
- Open to relocation
- Relocation
- Not a factor
- Compensation target
- Within your range
- Status
- Employed, seeking a larger scope
- Background check and drug screen
- Ready to complete both
Why we recommend
Has already delivered the kind of multi-site growth your first-year plan calls for, and wants the larger scope this role offers.
Your steps, from agreement to hire
- 1
Agreement
Complete your company information, review the agreement and sign. No payment is due at this stage.
- 2
Intake call
Meet with TAP by video to discuss your hiring needs, ask questions and explore the appropriate search package.
- 3
Engagement
If you decide to proceed, approve the search package and fees, then pay the engagement invoice.
- 4
Recruiting begins
Once TAP receives the engagement payment, our outreach campaign starts and we begin interviewing candidates.
- 5
Interviewing
Interview the candidates we present and share your feedback. We keep sourcing until you tell us you've made your hire.
- 6
Hire
Select your candidate and coordinate the offer and start date with TAP.
No payment is due simply for signing.
Prefer to meet before signing anything?
We're glad to. Many clients like to talk through the role, our process and the agreement first. Book a call or ask us anything in the chat. There's no obligation to sign.
Global-firm depth. Without the global-firm fee.
Move the slider to the role's first-year compensation and see what you save.
Starting points only. Adjust to your role.
Up to $2,000,000
You save $20,833 or more. Typical global search firm $83,333 and up, plus expenses. Talent Authority Partners 25% of first-year compensation, $62,500.
Assumes a package paid in cash. Fee bases differ (cash compensation versus total compensation), so compare exact totals using written proposals. Estimates only; the signed agreement governs all fees.
TAP's executive search fee is 25% of first-year compensation. Korn Ferry reports its search fees are generally one-third of first-year cash compensation, plus an expense charge. On a $250,000 package paid in cash, that's $62,500 with TAP versus $83,333 before expenses.
Quick reference
- $150,000 role · Global firm $50,000 · TAP $37,500 · You save $12,500
- $250,000 role · Global firm $83,333 · TAP $62,500 · You save $20,833
- $400,000 role · Global firm $133,333 · TAP $100,000 · You save $33,333
- $600,000 role · Global firm $200,000 · TAP $150,000 · You save $50,000
Leadership search pricing
Every search starts with a written agreement. Here's how our packages work.
Compare packages side by side +
| Package | Engagement fee | Placement fee | Invoice terms | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Executive Search Generally for roles with senior organizational authority. | $6,000, credited toward the placement fee | 25% of total first-year compensation, less the paid credit | Invoiced on the candidate's start date. Due within 30 calendar days of the start date. | 90-day replacement candidate guarantee, from the candidate's start date |
Specialized Search Generally for scarce talent, difficult requirements or searches needing substantial research. | $6,000, credited toward the placement fee | 25% of total first-year compensation, less the paid credit | Invoiced on the candidate's start date. Due within 30 calendar days of the start date. | 60-day replacement candidate guarantee, from the candidate's start date |
Professional Search Generally for professional, managerial and individual-contributor searches with a more conventional process. | $3,000, credited toward the placement fee | 25% of total first-year compensation, less the paid credit | Invoiced on the candidate's start date. Due within 30 calendar days of the start date. | 60-day replacement candidate guarantee, from the candidate's start date |
Select Search Generally for positions whose reasonably estimated total first-year compensation range tops out below $100,000. | $3,000 additional fee, not credited | Full 25% of total first-year compensation | Invoiced on the candidate's start date. Due within 15 calendar days of the start date. | 30-day replacement candidate guarantee, from the candidate's start date |
TAP proposes the right package once it understands the role; the client accepts before the engagement fee is invoiced and sourcing begins. This table is a public summary, not a replacement for the agreement. Engagement fees become non-refundable when received. The placement fee is invoiced on the candidate's start date and is due within the number of calendar days shown for the package, using the compensation basis defined in the agreement. Replacement Candidate Guarantees are conditional and governed by the signed agreement.
Last reviewed
Why an engagement fee
Why there's an engagement fee
Recruiters paid only when you hire tend to spread their time across dozens of searches and race to send resumes. An engaged search works differently.
It reserves our capacity.
We take on a limited number of searches at a time. The engagement fee holds your place and puts your search on our active list.
It funds the work before the first candidate.
Role calibration, market research and direct outreach to people who aren't applying all start the day you engage us.
It means both sides are committed.
You get a dedicated search run to a disciplined process, not a resume race.
It counts toward your fee.
On Executive, Specialized and Professional Search, the engagement fee is credited toward the placement fee, so when you hire it isn't an extra cost. Select Search is the one exception: its fee is added on.
Because it pays for work that starts right away, the engagement fee is non-refundable once received. The signed agreement governs all terms.
Founder-led, on every search.
17 years in recruiting · Former Lead Executive Technical Recruiter at Google · Named by LinkedIn in 2021 as one of the top 10 recruiters worldwide for candidate outreach response rates
Read his LinkedIn recommendationsJonathan founded Talent Authority Partners to bring a direct, hands-on approach to leadership hiring. Every engagement gets his involvement, not a handoff to a junior team.
Meet the founderRelevant across industries
TAP has supported hiring for companies in technology and AI, manufacturing, construction, logistics, and professional services, among others. These are examples of relevant experience, not restrictions on who we work with.
- Cross-industry leadership hiring, not a single-vertical focus
- AI fluency used for research and organization; recruiters own the conversations
- Startups and established organizations alike
Frequently asked questions
Tell us who you need to hire next.
A straight conversation about the role and whether TAP is the right fit to run it.
No payment is due simply for signing.