01
Day 0 to Day 10
Brief alignment, market mapping, direct outreach, candidate interviews, and shortlist preparation all happen before the first invoice can be issued.
We Prove First. You Decide Second.
We call this engagement format Proof-First™ Search. Within seven to ten working days of brief alignment, you receive a shortlist of real, interview-ready candidates with full profiles, salary expectations, motivations, relocation readiness, and our interview reports.
The interview fee is invoiced only if you validate the shortlist. If a candidate is hired, that interview fee is absorbed into the final placement fee. There is no upfront retainer, and the first meaningful commercial commitment happens only after you have seen real delivery through Proof-First Search.
Commercial proof at a glance
02
Validation Point
The first invoice exists only if the shortlist is validated. That is the commercial hinge of the model.
03
Placement Window
Once a hire is completed, the interview fee is credited against the final fee, so the model remains commercially comparable to a traditional retained engagement while reducing pre-proof risk.
The friction we remove
The Problem Proof-First Search Solves
Every executive search begins with the same underlying commercial question: how much trust is the client expected to place in the firm before seeing whether it can actually deliver?
Traditional retained search asks for a material payment before a single candidate has been produced. Contingency search removes the upfront fee, but it also fragments the firm's attention across multiple mandates and usually reduces research depth, stakeholder calibration, and shortlist quality.
Proof-First Search changes that logic. It is a live demo of our methodology on the real mandate, at our risk, and we invoice only if the shortlist is validated. It is retained-quality work with lower pre-proof client exposure.
The deliverable, defined
What Proof-First Search Is and Is Not
Proof-First Search is KiTalent's engagement format for executive search. It is the real deliverable, produced under real conditions, before the primary invoice is issued.
- It is not a blind sample. We do not send anonymised CVs because they are weak proxies for evidence. Read why we do not send blind CVs.
- It is not a preview. A preview would be a fraction of the work; Proof-First Search is our full methodology applied to your actual mandate.
- It is not contingency work. Contingency firms typically divide attention across many live assignments. Proof-First Search is a full-attention, full-methodology engagement on a single brief at a time.
- It is not a lower-quality version of retained search. Proof-First Search is the same search discipline, billed with better commercial alignment.
How Proof-First Search runs
How Proof-First Search Works: The Six Stages
Stage 1 — Brief Alignment and Mandate Authorisation
We align on role profile, compensation envelope, geography, cultural context, and decision timeline. The client authorises us to approach candidates on its behalf.
Stage 2 — Parallel Market Mapping Activation
We draw on continuous talent intelligence and expand the map across the relevant countries, sectors, and adjacent competitor sets. That is what makes the seven-to-ten-day window realistic. See our methodology.
Stage 3 — Direct Headhunting and Three-Level Screening
We approach candidates who genuinely fit the brief and are realistically available for the role. Each shortlisted profile is screened for technical fit, career-story clarity, and, where useful, psychometric signal.
Stage 4 — Shortlist Delivery in 7 to 10 Working Days
You receive a shortlist of real, interview-ready candidates with names, current employers, full CVs, compensation expectations, motivations, relocation readiness, and our interview reports.
Stage 5 — Client Validation
If the shortlist meets the agreed standard, the interview fee is invoiced. If the shortlist does not meet the standard, no invoice is issued. The mapping, outreach, and interviews remain at our cost.
Stage 6 — Placement and Fee Absorption
On successful hire, the interview fee is absorbed into the final placement fee. It does not increase the total commercial cost of a successful search; it changes when value is proven and when the fee is earned.
A commercial example, step by step
Successful hire
Validated, no hire
Shortlist not validated
A Worked Commercial Example
For a director-level search with gross annual compensation of EUR 180,000, a total KiTalent fee of 22 percent would equal EUR 39,600. In that structure, an interview fee of EUR 6,000 may be carved out as the validation-stage fee.
In a successful placement, the shortlist is validated around Day 10, the EUR 6,000 interview fee is invoiced, and the remaining EUR 33,600 is invoiced on hire. Total cost remains EUR 39,600.
If the shortlist is validated but no hire is completed within the agreed window, the client retains the mapped market, real candidate access, and full interview output for the EUR 6,000 interview fee, rather than paying a much larger retainer for less proof.
If the shortlist is not validated, no invoice is issued and the client has no cash outflow.
Model comparison
How Proof-First Search Compares
Option A
Retained Search
Retained search offers full methodology depth but requires meaningful client trust and spend before proof exists.
Option B
Contingency Search
Contingency search removes the upfront payment but often reduces exclusivity, research depth, and process control in senior mandates.
KiTalent
KiTalent Proof-First Search
Proof-First Search combines full methodology depth with no upfront retainer, validated-shortlist invoicing, and explicit risk-sharing before major commercial commitment.
Mandate fit
When Proof-First Search Fits — and When It Does Not
Proof-First Search fits
- Senior management, leadership, and specialised roles where market knowledge compounds.
- Mandates with a real decision window, a named hiring authority, and clear interview ownership.
- Sectors and geographies within our active sector coverage.
- Clients who want retained-quality execution with lower pre-proof commercial exposure.
This is not for you if
- You need high-volume recruitment or multiple junior hires.
- The brief is still speculative, without budget, ownership, or a decision timeline.
- Your procurement process allows only pure contingency economics.
- You are looking for the cheapest fee rather than the best alignment of speed, market access, and shortlist quality.
Three forms of proof
The Three Forms of Proof Proof-First Search Delivers
Proof of Capability
The shortlist proves we can reach the level the brief requires. Real names, real companies, real conversations, and real interview output.
Proof of Fit
The shortlist composition proves that we understood the role, the context, the market, and the practical salary reality.
Proof of Velocity
The delivery window proves that our market mapping is live and operational rather than theoretical. A firm without continuously mapped talent markets cannot replicate that timeline consistently.
Why Proof-First Search Changes the Commercial Logic
Traditional models reward firms for securing the mandate. Proof-First Search rewards the firm for producing a validated shortlist and then converting it into a hire.
That means our incentives move closer to the client's from the first day of the search. We recover cost only if the shortlist is valued, and we recover the full fee only if a candidate is hired.
The result is a more procurement-friendly, board-friendly, and outcome-aligned structure for high-stakes executive hiring.
What Makes Proof-First Search Operationally Possible
The model works because we do not start from zero on Day 1. Continuous parallel market mapping gives us a live view of target markets, adjacent employers, talent density, and compensation reality before the brief arrives.
That preparation is what allows speed without sacrificing quality. The interview-fee model is not a pricing trick; it is the commercial expression of Proof-First Search and of a search infrastructure built before the mandate starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Review Whether Proof-First Search Fits Your Mandate
If you want retained-quality executive search without retained-level upfront commitment, Proof-First Search is the right commercial conversation to have first.