The Executive Search Playbook
At VP level and above, hiring runs through retained search firms and relationships more than open applications, and the mechanics are different enough to be worth their own course. This covers how retained search actually works, what goes into the report you never see, the decisions that carry the most weight, and the final round. It is meant to run alongside the other courses rather than replace them.
- Lessons
- 10
- Reading time
- 29 min
- Downloads
- 1
- Cost
- Free
About 30 minutes to read end to end, and the work is yours to pace. The last section is a sprint guide that lays it out day by day if you want a schedule.
What you walk away able to do
- Classify which hiring channel governs your target role
- Write for the search consultant's report you never see
- Verify what you are told before you decide
- Plan a first 90 days deliberately rather than reactively
- Handle the final round and the close
What is inside
6 sections, 10 lessons. Lessons that have a worksheet or checklist say so.
-
00
Decision Making
Verifying before you decide, and spending the first 90 days on purpose rather than on whatever arrives.
2 lessons
-
01
Avoiding Self-Sabotage
Expecting the hard stretch before it arrives, and checking your beliefs against the full record.
2 lessons
-
02
How Retained Search Works
Classifying the channel that governs your target role, and writing for the report a search consultant files about you.
2 lessons
-
03
Executive Candidacy System
Being specific enough to be remembered first, and handling the final round and the close.
2 lessons
-
04
AI Coach
An executive search coaching prompt for the AI assistant you already use.
1 lesson
-
05
Your Sprint
A dated, day by day plan for an executive-level search.
1 lesson
What you download
Yours to keep, and usable outside the course.
- Executive Search Sprint Guide (PDF and Markdown)
Questions about this course
Alongside them. It covers what is different about executive search, not the fundamentals the other courses cover.
Candidates targeting VP-level roles and above, where retained search firms and relationships carry more of the process than open applications do.
The channel classification lesson is a good place to start. It helps you work out whether the roles you are targeting are actually filled through retained search or not.
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This course is inside the community.
Membership is free, and every course comes with it.
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