An executive search consultant maps the market for a senior role, approaches people who are not looking, meets them, and narrows a longlist of 50 to 200 names to a shortlist of four to six. In 2026 most of the mapping and outreach drafting runs on AI tools, so the value you are buying is the consultant's judgement and network.
Executive search consultant vs recruiter
The difference is who they go after. A recruiter mostly works the people already looking: ad responses, a database, the candidates who called this week. An executive search consultant is paid to reach the people who are employed, performing and not reading job boards, which is why the work is usually retained rather than paid only on a placement. I covered the commercial side in what a head hunter does differently. This page is about the person.
When I go to market for a CFO role, I am not posting and waiting for applications. I am reaching into a network built on real relationships, close to 30,000 accounting and finance people across Australia.
What the job involves, week by week
A search has four parts: pin down the brief, map the market, approach and assess, then close. The map is wider than founders expect. Mine usually holds 50 to 200 people, filtered by location, skill set and industry, and I meet the strongest of them before anyone reaches you. You see a shortlist of four to six, plus the full longlist, so you can check my judgement rather than take it on trust.
Approach used to take most of the time. I run 80 to 90% of my outreach through an AI tool and then do the final touch ups myself, and the same goes for the first pass of market mapping. That frees the hours for the part that decides the hire: talking to people.
The other thing that changes the speed is priming the market before the first message goes out. I post about the business at the start of a search, and more than once a candidate has seen it and arrived already sold on the role before I made the call. That is why a brief to shortlist can take about five working days.
The full stage-by-stage process, with the timings to hold a consultant to, is in how a retained finance search runs.
Why the person matters more than the firm
Finance recruitment is nuanced and easy to get wrong. A consultant who places product or sales leaders most of the year will read a finance CV for the wrong things: the brand names, not whether this person has built a month-end close from nothing or sat across from investors in a raise. Most founders come from growth, sales, product or banking, so they do not have a finance network to check the consultant's read against.
The second test is who actually turns up. At a bigger firm the person who wins the brief is not always the person who runs it. Ask, and get the answer in writing. At Story it is one person from brief to offer, which is also why I do not plan to grow past three or four people.
The third is how candidates are treated, because they talk to each other and to your next hire. I use Recruiter Insider, an external feedback platform, on every search. My average candidate experience rating there is 97% and my client rating 92%. Ask any consultant you are weighing up for their equivalent number.
How to judge a consultant in one meeting
Skip the credentials deck. Ask them to describe the market for your role as it stands today: what the band is for your stage and city, roughly how many people could credibly do the job, and where the right person is sitting now.
Then ask what they would push back on in your brief. A consultant who agrees with everything is selling, not advising. The most common mistake I see is rushing for a fast start and hiring whoever is available, then running the search again six months later. A good consultant will slow you down at the start to stop that.
For the wider checklist of questions, fees and red flags, see how to choose a financial recruitment agency.
Where Story fits
I only run two kinds of search: the first finance hire, usually a head of finance or financial controller at seed or Series A, and the first CFO, usually from late Series A to Series C. Both are for venture-backed tech, fintech and deep tech businesses in Australia. If that is not your hire, a broader firm is the better call, and I am happy to say so. Our terms are published so you can compare them like for like.
| What to look for in any consultant's terms | Story Recruitment | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | A known cost, set against the package you agree with the hire. | 18% of total remuneration, including super. |
| When you pay | Payments track work delivered, not only the outcome. | A third at the start, a third at shortlist and interviews, a third about ten days after written acceptance. |
| If it does not work out | The risk of a failed hire does not sit only with you. | A free replacement search within the first six months. |
| Who runs it | One person from brief to offer. | Tom Hunter, personally, on every search. |
How I run CFO recruitment for Australian startups, from brief to signed contract.
Common questions
What does an executive search consultant do?
They define the role with you, map the market for it, approach people who are mostly not looking, meet and assess them, and manage the offer through to a signed contract. On a senior finance search the map usually runs to 50 to 200 names and the shortlist you see is four to six people the consultant has already met.
Is an executive search consultant the same as a recruiter?
Not quite. A recruiter mostly works candidates who are already looking, through ads and a database, and is usually paid only when a placement happens. An executive search consultant is retained to reach employed people who are not looking, which takes more time per search and is why the fee is staged rather than paid only on success.
How much does an executive search consultant cost in Australia?
Retained search fees in Australia are usually a percentage of the hire's first-year package. Story's fee is 18% of total remuneration including super, paid in thirds: at the start, at shortlist and interviews, and about ten days after written acceptance, with a free replacement search within the first six months.
Has AI changed what an executive search consultant does?
Yes, for the legwork. Market mapping, candidate scanning and first drafts of outreach now run largely on AI tools, and I run 80 to 90% of my outreach that way before finishing each message myself. What has not moved is the judgement: what the seat needs, which candidate fits, and getting both sides to a signed contract.
How do I choose an executive search consultant for a finance hire?
Pick the person, not the firm. Check they specialise in finance, confirm in writing that the person pitching will run the search, ask for their candidate and client feedback ratings, and ask them to describe the market for your role today, including the band and where the right person is now. A specialist can answer that on the spot.
These guides set out how we see it, drawn from the searches we run and the finance leaders we work with. They are general information about the market, not financial, accounting or legal advice, and they are no substitute for advice on your own circumstances.