Why is Executive Search so Expensive?

Once upon a time, twenty years ago, in a backwards country called telephone-land, all your news came from a thing called a newspaper. And all your mail was delivered by the postal service. And the telephone (land line of course) was the fastest way to reach someone. Yes, twenty years ago, finding candidates and presenting job opportunities over the phone was a pretty expensive thing to do – so executive search services had to be expensive.

But now, if you live in a place I call “the world,” your news comes to you on your computer, most of your mail comes to you on … your computer (or your phone), and, if you still have a land line, your telephone calls disappear into a place called voicemail.

So if all the technology to find and reach candidates has changed, why is executive search still so expensive?

There are two big myths that have prevented executive search firms from using technology to lower the price of executive search. But you’ll have to read my guest post on Fistful of Talent to find out what they are.