Retained and contained search for executive assistants, chiefs of staff, and executive business partners. One advisor from brief to placement, and a shortlist built by hand — every candidate screened twice before you meet them.
Retained means part of the fee is paid upfront to initiate the search, and the search is exclusive. That exclusivity makes a proper market map, deep vetting, and a confidential or anonymous process possible — fewer candidates presented, at higher quality. Contained is a hybrid: a smaller deposit secures committed sourcing while you keep the flexibility to work with other firms. Contingent means no fee until a placement, non-exclusive and volume-driven; firms carry many roles at once to hedge, which favors speed of supply over fit. Tack works retained and contained.
Tack's current average time to close is six weeks. Location, seniority, and how quickly you schedule interviews account for most of the variance.
Every candidate is measured against a scorecard built for your role during intake, then clears a two-part screening with us before you see them. The person who screens is the person who took your brief and who will sit with you at offer — nothing is handed off, so nothing is lost in translation. You get a written point of view on each finalist, including where the fit is imperfect.
A weekly check-in with pipeline updates and honest market feedback. We also recalibrate continuously: after every interview, your feedback adjusts the profile, so the search sharpens as it runs rather than stalling and restarting. If the role as written will not attract the person you want, that is a week-one conversation.
Every placement begins with our onboarding guide for the first ninety days — a 30/60/90 plan, a structured expectations conversation, and a working cadence of weekly 1:1s and shorter syncs. We then check in with both sides at thirty, sixty, and ninety days, while adjustments are still cheap to make.
A short note is enough to start. We follow up to scope the search properly.
