Hiring global talent can cut your cost 60 to 80% versus a US hire. But the firm you pick matters more than the savings. Here are 10 questions that will help you determine if they are the right partner. Tick the box each time the firm meets the standard, and your score tells you what you're dealing with.
The short version
A real search partner headhunts for your specific role, runs a structured intake, interviews and vets every candidate against your requirements, sources globally, knows how the US market sells, treats candidates like people, shares the data, prices transparently, and stays involved after the hire. A middleman skips all of that and forwards you resumes. The 10 questions below tell them apart.
1
Do you headhunt for my specific role, or send me from an existing pool?
A pool is just whoever already signed up. Headhunting means going out to find the right person for your role, including people who aren't actively looking.
“We build a search around your role.”
“We have candidates ready to send today.”
2
What does your intake process look like?
If a firm doesn't understand the role and your business deeply, it can't fill it well. Skipping intake means they are guessing.
A structured conversation about the role, team, goals, and what success looks like.
“Just send us the job description.”
3
How do you vet candidates?
“We screened them” can mean almost anything. Ask what the actual standard is, and whether they video interview and screen each candidate specifically for your role.
A defined framework applied to every candidate, with data collected against your requirements, plus a video interview and screening for your specific role.
A vague “we have a great process” with no detail behind it.
4
Do you actually interview candidates, or just forward resumes and video clips?
A resume tells you what someone claims. A real interview tells you who they are and whether they can do the work.
Every candidate is interviewed before you ever see them.
You get a stack of clips and resumes, and do the screening yourself.
5
Where does your talent come from?
Some firms only source from one country, and only from active job seekers on one job board. The best candidate is often somewhere else entirely, and not even looking.
Headhunting across multiple countries and tools, not just whoever is actively applying, so you reach people with direct experience at your competitors.
“We only place candidates from one region,” or sourcing limited to a single job board.
6
How much experience does your team have selling into the US market?
A great salesperson who doesn't get how US buyers think will struggle, no matter how skilled. The team finding your people should know that market firsthand.
A team with real experience selling into the US, with people who have worked in that market, not just read about it.
No real US selling experience behind people being placed into US-facing roles.
7
How do you treat the candidates themselves?
How a firm treats candidates tells you how seriously it takes the match. People hired through a transactional process tend to leave through one too.
Candidates treated as people with skills, families, and a career, not line items.
A volume operation moving bodies as fast as possible.
8
What data do you collect, and will you share it?
A real partner can show you why a candidate fits, not just tell you to trust them. Watch for firms that lean on a replacement guarantee instead of proving the match, swapping people in and out is a sign they treat the hire as disposable.
Structured data on each candidate, mapped against your specific requirements.
“Trust us, they're great,” or a replacement guarantee offered in place of a real fit.
9
How is your pricing structured?
Remember, you get what you pay for. Some firms charge 15 to 20% for what amounts to forwarding resumes. Know exactly what you're paying for.
Clear pricing tied to a real search and vetting process.
A standard percentage with no clarity on the work behind it.
10
What happens after the hire?
The first 90 days decide whether a hire sticks. A partner who disappears once the offer is accepted isn't a partner.
They stay involved well past the placement, because they want the role filled right the first time.
Once you sign, you're on your own.
The bottom line
A search partner does the hard part. A middleman just forwards it to you.
If a firm sends you a pool, skips the intake, and forwards clips instead of interviewing, you're not getting a search partner. The right partner finds the person, vets them properly, and treats everyone in the process like a human being. That's the standard we built Sellers Hub around.
See what a real search looks like. Walk through your role with us and we will show you the process, not just a pile of resumes. Global talent for B2B go-to-market teams, from a firm that knows how the US market sells and hires for it.