See the talent market before you hire.
Hive maps the market for your Senior through Director hires, identifies the people worth a conversation, and writes the reasoning for each name. Your team keeps outreach, evaluation, and the hire.
- Design
- Product
- Marketing
- Brand
- Creative
30-minute scoping call, for companies with a leadership hire on the table
A Strong Recruiting Team. A Market You Can't See.
- You have a recruiting team
Your team can run the process. It can't see the specialized talent market.
Hive supplies the map and the reasoning. Your team does the outreach.
- You are entering new ground
A new function, a new market, or a new leadership layer.
Hive shows who exists, where they sit, and what their experience means for the role.
- The role is niche
Senior and specialist roles where titles don't match the work.
Hive looks beyond titles, familiar companies, and traditional career paths.
Market Intelligence Your Team Can Act On.
- 01 · Market map
Who exists, where they sit, and how their experience relates to the role.
A view of the specialized talent market for this hire.
- 02 · Candidate intelligence
The people worth a conversation, with written reasoning for each name.
Why each person's experience is relevant, not just that they exist.
- 03 · Role calibration
What is realistic, what is rare, and where the strongest fit may sit.
The best match is often outside the most obvious résumé.
- 04 · Approach strategy
How your team should approach the people on the list.
So your outreach starts with context, not a cold guess.
What your team receives: a role brief, market signals, and anonymized candidate prospects, written for your search.
Illustrative examples with fictionalized content. Candidate details are anonymized and do not describe real individuals.
Three Steps. Your Team Owns the Hire.
Scope
A free 30-minute call confirms there is a real hiring need and that this is the right fit.
Build
The fixed-fee engagement begins at signature. Hive maps the market and builds the candidate intelligence.
Hand off
Your team receives the work and runs outreach, evaluation, and the hire.
$20,000 Fixed Fee. 8% Success Fee.
One fixed fee for the intelligence, and a success fee only if you hire someone Hive identified.
- $20,000Fixed fee, due at the start of the engagement.
- 8%Of the hired candidate's first-year base salary, only if a candidate Hive identified is hired.
- 12 monthsThe window in which a hire counts toward the success fee.
- Senior to DirectorSearches above Director are scoped separately.
Example. If a candidate Hive identified is hired at a $200,000 base salary, the success fee is $16,000 (8%), for a total of $36,000 including the $20,000 fixed fee. If no Hive-identified candidate is hired, the total is $20,000.
Outreach, interviewing, reference checks, and offer management stay with your team. When you want Hive to own those steps, Retained Executive Search covers them.
| Talent Intelligence + Targeted Search | Retained Executive Search | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Companies that want to own recruiting and need market visibility | Business-critical leadership hires that need a search partner |
| Levels | Senior through Director | VP and above |
| Who runs outreach and the hire | Your team | Hive, end to end |
| Fee | $20,000 fixed + 8% success fee | Scoped on the call |
One Talent Pool. One Critical Leadership Hire.
A global enterprise was building Experience Design leadership in India to support regional growth, and hired its leader from the first talent pool Hive delivered.
The need
The company had an internal recruiting team. What it lacked was visibility into a specialized talent market.
Within two weeks
Hive delivered an extensive initial talent pool, with written reasoning on why each candidate's experience was relevant.
The hire
The client's team handled outreach, evaluation, and hiring, and needed no additional talent mapping.
This example reflects one engagement and does not guarantee equivalent timelines or hiring outcomes.
"We needed to fill a global design leadership role fast. Hive delivered. Within two weeks, we had a shortlist, hired our ideal Experience Design Lead, and built a pipeline that will fuel our next phase of growth."
SVP Experience DesignQuestions.
Who is Talent Intelligence + Targeted Search for?
Companies in growth, transition, or transformation that are hiring Design, Product, Marketing, Brand, or Creative leaders, from Senior through Director level, and want to own the recruiting process themselves.
Does Hive contact the candidates?
No. Hive identifies the candidates and writes the reasoning for each, and your team keeps outreach, evaluation, and the hire.
What if we want Hive to run the whole search?
That is Retained Executive Search, usually for VP and above. Hive manages the search end to end, with a weekly written update and a 90-day placement guarantee.
How does the success fee work?
The $20,000 fixed fee is due at the start of the engagement. The 8% fee, based on the hired candidate's first-year base salary, applies only if a candidate Hive identified is hired within 12 months. For example, a hire at a $200,000 base salary adds $16,000 to the $20,000 fixed fee, for $36,000 in total.
Are reference checks included?
No. Reference checks happen at the reference stage of a full Retained Executive Search.
Start with a conversation.
For companies with a real hiring need.