Headhunting
and Executive Search
Headhunting and executive search used to be an expensive and often long drawn-out process that wasted a lot of organisational and HR resources.
There’s the traditional search firm approach; pay high fees and experience long delays while recruiters play cat and mouse with potential candidates, with limited or no visibility as to their process. A thorough approach that usually gets a good result but at a high price. Eventually.
And then there’s the scattergun approach; farm the task out to a pool of general recruitment firms on a contingency basis and cross your fingers in the hope that one of them reels in the perfect candidate. A compromise approach. You pay lower fees but rarely get the best result as there is no real ‘hunt’ in this method.
Headhunted Shortlists

We’ve changed all that and are proud to offer Headhunting Shortlists, a scaled offering that puts you back in control of the recruitment process. Without compromise. Without delay. Without high fees.
You’re no longer at the mercy of expensive executive search firms loaded with acronyms and heavy overheads. Nor do you have to take a gamble on the lottery while multiple general recruitment agencies do a cursory search of the job market.
Our promise is simple, we help you make the most of your existing HR and recruitment resources but back you up with just the right level of support to get the job done. At low cost.
And swiftly we might add...
Arete Executive is the first and only executive headhunting agency to offer a 20 working day guaranteed shortlist of candidates*
The first. The only. No other agency has the confidence or the courage to match this offer. What’s more, you choose the level of engagement based on the existing skill set and resources you have within the organisation. It’s no longer an all or nothing deal.
Choose between our exclusive guaranteed HEADHUNTED SHORTLIST (we do the hard part and your team does the rest), or our boutique FULL ENGAGEMENT offerings (we’re with you all the way).
Simple but effective. But don’t take our word for it...


Headhunted ShortlistRECOMMENDED | Full Engagement |
---|---|
Benefits | Benefits |
Ideal for organisations | Ideal for organisations |
Features | Features Same as HEADHUNTED SHORTLIST plus |
ONLY7.5%of anticipated base salary package or minimum fee of $15,000 plus GST | ONLY15%of anticipated base salary package |
Headhunted Shortlists
Here’s what makes our Headhunted Shortlist the executive search option that ticks all the boxes.
Method | Cost | Search Quality | Speed | Best Use | Allow Multiple Placements? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ARETE EXECUTIVE HEADHUNTED | LOW. FIXED AT 7.5% OF EXPECTED PACKAGE | High. Passive market ‘hunted’. | Swift. 20 DAYS GUARANTEED | YES. INTERNAL TEAM TALENTS UTILISED | YES |
Contingency Recruiter | Moderate (Typically 15 plus% of final package) | Moderate. Covers ‘active’ market only. Limited Replacement guarantee | Open ended | No | No |
Traditional Executive Search Firms | High (often 25% plus of final package) | High. Passive market ‘hunted’. Replacement guarantee | Typically 8 to 12 weeks to get shortlist | No | No |
Recruit Internally | Low to moderate (time wasted on fruitless searches) | Moderate. Covers ‘active’ market only. No headhunting and no replacement guarantee | Open ended | Team skills are stretched | Yes |
For further information contact Richard Triggs
*(20 day guarantee available on our Headhunted Shortlist and 25 days on the Full Engagement options)
# Client owns the Market Map & Short List of candidates, and no further fee is payable to Arete Executive should multiple placements be made by the client either at the time or in the future.
Prior to commencement of the project Arete Executive will commit to an agreed time frame for delivery and anticipated minimum number of candidates for the role.
The project fee for Headhunted Shortlist is 7.5% of the agreed annual salary package or a minimum of $15,000 plus GST (whichever is the higher amount) for searches at a national / local level within Australia . For international candidate sourcing the fee % is to be negotiated.