1.1

How it works

Send us a brief, and you’ll have a screened shortlist within 7 business days.

Here’s one search from start to finish, from the day your brief arrives to your new hire’s 90th day with you.

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Two professionals across a table in a bright high-rise room with venetian blinds and a city view.

1.2

The first 7 days

Here’s what happens between the day your brief arrives and the day your shortlist does.

  1. Day 0

    Your brief arrives

    One of us reads it the same business day. If anything’s unclear, like the seniority, the salary band or whether the role is on site, we’ll call and ask, and the 7 days start once you’ve answered.

    If your role is rare enough to need longer, we’ll tell you straight away and give you a date we can keep.

    A hiring team of three colleagues discussing a role brief together at a shared table, one typing on a laptop.
    Role briefExample
    Role
    QA Manager, sterile fill-finish
    Location
    New Jersey, on site
    How soon
    Within 8 weeks
    Must have
    FDA inspection experience

    Read the same day

  2. Days 1–6

    We go to the market ourselves

    We approach people directly, one at a time, and nothing goes out in bulk. If you’d like the search kept quiet, we won’t name your company until a candidate is serious and you’ve said we can.

    There’s nothing you need to do this week. If a question comes up about the role, we’ll call you.

    A woman in a white shirt reading her phone in a bright office.

  3. Days 1–6

    We talk to every person first

    Before anyone reaches your shortlist, we’ve talked with them ourselves about the submissions, audits and quality systems they’ve actually worked on, and checked their experience and qualifications against your brief.

    A recruiter in a grey blazer interviews a candidate across a table, holding a clipboard and pen.
    Screening callExample

    Candidate B · 40 minutes

    • Hosted two FDA inspections as QA lead
    • Runs deviations and CAPA day to day
    • Would move for the right team

  4. Day 7

    Your shortlist arrives

    It lands within 7 business days of your brief, with a note from us on every name. Everyone on it has said yes to being put forward for your role.

    A recruiter hands a hiring manager a candidate profile on a clipboard across the table.

These are business days, so weekends don’t count. A brief that’s complete on a Monday means a shortlist by the Wednesday of the following week.

1.3

Your shortlist

Every name on your shortlist comes with a note from us on why they fit.

  1. 01

    A note on every name

    We write two sentences on why each person fits your brief, so you know who you’d like to meet before you open a single CV.

  2. 02

    Only people we’ve spoken to

    Everyone on the list has talked with us about the work they’ve actually done, and has said yes to being put forward for your role.

  3. 03

    Short and honest

    If only two people are right for the role, you’ll get two. We’d rather hand you a short, honest list than a long, padded one.

Your shortlistExample

QA Manager, sterile fill-finish · sent on day 7

  • Candidate A

    12 years in sterile manufacturing. Led two FDA inspections.

    Spoke with usSaid yes to your role

  • Candidate B

    Runs CAPA for a 300-person site. Happy to relocate.

    Spoke with usSaid yes to your role

  • Candidate C

    Ready to step up from QA lead. Strong on data integrity.

    Spoke with usSaid yes to your role

1.4

After the shortlist

From day 7, you meet the people you like and decide who to hire.

  1. A candidate in a camel blazer at a job interview, sitting across the table from two interviewers in a bright office.

    01Interviews

    You run the interviews with the people you’d like to meet.

    [confirm: whether we arrange interview times and pass feedback between you and the candidates]

  2. Two colleagues talking over papers at a meeting table in a bright office.

    02The offer

    When you’ve found the right person, you make them your offer.

  3. A hiring manager and a new hire shake hands across the table, both smiling.

    03Start date

    Your new hire joins your company directly, and you onboard them the way you normally would.

Hired or not, everyone we spoke to about your role hears back from us.

1.5

The fee and the guarantee

You pay nothing until your new hire starts. If they leave within 90 days, we’ll find you someone new.

  1. From your brief

    $0

    There’s no retainer, and nothing to pay while we search or while you interview.

  2. Their start date

    Invoice

    The invoice comes once your new hire has started. It’s for the fee we agreed with you in writing before the search began.

  3. The next 90 days

    90 days

    If they leave in this window, we find you someone new for the same role, with no second fee.

How the fee works

We agree the fee with you in writing before we start. It depends on the role and the salary band, and it goes into your brief, so there’s no invoice you didn’t expect.

If nobody starts, you pay nothing at all.

If your new hire leaves within 90 days

  1. 1

    They resign, or you let them go for performance reasons, within 90 calendar days of their start date.

  2. 2

    You tell us, and we start the search again. [confirm: exactly how to trigger the replacement, and how soon after they leave]

  3. 3

    We find you someone new for the same role, with no second fee.

The guarantee covers the replacement search itself. Its conditions, such as notice being given and the role staying the same, are written into the agreement you sign before we start, so you’ll know them before anything goes wrong.

1.6

What we need from you

A good search starts with a clear brief. Here’s what we’ll ask you for.

In your brief

  • The role title, and the function it sits in
  • Where it’s based, or whether it’s remote
  • The seniority, and how soon you need someone
  • How many people you’re hiring
  • The salary band, if you can share it
  • Your must-haves, and anything about the team that shapes the shortlist

Before and during the search

  • A signed agreement, with the fee and the guarantee’s conditions in writing
  • A word if other agencies are working on the role, or if the search should stay confidential
  • A quick answer if we call with a question, since the 7 days start once your brief is complete
  • Time to meet the people you like from your shortlist
A woman reading a document by a tall window in a quiet office.
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You fill in the brief once, and we’ll confirm we’ve got it.

1.7

Questions

Questions you might still have, answered the way we would on a call.

What do you charge?

We agree the fee with you in writing before we start. It depends on the role and the salary band, and it goes into your brief, so there’s no invoice you didn’t expect. You pay nothing until your hire starts work, and nothing at all if nobody starts.

Do we have to work with you exclusively?

We agree the terms with you before we start, and whatever we agree goes into the brief. If you’re also using other agencies for the same role, just tell us at the start. It changes how the 7 days work in practice, and we’d rather talk about that up front than find out on day six.

Is 7 business days realistic for every role?

For most of the roles we fill, yes. For a genuinely rare profile, say a niche device specialism in one particular city, 7 days might bring you two people instead of five. We’ll tell you which of those you’re looking at on day zero. We’d rather hand you a short, honest list than a long, padded one.

Can you keep my search confidential?

Yes. If you’re replacing someone who’s still in the role, or you’d rather the market didn’t know you’re building a new team, we approach people without naming you. We only tell a candidate who you are once they’re serious and you’ve said we can.

Do you work outside pharma, or outside the US?

No. We work on pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device roles in the United States, and nothing else. Keeping our focus that narrow is what lets us make the promises on this page.

Can’t see your question? Ask us directly.

Get started

When you’re ready, send us the brief. One of us will read it the same business day.

Your shortlist follows within 7 business days, and you pay nothing until your new hire starts.

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