For many executive appointments, I think a credible, assessed shortlist should be achievable within four to six weeks.

That doesn't mean every executive search can be completed in six weeks from briefing to signed contract. Candidate notice periods, Board diaries and final-stage processes can add time.

But identifying the market, approaching it and getting to a strong shortlist shouldn't routinely take three months.

What happens in the first six weeks?

A proper search still needs structure.

The first stage is agreeing the brief and search strategy: what the client needs, where that talent is likely to sit and which adjacent markets are worth exploring.

Research then maps the market while approaches begin. Good search isn't purely sequential. You don't need to finish a beautiful longlist before speaking to anybody.

As conversations develop, the search strategy gets tested and adjusted. Candidates are assessed, remuneration and motivation are understood and the shortlist starts to form.

By the end of that period, the client should have a clear view of the market as well as the strongest candidates.

What slows a search down?

Sometimes the market genuinely is difficult.

The requirement may be extremely narrow. Geography may be restrictive. Remuneration may be below market. International searches create additional complexity. Confidentiality can limit how directly the opportunity is discussed.

More often, delay comes from the process around the search: changing specifications, slow feedback, interview diaries or a client repeatedly adding new criteria as candidates appear.

That's why defining the requirement properly at the beginning matters.

Speed shouldn't mean sending CVs quickly

There is a difference between pace and rushing.

I don't think a client benefits from receiving 15 loosely relevant profiles in week one. The point of search is to do the work before presentation: understand the person, test the experience, establish motivation and give the client a reasoned view.

Five properly assessed candidates are more useful than a fast pile of CVs.

Set an outcome, not just a process

At re:find we work to a six-week shortlist commitment because it creates accountability on both sides.

It forces us to research and engage the market at pace. It also gives the client a clear expectation about when it will be making decisions.

Executive search is important work. That doesn't mean it needs to be slow work.