What does it take to escape the race-to-the-bottom world of contingency recruiting and build a high-impact retained search firm?

In this episode, the wise and deeply experienced Clark Waterfall shares the lessons he's learned over decades in search, from placing hourly workers in the printing industry to founding Boston Search Group (BSG), a retained executive search firm serving private equity-backed businesses.

Clark shares about the moment he realized contingency recruitment had become commoditized, treating hiring like buying eggs: transactional, negotiable, and undervalued. Retained search, on the other hand, offered a way to become a true strategic partner in talent acquisition.

Drawing on the research of Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, Clark explains why traditional interviews often fail and how structured assessments and extended candidate exposure can lead to far better hiring decisions.

In this conversation, we cover:

• The Talent Growth & Optimization Cycle
• How to mitigate “blink” judgments with deeper assessments
• What drives lasting client partnerships
• Why fewer clients and deeper relationships yield better outcomes
• The power of challenging clients (even when it’s uncomfortable)

If you’re serious about elevating your recruitment model and becoming a true talent advisor, this episode is unmissable.

___

Want to know more about our retained search training? Talk to us: https://retrainedsearch.com/book-a-demo/

Check out our reviews: https://retrainedsearch.com/reviews/

Join our upcoming masterclasses: https://retrainedsearch.com/webinars/

___

LinkedIn

Connect with Louise: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-archer-48612844/

Connect with Jordan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/retainedsearchcoach/

Follow Retrained Search: https://www.linkedin.com/company/retrained-search/