One of my pet hates about looking for a new role is just how passive job hunting is. You literally have no control and are waiting for the right advert to appear or for that headhunter to mysteriously contact you.
Most director-level leaders wait for executive search firms to find them. That's backwards, and it's costing you better opportunities.
The best roles at director level and above rarely hit the open market. By the time a search firm calls you, they've already mapped the market, built a shortlist, and started conversations with their preferred candidates. You're either on that list or you're not.
The question isn't whether to engage with executive search firms. It's how to do it without looking desperate and when to start building those relationships before you need them.
Executive search firms work differently at the director level.
Recruitment agencies fill roles. Executive search firms fill senior positions through relationships and market mapping. The distinction matters because it changes how you should approach them.
At director level and above, search firms are paid retainers to find specific people for specific roles. They're not scanning CV databases. They're calling people they already know or people recommended by people they already know. If your name doesn't come up in those conversations, you don't exist.
This is why cold applications through a search firm's website rarely work. You're trying to enter through the wrong door. The firms that matter at this level have already identified who they want to speak to before they post anything publicly.
Build relationships before you need them.
The right time to start a relationship with an executive search firm is two years before you want to move. That sounds like career advice from a LinkedIn influencer, but the maths checks out.
Search consultants at director level and above typically work on 20 to 30 searches a year. They maintain relationships with perhaps 200 to 300 active candidates in their network. If you make contact only when you're actively looking, you're just another CV in their inbox. If you've been a useful contact for two years, you're someone they think of when the right role appears.
Being useful doesn't mean pestering them every quarter. It means responding when they reach out for market intelligence. Recommending strong candidates when you can't help directly. Staying visible without being needy. Taking a call even when you're not looking, because one day you will be.
The firms that matter for technology directors in the UK
Different search firms specialise in different levels and different sectors. For director-level technology roles in the UK, you want firms that understand both technology and your industry's specific context.
I am giving tech headhunters here, as these are the ones I am most familiar with, but my headhunter finder tool works across industries.
The big names like Russell Reynolds, Spencer Stuart, and Egon Zehnder handle C-suite and board-level searches. They're relevant if you're aiming for CTO or Group Technology Director roles at large corporates or PE-backed businesses.
For director and VP-level technology roles, firms such as Armstrong Craven, Robertson Bell, and Norman Broadbent are more active. They understand the UK technology market and have relationships with the companies that pay well and treat senior technology leaders properly.
Smaller boutique firms often have deeper sector expertise. If you're in fintech, healthtech, or climate tech, a specialist firm will have better relationships and better market knowledge than a generalist. Ask your peers which firms placed them. That's more useful than any published ranking.
What search consultants actually want from you
Search consultants are not gatekeepers trying to keep you out. They're trying to fill difficult roles with people who won't embarrass them. Your job is to make their job easier.
That means having a clear narrative about what you've done, what you're good at, and what you want next. Not a rambling 20-minute life story. A three-sentence version that makes sense and sounds true.
It also means being honest about salary expectations. If you're currently on £140k and want £200k, say so. If you'll only move for a CTO role, say that too. Search consultants can't help you if they don't know what you actually want. Vague answers waste everyone's time.
Keep your LinkedIn profile current. Not because search firms find everyone on LinkedIn, but because it's the first place they check when someone recommends you. If your profile says you're still at the company you left 18 months ago, you look sloppy.
When to push back and when to play along
Good search consultants will challenge you on whether a role is right for you. Average ones will try to shove you into anything close to your profile because they need to fill the shortlist.
If a search firm contacts you about a role that's clearly wrong, say so quickly and recommend someone else if you can. That's more valuable than a polite maybe. If they push back or try to talk you into it anyway, that tells you something about how they work.
The same applies to interview preparation. Good consultants will give you specific intelligence about the hiring manager, the business context, and what's really driving the search. Average ones will send you the job description and wish you luck. You can't control which you get, but you can decide whether to invest time in the process based on how they operate.
Making it work
Engaging with executive search firms at director level is less about tactics and more about being someone worth keeping in touch with. Do good work. Build a reputation. Stay visible to your peers. When search consultants map the market for a role you'd be good at, your name will come up.
The rest is just making sure they can find you when they need to and being clear about what you want when they do. If you're trying to understand how your current role stacks up against the market before those conversations start, the Salary Benchmark tool will give you a realistic baseline.
My headhunter tool is at: Headhunter Finder — Find the Top Executive Search Firms for Your Role — AuthBuild
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out which search firms cover my sector?
Look at where people in your target role and sector were placed from, and check search firm websites for stated sector specialisms. Boutique firms in your specific function usually beat generalists on both relationships and market knowledge.
Do I need to be actively job searching to start building these relationships?
No, and starting while employed is the whole point. The two-year timeline only works if you begin before you need it. Search consultants remember useful contacts, not people who only appear when they want something.
Is LinkedIn enough, or do I need offline relationships too?
Both matter, but they do different jobs. LinkedIn is where a search firm checks you're current once your name comes up. The offline relationship is what gets your name mentioned in the first place.
What's the single fastest thing I can do to become approachable?
Get your three-sentence narrative straight: what you've done, what you're good at, what you want next. Search consultants can't place you into a conversation you can't summarise for them.
This two-year relationship-building timeline exists because most director-level roles never reach a job board in the first place — see the Empty Door problem for why that market stays quiet.
