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Most Searches Start With Discovery.

Ours Start With Execution.

While other firms are still mapping the market, we are already identifying and engaging the right candidates.

See How Your Search Would Be Structured

81% of placements came from direct sourcing

Only 6% came from inbound response channels

Median 3.7 days to the first qualified candidate selected for interview; 75% within 9 days

Median 4 interviewed candidates per hire

More than 93% placement-implied offer acceptance

38-day median time to fill; 75% within 71 days

Half of our recruiters have more than 20 years of experience

Historical performance across our Accounting & Finance searches. See our search methodology.

Most searches begin by mapping the market — identifying companies, building a candidate pool, and figuring out where the right talent sits.

Because we focus exclusively on accounting and finance within select markets, every search begins with relationships — not resumes. We already understand the terrain: compensation realities, leadership transitions, and the motivations that drive movement.

Median 3.7 days to the first qualified candidate selected for interview; 75% within 9 days.

81% of placements came from direct sourcing. Only 6% came from inbound response channels.

Starting with the right candidates changes the entire trajectory of the search. median 4 interviewed candidates per hire, meaning clients evaluate a small, highly targeted group rather than large applicant pools.

Because alignment is established early, outcomes at the offer stage are highly predictable. More than 93% placement-implied offer acceptance.

The result is not just speed, but consistency. 38-day median time to fill; 75% within 71 days.

See How Your Search Would Be Structured

Specialized Headhunting Works Better

See how our specialized approach compares to traditional recruiting methods for accounting and finance roles.

Specialized Headhunting

Our Advantage:

  • PES LogoMost internal teams rely on job ads and inbound applicants — we start by defining the ideal hire and pursuing them directly.
  • PES LogoWe've built a talent pipeline over decades, so your search begins with relationships already in place.
  • PES LogoOur headhunting methodology actively engages high-impact candidates your internal team will likely never see.
  • PES LogoWith the right tools and specialization, we don't wait for talent — we deliver it.

In-House Recruiting

Where In-House Recruiting has its place:

  • • High-volume or repeatable roles
  • • Companies with well-established employer brands
  • • Organizations prioritizing internal culture alignment

Limitations:

  • • Often limited to reactive recruiting (job ads + inbound applicants)
  • • Difficult to scale quickly when market shifts
  • • May lack tools, data, or reach to engage passive candidates
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Reactive vs. Specialized Headhunting

Two Different Approaches

Specialized Headhunting — The On-Target Approach

✓
  • PES Logo
    We start by defining what success looks like — cutting through the noise to clarify the mark before any outreach begins.
  • PES Logo
    Built for high-skill, high-impact, or hard-to-fill roles where being precise isn’t enough — it takes focus, discipline, and intent.
  • PES Logo
    Every search stays on target: guided by data, informed by market insight, and aligned with your long-term goals.

When On-Target Recruiting Delivers Results

✓
  • PES Logo
    Engages proven professionals who aren’t actively looking — but perfectly align once identified.
  • PES Logo
    Combines data, discernment, and dialogue to connect with leaders who elevate performance.
  • PES Logo
    Transforms deliberate focus into lasting competitive advantage.

Reactive Recruiting — The Standard Route

  • Relies on job postings and inbound applicants — waiting to see who appears instead of defining what’s needed.
  • Best suited for recurring or lower-complexity roles where speed matters more than precision.
  • Common among internal recruiting teams or staffing firms focused on throughput, not alignment.

Reactive Recruiting Misses the Mark

  • Draws urgency-driven applicants motivated by availability, not fit.
  • Prioritizes convenience and speed over long-term impact.
  • Leads to misalignment, turnover, and repeated searches.
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Process & coordination questions

  • Why not advertise the position for 30 to 45 days before engaging a search firm?
    Because it is a weak test, and it is not free.

    If advertising does not surface the right person for a specialized role, what you have learned is that the right person was not in your applicant pool — which was the likely outcome at the start. Meanwhile the role stayed open.

    The two approaches were never mutually exclusive. Advertising, referrals, internal sourcing, and a specialized search reach different populations and can run at the same time. The only real friction is candidate ownership and communication, and that is a conversation at kickoff.
  • Will an outside firm duplicate what our internal team is already doing?
    Some overlap is possible when both teams source directly, and it is straightforward to manage.

    Candidate ownership, communication protocols, and sourcing responsibilities are agreed at kickoff. In practice the overlap is small, because the two efforts reach different populations: your team works its applicant flow, referral network, and employer brand, while a specialized firm approaches professionals who were not going to apply anywhere.
  • Can our internal team keep control of the hiring process?
    Yes. Internal talent acquisition typically retains process management, stakeholder communication, interview coordination, and hiring approvals.

    A specialized firm contributes candidate identification, direct outreach, assessment against the agreed criteria, and market feedback from candidate conversations. The specific division of responsibilities is agreed at the start of the engagement.
  • What should we ask a search firm before signing?
    Four questions, worth asking of any firm including this one.

    Where do your placements come from? What share arrived by application versus by direct approach. This sorts the models faster than any category label: if most placements come from people who applied, that is a staffing model whatever the firm calls itself.

    Who runs this search day to day, and are their names in the agreement? Firms separate business development from delivery as they scale. That is a normal structure, but you should know which people you are getting.

    What percentage of our target list is off-limits because of your existing client relationships? Every client a firm serves removes companies from your addressable market. Ask for the number.

    What prior relationship do you have with the candidates you will present? A firm meeting candidates for the first time compensates with references and interview rounds. That is a legitimate method, and a different one from having known someone for years.
  • What is the difference between retained, exclusive, and contingent?
    Those describe how a firm is committed and paid. They do not describe how a firm finds candidates, and the two get conflated often enough to be worth separating.

    Provider model is who you engage and which population they reach. Engagement structure is the commercial arrangement. A retained firm can headhunt; a specialist can work on retainer; an internal team can map a market and approach people directly.

    Decide both deliberately rather than accepting them as a package.

Ready to See the Difference

Start a Search Strategy Discussion

Partner with specialized headhunters who combine market intelligence, discipline focus, and proprietary technology to deliver results — proven at every stage.

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We connect exceptional talent with the companies that value them most.

Specialized Accounting & Finance Headhunters

Contact Info

Email

info@pacificexecutives.com

Phone

(310) 878-3272

Office

HQ: Los Angeles, CA
Searches in Los Angeles, Orange County, Santa Barbara, San Diego,
Denver, Austin, Portland, and Las Vegas

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