Recently, we asked Patti Dorsey, an Executive Search Partner on the Bolster team, to share how she thinks about search. Patti brings 20+ years of extensive experience in strategic talent acquisition and recruitment operations across multiple industries.
Bolster: Why is traditional search broken?
Patti: “Tradition” is rooted in the past. Times have changed, and so have clients’ needs—but traditional search hasn’t evolved along with them. I feel confident that Bolster’s approach to executive talent is the new, better way to meet those needs.
With traditional search, clients can expect to spend a boatload of money to hire a firm known for being “tapped into” a particular network or industry. Traditional firms then execute on their standard approach: calling on their “virtual rolodex” of recycled candidates, conducting a drawn-out interview process with a disparate feedback loop, and negotiating a compensation package (which usually benefits the firm itself). If all goes well, the search will conclude about 6-9 months after it begins.
Companies deserve better. Anyone who knows Bolster knows making the lives of founders and CEOs easier is at the heart of what we do.
We keep it simple with transparent pricing. I love that we truly partner with our clients throughout the entire search process. The partnership doesn’t stop upon hire, either. At the end of a full-time search, we stick with the client and the new executive for the first few months to ensure success. We also offer a full spectrum of solutions. I can’t tell you the number of conversations I’ve had with clients, especially startups and scale-ups, who discover that the solution they need isn’t always a full-time hire—sometimes it’s a fractional, interim, or project-based executive, or perhaps a mentor or coach for the incumbent leader—and we have the resources, technology, and expertise to help our clients navigate those decisions.
Q: How do you think about finding the perfect candidates for a position?
P: Finding the perfect candidate is a discovery process. It starts with understanding the problem the client is trying to solve. We begin each search with a deep-dive discussion with the client, where we gather as much information as we can about the company and the gap that they are trying to fill with their hire. It often helps to take a look at a few calibration candidate profiles or have conversations with other stakeholders to fully flesh out the needs of the role. We also work with an operator, a functional expert who has “been there, done that” and can help inform the search.
Q: Complete this sentence - “Reach out to me if…”
P: …you want to have a conversation about addressing gaps in your leadership team so you can take the company to the next level. We will figure out the solution together, and we’ll bring in the right people and leverage the right tools and resources to help inform the process. It costs nothing to have a conversation!
Bolster combines the power of experienced recruiters (like Patti) with our unique, AI-driven platform to surface the best candidates and deliver a superior executive search experience. We’d love to support your search—reach out to get started today.
