Executive Search TurkeyHeadhunting for roles that job ads do not reach.
We run direct search assignments in Turkey for management and specialist roles: market mapping, discreet approach, competency assessment and offer management. Most searches that reach headhunters Istanbul are for roles where the right person is already employed and not reading job ads. Success-based — the fee falls due when your candidate starts.
No upfront feeWritten report per candidate6-month replacement guarantee
When it applies
When a search makes sense — and when it does not
We do not think every vacancy needs an agency. If your own channels reach the right people, you can assess them properly and you can close the role on time, run it in-house. Three situations are different.
You are replacing someone who is still in the seat
A job ad tells your organisation, your competitors and the incumbent what you are doing. A discreet search does not. We control who learns what, where interviews happen and how references are taken.
The person you want is employed and content
They are not reading job boards. Their CV is three years old. Reaching them, holding their interest and getting them to seriously evaluate a move is a separate skill from screening applications.
You have exhausted your own channels
The ad ran, referrals were asked for, the old applications were re-read — and the role is still open while the team absorbs the work. At this point the cost of the vacancy has usually passed the cost of the search.
Scope
What is included
Market and competitor mapping
Which companies in Turkey build this profile, what they pay, and how mobile those people currently are.
Direct approach
Contact made by a consultant, professionally and confidentially — your name is disclosed only when the candidate is genuinely in play.
Written consultant report
For every shortlisted candidate. A CV is what the person wants to say about themselves; the report is what the consultant observed.
Assessment tools
Our assessment centre instruments are part of the assignment, not a separate invoice.
Reference checks
Taken from former employers and direct line managers, not from a list of friends.
Offer management
Counter-offer risk, notice period, start date and the gross/net conversation handled before they become a problem.
Choosing a firm
How to compare executive search firms in Turkey
Most headhunters in Turkey make the same promises: discretion, speed, the right candidate. Ask these five questions before you sign, and ask for the answers in writing.
Fee model
Retainer paid up front, or success-based? If the role is not filled, is anything refundable? Our answer: no upfront payment; one month's gross salary for white-collar roles, due when the candidate starts.
Where the shortlist comes from
How many shortlisted candidates were approached directly, and how many came from ads or a database? Ours come from a market map, named before the search starts.
Depth of assessment
Interviews only, or assessment tools and a written report per candidate? We provide a written consultant report on every shortlisted candidate.
References
From the candidate's own list, or from former line managers? Ours are taken from former managers and direct colleagues.
Guarantee
What happens if the hire leaves early, and is it in the contract? We give a replacement guarantee of up to six months, written into the agreement.
Method
Nine steps, every assignment
You see written output at steps five, six and eight — a consultant report per candidate, a comparison across the shortlist, and references taken from line managers rather than from a list of friends.
Requirement analysis
We take the brief, learn your culture, look at your competitors and turn the role into a list of measurable competencies.
Market mapping
We identify which sectors and companies develop the profile you need, and where those people sit today.
Candidate research
We study career paths in detail — tenure, scope, the good moves and the bad ones — before anyone is contacted.
First approach
We approach the candidate as a specific opportunity, answer their first questions and agree a time for a structured interview.
Competency interview
A structured interview against the competency list, followed by a written consultant report — what we saw, not what the CV claims.
Your interviews
We prepare a comparison report across the shortlist and, if you want it, sit in on your interviews.
Assessment
Tests and inventories relevant to the role, plus a case study written specifically for your company where the position warrants it.
Reference checks
References taken directly from former employers and the candidate's own line manager.
Offer management
We manage the offer stage, keep expectations realistic on both sides and prevent the late-stage collapse that most searches die of.
Commercial terms
How the fee works
We work on a success basis, and the amount is a fixed rule rather than a negotiated percentage: for white-collar roles it is one month of the candidate's gross salary, and for blue-collar roles one month of their net salary. There is no retainer, no file-opening charge and nothing billed for presenting candidates; the fee is earned when the candidate starts work. The payment terms and the replacement guarantee are agreed in writing before the search begins.
- One month's gross salary for white-collar roles, one month's net for blue-collar roles.
- No upfront payment and no fee if the role is not filled.
- Replacement guarantee of six months or more, with the covered leaving reasons written into the contract.
- Assessment tools included in the fee, not billed separately.
What a search costs is only half the question. The other half is what the vacancy costs while it stays open, and what an unsuccessful hire costs once severance and notice attach to it — both are set out in our guide to hiring in Turkey.
FAQ
Common questions
What are the best recruitment agencies in Turkey?
There is no ranking that transfers to your role, and the same goes for lists of the best headhunters in Turkey. The best executive search firm for you is the one that has reached your profile before and documents its work in writing. Ask how many similar searches they ran and how many closed, how the shortlist was sourced, whether every candidate comes with a written report, and whether the replacement guarantee is in the contract. We answer all four in writing in our proposal.
How much do executive search firms in Turkey charge?
The market uses two models. Retained search is paid in instalments regardless of outcome; success-based search is paid only when the candidate starts. We work success-based with a fixed rule: one month of the candidate's gross salary for white-collar roles and one month of net salary for blue-collar roles. There is no retainer and no file-opening fee.
How long does executive search in Turkey take?
Executive recruitment in Turkey follows a predictable rhythm. We normally present the first shortlist within about fourteen days of agreeing the brief. Interviews, assessment and references add three to five weeks, and the candidate's statutory notice period in Turkey is two to eight weeks depending on tenure. For a senior hire, two to three months from brief to first day is realistic.
Do you search outside Istanbul?
Yes. We are a headhunting agency, Istanbul-based with our office in Kadıköy, but we work as headhunters Turkey-wide and abroad: the search runs wherever the candidates are, in every city in Turkey and in other countries. We do not limit assignments by geography.
Can the search be kept confidential?
Yes. Your company name is not disclosed in the first approach; it is shared only when a candidate is seriously in play and has agreed to confidentiality. When replacing someone still in the seat, interviews can be held off-site and references taken without exposing either side.
Give us the role and we will map the market.
Where those people work today, what they realistically cost in net, gross and employer cost, and how long the search should take. Free, and with no obligation.