Ted Maguire has spent 12 years figuring out what actually works in executive search. His conclusion: map the market obsessively, challenge the client early, and stop trying to sell candidates.
In this episode of 10x Recruiting, Ted, Founder of Opal Partners and former executive recruiter at Uber and Khosla Ventures, breaks down the search process he uses to find and close the tiny number of people who can genuinely change a company.
You’ll learn:
- Why Ted maps up to 4,000 candidates and ranks every one from 1 to 4
- Why he deliberately starts with second-tier candidates before approaching the best
- How hard selling makes candidates less likely to tell you the truth
- Why honesty becomes a competitive advantage the more senior the search gets
The big idea: great executive recruiting isn’t about having the biggest network. It’s about doing enough work to know the market cold, then being direct enough to earn trust on both sides.
Key topics covered:
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01:09] Challenging clients like a consultant
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02:39] The best executive search process
[
04:48] Who is Vinod Khosla
[
06:24] Recruiting inside a venture firm
[
07:16] Handling intense personalities at Uber
[
08:44] Mapping thousands of candidates by rank
[
12:11] Going deep versus mercenary recruiting
[
15:28] Stated versus revealed preferences
[
17:13] Building trust without selling
[
21:41] Why honesty beats bullshit
[
22:51] Speaking truth without offending
[
24:36] Inside the firm's daily operations
[
28:30] Getting top executives on the phone
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30:41] When to introduce your best candidates
[
33:00] Being polarizing and stern with clients
To learn more about Metaview, the AI platform for 10x recruiting teams, head to
www.metaview.ai/10x