If You're Hiring | Merit Recruitment Studios

For employers, you are hiring

You asked for help hiring, and got forty resumes.

Somebody sent them within a day, none of them had been spoken to, and working out which two were worth a call became your job. Looking for a role instead? That side of Merit has its own page.

Tell us about the role I would rather talk first I am a candidate, take me there

From William

I have hired people. I have managed people. I have sat on the other side of the recruiter relationship and had forty resumes dropped on me and been told that was a search.
That is not what Merit is here to do. If I send you three people, it is because I have spoken to them, phoned two of their former managers, and I would be comfortable if you hired any of them. And if I do not think we can find the person you need, I will tell you that instead of billing you to find out.

William Toussaint, founder

What we believe

Sometimes we say no to the search.

If we would not recommend the workplace to someone we know, we do not take the mandate. We look at whether people stay, whether the leadership has been steady, and whether the pay is honest next to the people already doing the job. We will not charge more to take work we do not believe in, and we will tell you plainly what we found.

So here is what happens instead

Four steps, no surprises.

We ask you the hard questions

Do people stay. Is the leadership steady. Is the pay honest next to the people already doing the job. If a workplace does not hold up, we say no.

We go and find the person

We phone two former managers ourselves, check what the job actually pays, and ask why they want this move. Then we write down what we learned.

Three or four people, not forty

A short list we can defend, with our notes on each of them. We handle the scheduling and the debriefs so you can just meet people.

We stand behind it for six months

We help you land the offer, and if it does not work out within six months, we do the search again.

Both sides, not just one

We ask both sides the hard questions.

We ask whether the person is right for you, and we ask whether the job is right for them. If either answer is no, we say so.

What we ask every person we send you

What you have actually done, in your words, not just what the resume claims
Two former managers, on the phone, in a real conversation
How you like to work, and the kind of place that brings out your best
Why you are leaving, and where you want this to lead

What we will ask you

Do people stay, and when they leave, why
Is the leadership team stable, or has it turned over three times in two years
What current and former employees say about working there
Is the business steady, growing, or quietly in trouble
Is the pay honest, and is it fair next to the people already doing the job

Have a look

What we want to know about a workplace

Four things we look at before we agree to run a search. Pick one to see what we ask.

What former employees say, and whether that has been getting better or worse

How long managers actually last in the job

Whether people get promoted from inside, or only hired over

Why Merit

Built Different by Design.

Ten searches, maximum

We only take on ten at a time, so every one of them gets real attention instead of a queue position.

People we already know

We have already spoken to the people we put forward, and phoned their references, so this takes days rather than months.

We check both sides

We look at the workplace as carefully as we look at the person, because both of them have to live with the outcome.

Six months, standing behind it

If it does not work out within six months of the start date, we run the search again.

Engagement Model

Transparent fees, published openly

Merit works on three core models, Premium Retained, Founding Client Rate, and Selective Contingency, plus stage-based pricing for startups from pre-seed to pre-IPO. Every structure is published in full on the pricing page.

Stage-based pricing for startups, pre-seed to pre-IPO.

See all fees and terms

Technology & startups

We do a lot of work with tech companies and startups.

I have hired inside a fast growing company, so I know what an early hire costs you when it goes wrong. Founding hires through to the leadership team, checked the same way, priced around where you are rather than a fixed percentage.

First engineer to first VP

Entry level engineers, your first sales hire, senior ICs, directors, VPs, the executive team. Same standard at every level.

We hire for the stage you are at

Pre-seed hiring is nothing like Series C hiring. We scope the role, the pay and the pace around the round you just closed and the runway it bought you.

Several roles at once

If you are building out a whole team, platform, sales or ops, we run those roles together, off one brief, with me accountable for all of them.

Fees that suit an early company

Flat fee or paid in stages if a percentage does not work at your size. Quoted when you ask, confirmed in writing.

See startup pricing

Executive Bad-Hire Risk

The true cost of a failed executive hire is rarely the fee.

200%+

Cost of a C-Suite failure

Relative to annual compensation (SHRM data).

46%

External executive hire failure rate

Within 18 months, the industry standard outcome.

Compromise on culture quality

Mandates that fail employer vetting are declined.

“A 30% retained fee is a bounded investment against an unbounded risk. We eliminate the risk before it happens.”

The paperwork

Hiring across Canada and the US

Contracting that works on both sides of the border

W-8BEN-E and W-9 documentation prepared and on file before kickoff
Dual CAD / USD invoicing with jurisdiction-appropriate tax treatment
Engagement letters aligned to the client's entity of record
Candidate mobility, work authorization, and relocation reviewed pre-shortlist

For employers, FAQ

Questions hiring teams ask first.

For employers, you are hiring

Start a search.

Complete the full mandate brief below. The studio replies with scope, fee basis and timeline in writing before any work begins.

Fees: submitting costs nothing and creates no obligation. If your search is accepted, you receive a written agreement stating the exact fee, the model, contingency (no hire, no fee) or retained (agreed stages), and the payment schedule. Work starts only once you sign, and every placement carries a six-month replacement guarantee. See engagements & fees.

This is the complete intake, it takes a few minutes and gives the studio everything it needs to review you properly the first time. The stepper below shows how far you are from submitting, and each field has a short note explaining what we need.

Employer intake, hiring company

Checked both ways

You are submitting a search request for review. The founding principal assesses every mandate against current studio capacity and our employer retention standards. If your search is accepted, the studio will contact you directly to begin the intake process and issue a Master Agreement. Submitting does not create an engagement.

Your progress

0% complete · 12 fields to go

1Company0/3
2The search0/5
3Contact0/2
4Fees & consent0/2

Your answers save automatically on this device, so you can leave and finish later. Files must be re-attached.

Company name

Legal or operating name of the hiring entity. e.g. Northbridge Energy Corp.

Target role level

Seniority of the role you need filled. Choose the closest match.

Primary sector

The industry the hire will work in, not your recruiting category.

Company stage / size

Headcount ranges are a guide, pick the band closest to today.

Est. hiring timeline

When you need the person started, not when you want a shortlist.

Hiring location (province / territory)

Where the role is based. Choose “Remote across Canada” if there is no fixed office.

Will you source candidates outside your province?

This sets how wide the studio may search. Pick “Undecided” and we will advise.

Will you support relocation and associated costs?

Relocation and immigration support materially widens the candidate pool.

Contact name

The person who can approve the search and sign the agreement. e.g. Jane Whitmore

Contact email

Use your work email, it speeds up verification of the hiring entity. e.g. jane@company.com

Preferred fee modeloptional

Indicative only, the final model is agreed in writing before any work begins.

Fees & agreement, please read

Nothing is owed today. Submitting this form costs nothing and does not create an engagement or any payment obligation.
Fees are agreed in writing first. If your search is accepted, the studio sends you a written Master Agreement setting out the exact fee, the fee model (contingency or retained), the payment schedule and the invoicing terms. Work begins only after you sign it.
Contingency means no hire, no fee. On a contingency search you pay only if you hire a candidate the studio introduced. Retained searches are billed in agreed stages, disclosed up front.
Six-month replacement guarantee. If a placed hire leaves or is terminated for cause within six months of their start date, the studio runs a replacement search at no additional professional fee, on the terms set out in the agreement.
No candidate ever pays. Candidates are never charged, at any level. See engagements & fees.

I understand the fee terms above. I accept that no fee is payable unless we sign a written agreement, and that the specific fee amount and model will be set out in that agreement before any work starts.I'm authorised to submit this search, and agree to employer vetting. I confirm I am authorised to submit this search, and that our leadership approval, tenure and compensation data may be independently verified, and my details used to respond to this request as described in the Privacy Policy.

Reviewed by William. Accepted mandates are contacted directly by the studio to begin intake, typically within one business day.

We'll only use your details to respond to your enquiry, see our Privacy Policy.