The Shortlist
You meet the finalists. We do the rest.
Full-cycle recruiting for small businesses. One flat fee per hire, a 60-day guarantee, and a shortlist of people actually worth your time.
Hiring is expensive when you get it wrong, and most owners do not have the time to get it right.
Agencies charge 20 percent of salary and send you a stack of resumes. Job boards send you everyone. We do the work in between, so the only people you talk to are the ones worth an offer.
We write the posting properly
A posting that attracts the right people instead of everyone. Clear on the job, the pay, and what a good fit looks like, in language candidates actually respond to.
We find people who are not applying
The best candidates are usually employed and not looking. We reach them directly, alongside job boards and referrals, so your shortlist is not limited to whoever happened to click.
We screen before you meet anyone
Phone screens, first-round interviews, and reference checks are done before a name reaches you. You get a straight read on each finalist, including the concerns.
How it works
Full cycle means we own the search from the first conversation to the first day. Most searches take two to four weeks.
Define the role
A 20-minute call. We pin down what the job actually requires, the pay that is realistic in your market, and what a great hire looks like for your business.
Source
Job boards, direct outreach, referrals, and people who are not actively looking. We cast wide so we can be picky.
Screen
Phone screens and first-round interviews. Reference checks on anyone who advances. Most candidates stop here.
Your shortlist
Two to four finalists with an honest summary of each. You interview only the people we would hire ourselves.
Offer and start
Help structuring the offer so it lands, then check-ins at 30 and 60 days to make sure the hire sticks.
Your time should go to running the business and interviewing finalists. Everything else in the hiring process is ours.
Who we work with
Owners and operators who need one good hire, or a whole team, and do not want to pay agency fees to get it.
Restaurants and hospitality
Retail
Trades and field service
Offices and professional services
Salons, clinics, and service businessesOpening a new location or staffing a startup from zero? That is a specialty. We have built teams from the ground up for businesses entering new markets, and volume pricing applies.
Pricing
Flat fee per hire, priced by the level of the role. Never a percentage of salary, never a retainer. Every number below is agreed in writing before the search starts.
Hourly and entry level
- Crew and line staff
- Drivers and warehouse
- Front desk and cashiers
- Entry-level office
Supervisors and admin
- Shift leads and supervisors
- Assistant managers
- Office and admin roles
- Bookkeeping and coordinators
Managers and skilled roles
- Store and general managers
- Skilled trades
- Sales and account managers
- Specialized office roles
Director and technical
- Director-level operations
- Hard-to-fill technical roles
- Multi-unit leadership
For high-salary roles, 12 to 15 percent of first-year base may apply instead. Agreed up front.
How payment works
- A $300 to $500 engagement fee at kickoff, credited in full against your placement fee.
- The balance is due when your new hire starts. Not before.
- Every placement carries a 60-day replacement guarantee at no charge.
Staffing a whole location
$600 per hire for five or more roles, or a flat $4,500 to staff a store or restaurant from the ground up.
Hiring help by the hour
$125 to $175 an hour for owners who want the process fixed, postings rewritten, or a second set of eyes in their interviews.
Pay by secure invoice for credit or debit card, ACH or wire on request, or PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or CashApp if you prefer.
Twenty-five years of hiring people, not just finding them.
The Shortlist is run by Brad, who spent more than 25 years leading multi-unit retail operations across multiple markets. That meant hiring, training, promoting, and replacing hundreds of people at every level, from hourly staff to store leadership to corporate roles, and living with the results.
He has also built teams from zero for companies entering new markets, so he knows what it takes to staff something that does not exist yet. That is the difference between a recruiter who has filled roles and one who has run the businesses those roles sit in.
Working with owners nationwide.
Brad Founder, The Shortlist
Tell us about the role.
The first conversation is free. Describe who you need and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, what it will cost, and how long it will take.