For senior finance and C-suite appointments, a thorough hiring process is essential. These are high-impact decisions that require careful assessment, stakeholder input and appropriate due diligence. But thorough does not have to mean slow. When a hiring process stretches over weeks or months, strong candidates may withdraw, accept another offer or lose confidence in the organization. For senior candidates, who are often employed and not actively searching, delays can be even

Being approached by a recruiter can be an encouraging sign, particularly when the role appears aligned with your experience. But not every recruiter represents a genuine opportunity. Fake recruiters may impersonate established firms, copy real job postings or create convincing LinkedIn profiles. Their goals can include collecting personal information, obtaining money or gaining access to financial accounts. AI has also made it easier to produce realistic emails, websites and

Receiving a counteroffer can be flattering. Your employer may suddenly offer you a raise, promotion, flexible work arrangement or expanded responsibilities, often after you have already decided to leave. It is natural to feel uncertain. A counteroffer suggests your organization values you, but it may also create pressure to abandon a carefully considered career move. For senior professionals, the decision deserves a structured assessment. Compensation is only one part of the

For a senior executive appointment, the cost of a poor decision is high. The wrong hire can disrupt strategy, weaken stakeholder confidence and unsettle the leadership team. Yet many organizations still rely mainly on interviews, references and personal chemistry. Psychometric assessments can add useful evidence, but only when used as part of a broader, disciplined selection process. What psychometric assessments measure Assessments typically examine three areas: Cognitive ab

Hiring a chief financial officer is not simply a matter of finding the strongest finance executive available. The right CFO depends on the company’s ownership structure, growth stage, operating model and strategic priorities. A venture-backed technology company may need a capital-raising partner and disciplined operator. A family-owned manufacturer may place greater value on succession planning, tax strategy and long-term stewardship. A public company, meanwhile, requires a l

Hiring a senior finance or C-suite leader is rarely a choice between technical competence and personal compatibility. The strongest candidates need both. The challenge is especially pronounced in Canada’s competitive executive market, where organizations must assess leadership capability, cultural alignment, stakeholder expectations and regional considerations at the same time. Here are five practical ways to balance culture fit with skills when hiring senior leaders. 1. Defi

The phone rings. It's a former CFO or GM who left your company three years ago. They've had time at another organization, gained new skills, and are now interested in coming back. Before you dismiss the idea or fast-track them to an offer, it's worth considering whether a boomerang hire makes strategic sense. The Case for Rehiring Reduced onboarding risk. A returning executive already understands your business, culture, and stakeholders. They don't need months to grasp your c

As an executive candidate interviewing for a leadership role, the questions you ask should demonstrate strategic thinking, operational awareness, and genuine interest in the business. They will reveal how prepared you are to lead and signal your understanding of what drives success in that environment. Show you've done your homework and are ready to make an immediate impact: 1. How do you define the company's long-term vision, and what role would this position play in achievi

Congrats! You’ve been offered a great-seeming role at a mid-sized, growing company! How do you evaluate the offer? (Hint: start before you get the offer!) Mid-sized organizations offer agility and influence, yet they often lack the rigid structures and transparent disclosures of large public companies: financial transparency is limited, leadership structures are flatter, growth can be exhilarating or chaotic depending on execution. Executives transitioning to this environment

Employee turnover carries a price tag that executive teams rarely see in full. The visible expenses, like recruiting fees, onboarding, and training are clear. But not so obvious costs can be far more consequential: eroded team productivity, damaged client relationships, and the cascading effect of institutional knowledge walking out the door. Smart hiring starts with retention strategy. Consider engaging an executive search firm to help diagnose why vacancies are occurring.

For Senior Finance roles, quality of hire means something different than it does for mid-level positions. It's about strategic contribution and stakeholder confidence. There's no single KPI that definitively marks a senior finance executive as exceptional, but the right combination of data points reveals clear patterns. Here are seven metrics that effectively measure hiring success for senior finance and executive roles. 1. Executive Onboarding Quality and Cultural Integratio

Canadian companies are still trying to balance talent scarcity with candidate volume: there are candidates, but the right match is harder to find. In the past few months, the pace has quickened, hiring has become more operationally complex, and employer mistakes are more likely to be noticed. Today’s hiring managers must meet higher candidate expectations around flexibility and values alignment, while also filling senior and executive roles with both speed and accuracy. On

If you’ve decided that engaging a search firm is the right step for advancing your talent strategy, the next critical decision is selecting the right partner. Your time, budget, and organizational reputation depend on making an informed choice, so it requires careful consideration. To support that process, we recommend asking prospective search firms a set of key questions before engaging them: About The Firm What sets your firm apart from other executive search firms? How lo

Hiring senior finance and C Suite candidates is high stakes work. In smaller or private companies, the cost of a mis-hire shows almosts immediately: team disruption and a prolonged “search drag” while the business waits for leadership to stabilize can lead to missed strategic targets. The challenge in hiring is evaluating competence while also getting multiple stakeholders to agree on what “good” looks like, then running interviews with enough precision to infer real-life per

Client Profile A privately held organization in Southwestern Ontario seeking assistance with a confidential executive search. The First Assignment Like many new client relationships, it began with a single search. The organization needed to appoint a key leadership position and wanted a search partner who could provide more than candidate introductions. They were looking for market insight, objective advice, discretion, and a recruitment process that reflected the importance

The moment a candidate signs an offer letter feels like a finish line. The interim period, however, sometimes lasting weeks or months, represents one of the most fragile phases in executive recruitment. A poorly managed transition can unravel all of your recruitment work and damage your employer brand. Senior-level candidates are uniquely vulnerable during this window. They've made a commitment, often left their previous role, and are now watching how your company operates be

The lead up to Canada Day has a lot of people thinking about long lazy days, but while many companies scale back recruitment during the summer, the opposite approach gives you a real advantage: less competition, more candidate availability, and time to build stronger relationships. Here are five reasons to prioritize hiring this summer: 1. Mid-Career Professionals Are Open to Change Summer prompts experienced professionals to reassess their careers. They're making decisions n

Video interviews have become the de facto first filter in executive recruitment. Yet many hiring managers treat them as a checkbox rather than a strategic assessment tool. Get it right, and you'll identify cultural fit and executive presence before scheduling in-person meetings. Get it wrong, and you'll miss exceptional candidates. Here are the four essential strategies: 1. Design Questions That Reveal How Candidates Make Decisions Generic questions fail. Rather than "Tell us

Great teams are built intentionally. As a hiring manager, your role is to create an environment where people know what's expected, feel supported, and have the tools to succeed. Here are six practical steps to boost your team's performance: 1. Set Clear Expectations Unclear expectations kill productivity. Define what success looks like, how you'll measure it, and what each person's role is. When team members understand their responsibilities and how they fit into the bigger p

On behalf of our client, we're seeking an experienced Controller with manufacturing finance expertise to lead accounting and finance functions, manage AR/AP staff, and report to senior leadership. We need someone who's commercially minded and operationally fluent: able to prepare financial statements, build job-cost models from scratch, and present ROI analyses to inform ownership-level decisions. Location: London, Ontario. Interested? Email info@verriez.com.