Hiring Manager FAQ
What does Atsali Search specialize in?
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Atsali Search specializes exclusively in senior and executive-level placements within accounting, finance, and human resources. We service the functional areas where we have the deepest expertise and the strongest candidate networks.
Where does Atsali Search work with clients?
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We're headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA and work with clients nationally, including in California, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, and across the country. If you have a senior accounting, finance, or HR search, we can help regardless of where your company is located.
How is Atsali Search different from a large staffing agency?
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At a large agency, your search is one of hundreds being managed simultaneously, often by a junior recruiter working from a script. At Atsali, you work directly with a principal — Jason spent a decade in accounting before founding the firm — and we maintain a handpicked network of vetted candidates. We partner with everyone from high-growth startups to Fortune 500 companies, and every placement matters to our reputation, which is why we only take searches we’re confident we can deliver on.
Who will I actually be working with?
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You’ll work directly with Jason or Kelly (who has over a decade of recruiting experience) — both principals, both running searches end-to-end. No account managers, no junior recruiters, no hand-offs. Whoever you start with is who you finish with, from the first call through the accepted offer.
What's the difference between a recruiter and a headhunter?
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Nothing — they're the same thing. "Headhunter" is an informal term for a recruiter who proactively seeks out candidates rather than waiting for people to apply. At Atsali Search, every search works this way. We don't post a job and wait. We go find the right person, sometimes one who isn't actively looking but is open to the right opportunity. That's what separates a specialist search firm from a job board.
How does a search actually start?
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With an in-depth intake call. Having sat on every side of the hiring process, as a candidate, a hiring manager, and now a recruiter, we understand how much one great (or poor) hire shapes a team.
Before we ever touch a candidate list, we sit down with the hiring manager to understand the role, the team, the culture, what’s worked and what hasn’t in past hires, and what success looks like six to twelve months in. We’re not a resume pass-through taking a job description and spraying candidates at it. The targeting we do upfront is the single biggest reason our searches succeed and the reason hiring managers don’t end up sifting through stacks of mismatched resumes.
How quickly will I see candidates?
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Typically within 72 hours of a signed agreement. Larger firms will spend the first few weeks doing what they like to call “market mapping”; internal kickoffs, alignment meetings, strategy decks and most won’t put a candidate in front of you for over a month. Jason or Kelly is on the phone with top candidates on day one, and you’ll have strong, targeted people in front of you in three days, not thirty.
Are you contingency or retained?
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Both, depending on the role. Many searches we run are contingency. For senior and executive-level searches (CFOs, senior Controllers, executive HR leaders) we typically work on a retained basis, which ensures we’re fully focused on your specific search rather than splitting time across competing roles. We’ll talk through which structure makes sense for your situation on our first call.
How do I get started with Atsali Search?
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Book a free 30-minute intro call with Jason directly at calendly.com/jason-atsalisearch/30min or Kelly at calendly.com/kelly-atsalisearch/30min
No intake forms, no account managers, just a direct conversation about your search or your career.