Meet talent before you need them
Talent pipelining See the difference About hello@longlead.co

Start building your bench.

Get back the 13 hours a week your team spends searching.

Real people, sourced and vetted, whenever you need them.

How it works

Before you need to hire.

Filling a role takes 44 days on average, 13 recruiter-hours a week while it sits open. We spend those hours before the role exists.

  • We learn your shop. What the work actually is, who thrives in it, and who you’d never hire again.
  • We do the sourcing. Your open roles, your ATS, and the people who aren’t looking yet. And when a search needs to stay confidential, nothing tips off the market or your team.
  • We vet to the depth you choose. Every name comes vetted with a written questionnaire. Add recorded video answers or a live interview, per candidate, only when a role needs it.
  • You get people who want to be there. Interested, already talking to us, and ready when you are. You decide from there.

What it costs

Priced by your needs.

From $1,500 a week. No placement fee, no percentage of salary.

  • Seniority. Jr, Mid, or Sr, from taking work off your plate to owning the whole outcome.
  • Depth. Questionnaire vetting comes standard. Video answers and live interviews are pay-per-use add-ons.
  • Speed. A steady weekly build, or all hands on your role when you’re in a crunch.

* Confidential searches are priced case by case.

Who you’d be working with

Real humans.

Who already know your world.

Long Lead is Kelly Milner, Adam Posner, and a small bench of experts, each with their own specialty. You get paired with whoever knows your corner of the business, so the person sourcing for you already speaks the language.

Let’s have a virtual cup of coffee.

Tell us the role, and we’ll tell you who could be on your bench.

Grab 15-mins

Fair questions

We know you want to know.

How is this different from a recruiting agency?

An agency talks to ten people and sends you three, charges a percentage of first-year salary the day one signs, and the pipeline disappears when they do. We talk to ten and give you all ten, charge a flat weekly rate, and everything we build stays with you.

How is this different from a subscription?

A subscription bills every month whether you’re hiring or not, and the quiet months are where that model earns its reputation. We bill only while a bench is being built. No bench, no bill. When the search ends the billing ends, and everything we built is still yours when the next role opens.

What do we actually walk away with?

Every name we reached out to, whether they wrote back or not. The interested ones come with whatever depth of vetting you chose. The quiet ones are still yours, because today’s no answer is tomorrow’s one phone call away.

Do you use AI to screen candidates?

No. We use it to help source, organize, and tag, because it’s good at the boring parts. But no algorithm decides who you see, and nobody gets screened out by a robot. We still think the best way to hire a human is human to human.

Will there be action every week, and do you charge if there isn’t?

There’s work every week. Action is a different thing. Some weeks the market answers fast, some weeks it goes quiet, and no recruiter alive can tell you which is coming. Either way the sourcing, outreach, and follow-ups keep moving, and you see all of it. So yes, you pay for weeks we work, not weeks we get lucky. A quiet week still had names sourced, emails out, and follow-ups going. And if things need to slow down on your side, say the word and pause. We bill weekly on purpose, so stopping and starting is painless.

Can you guarantee we’ll love all the candidates?

No, and be careful with anyone who says yes. If we knew the magic sauce that made every hire perfect, we would be billionaires. What we can promise is the work: real sourcing every week, honest reads on every person, and nobody in your inbox who hasn’t already told us they’re interested.

What if the person we hire doesn’t work out?

The bench is still there. That is the whole point of building one: the next conversation starts from names you already know, not from zero. Nobody can promise you a perfect hire, but we can make the second try a lot shorter than the first.

What slows a search down?

Usually feedback. We move at the speed your team gets back to us, so the longer a resume sits, the colder the candidate gets. On our end, speed is a lever you can turn up: in a crunch we put more of the bench on your role at once. But once names are in front of you, fast, honest feedback, even a quick no, is what keeps everything moving. That part is on you, and we’ll say so nicely when it happens.

Is there a minimum commitment?

If we’ve never worked together, we suggest a minimum of four weeks. The first stretch is calibration: setting up, getting to know your shop, and figuring out the process that fits you. Once we know each other, it can be as short as two weeks. Come back for a one-off search anytime.

How do you keep us in the loop?

As often as you want. Once a week, twice a week, every ten days, your call. You’ll always know how many people we’ve reached out to and whatever numbers matter to you, whether that’s seniority, location, background, diversity, or something specific to your shop. If it can be counted, we’re happy to track it and report it back as often as you need.

What if our company's reputation isn’t great? Can you work around that?

We can tell your story well. Every email goes out in your brand’s voice and tone, selling your company the way you would on your best day. What we can’t do is rebrand you. How you’re seen in your industry affects who says yes to a conversation, and that part belongs to you.

Do you offer more than pipelining?

Yes. Pipelining is the core, but plenty of searches need more, and we’re happy to carry it for an added fee. Interview scheduling, process design, reference checks, offer support, HR onboarding, whatever yours calls for. Every search is different, so tell us what you need and we’ll figure it out.

Do you work inside our ATS?

Yes. If you have one, we work in it. If you don’t, we’re happy to set one up, or hand everything over in Notion, Google Sheets, or whatever your team actually opens.

Can a search stay confidential?

Yes, and it happens more often than you’d think, at every level. Nothing tips off the market or your team. Confidential searches are priced case by case, so let’s talk.

Long Lead hello@longlead.co