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Art of Recruiting: How to “Stage” Your Job Description

What Real Estate Can Teach Us About Job Descriptions

Think back to the last time you were shopping for a new house. Late at night, phone in hand, you swiped past dozens of Zillow listings and saved the few that looked worth a Saturday open house.

Pretend you are on that hunt again. You land on the two listings below. Which one do you actually go see?

Jeff Cook – CFO @ TEC Equipment

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with TEC Equipment on a nationwide retained executive search to find their new CFO in Portland, OR.

Over the last 50 years, TEC Equipment has grown to $1B+ revenues and 1200 employees as a leading full-service truck and trailer dealership with 30+ locations throughout the West Coast. TEC maintains one of the country’s largest inventories of Volvo, Mack, Stoughton Trailers, MAC Trailer, Hino, Isuzu and a host of other brands.

Dan Duryea – CFO @ Shelter Holdings

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Shelter Holdings on a retained executive search to find their new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Shelter Holdings was founded in 2014 and is a real-estate and credit-focused family office that actively manages a diversified portfolio across the following core business lines: Vertically integrated real estate development, stabilized multifamily, private lending and Northwest Bank.

Kevin Toohill – President @ Forsite

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Forsite on a nationwide retained executive search to find their new President.

Forsite is one of North America’s largest providers of geospatial data and analytics, delivering critical insights that help protect natural resources and critical infrastructure. This Private Equity backed company serves a diverse client base across Forestry, Oil & Gas, Utilities (including Pipeline Patrol), Insurance, Mining, Indigenous Nations, and Government.

Jeff Cohen – CEO @ Cadwell

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Cadwell on a nationwide retained executive search to find their new CEO.

Cadwell is a $100M privately-held industry-leading manufacturer of high-end medical equipment for diagnosing diseases of the nervous system, analyzing sleep disorders, and monitoring surgeries involving the spine and brain.

Art of Recruiting: Secret Shop Your Hiring Process

Have You Applied to Your Own Company? Retailers have known for decades that the experience they think they deliver is not the one the customer actually gets. That is why mystery shopping is a multi-billion-dollar discipline

Level Up Your Linkedin Profile To Inspire Candidates

Hiring managers will talk about “the brand,” “the opportunity,” and “the culture deck.” But candidates hear something quieter and more decisive: Who would I actually work for?

Peggy Lewis Fu – Executive Director @ Washington State Auto Dealers Association

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Washington State Auto Dealers Association on a retained executive search to find their new Executive Director. For more than a century, the Washington State Auto Dealers Association (WSADA) has served as the collective voice of franchised automobile dealers across Washington State.

Paul Ziemnisky – CEO @ International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA)

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) on a nationwide retained executive search to find their new CEO. The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) is the premier trade association for the dairy, deli, bakery, and retail foodservice sectors.

Carly Kozel – Dir of Business Development (EV) @ Hallcon

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Hallcon on a retained executive search to find their new Director of Business Development (EV).Hallcon is a technology-driven rider experience company. They specialize in providing turnkey transportation solutions for corporations, universities, airports, hospitals, and public transit agencies.

Erin Black – President & CEO @ Yakima Valley Community Foundation

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Yakima Valley Community Foundation on a retained executive search to find their new President & CEO. Yakima Valley Community Foundation is a growing 501(c)(3) philanthropic organization established in 2003. They serve the Yakima Valley and surrounding rural Central Washington communities

Herd Freed Hartz – 25th Celebration Night Out at Mariners

This July, the full Herd Freed Hartz team and their families came together at a Seattle Mariners game to mark 25 years of helping companies find exceptional leaders. Here’s a look at the night, the milestone, and where the firm goes from here.

Art of Recruiting: Creating Candidate Personas

The best hires often are not looking at all. Learn how building candidate personas helps you write recruiting outreach that speaks to one specific person, and get 12 pitch examples you can adapt to almost any search.

Angela Harvey – Dir of Client Services @ Forterra

Herd Freed Hartz partnered with Forterra, an Association of Washington Business subsidiary, on a retained executive search for a new Director of Client Services. The search was led by Partner Fred Pabst.

Shannon Mahaffey – GM (Seattle) @ Paul Davis Restoration

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Paul Davis Restoration on a retained executive search to find their new General Manager (Seattle).

Praveen Palani – Corporate Dir of Finance @ Paramount Hotels / Hilton

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Paramount Hotels / Hilton on a retained executive search to find their new Corporate Director of Finance.

Loren Peterson – CEO @ Ninilchik Natives Association

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Ninilchik Natives Association on a nationwide retained executive search to find their new CEO.

Reflections on America at 250: A Front-Row Seat to the American Dream

Herd Freed Hartz was founded on July 4, 2001. As America marks its 250th birthday, co-founders Jim Herd, Paul Freed, and Kevin Hartz reflect on 25 years of executive search, the American Dream, and a heart full of gratitude.

The One Sentence That Can Change Everything

When accomplished people hit a career transition, the hardest question is the simplest one: what is your ideal job? Partner Scott Rabinowitz shares a one-sentence exercise that defuses the fear and points leaders toward the problem they were made to solve.

Craig Irwin – VP Sales @ CopilotKit

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with CopilotKit on a retained executive search to find their new VP Enterprise Sales.

CopilotKit (founded 2023, headquartered in Seattle) is the #1 open-source platform for connecting AI Agents with user-facing applications

Jerod Gummer – CEO @ Exact Electric

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Exact Electric on a retained executive search to find their new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Exact Electric is a Seattle-based, non-union electrical contractor providing electrical construction and service solutions across the Puget Sound region

Michelle Santiago-Fuller – Dir of Sales @ Paramount Hotels

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Paramount Hotels on a retained executive search to find their new Director of Sales – Hilton SeaTac.

Paramount Hotels is an independent, family-owned boutique hotel group with properties in Seattle, Portland, and Maui. With legacy properties in prime downtown locations, Paramount delivers timeless service and amenities with a modern, artful boutique twist.

Rick Engstrom – CFO @ Greer Tank

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Greer Tank on a retained executive search to find their new CFO. Founded in 1952, Greer Tank & Welding is a multi-site industrial fabrication and tank manufacturing business serving customers across Alaska and the Lower 48

Trevor Day – Director of Manufacturing @ Cascade Coffee

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Cascade Coffee on a retained executive search to find their new Director of Manufacturing.

25 Strategic Interview Questions To Ask Candidates

With our firm having a front-row seat to thousands of executive interviews across industries, company stages, and economic cycles has taught us one thing: the best interview questions don’t feel like tests. They feel like conversations that unlock something real, something a polished résumé simply can’t show you.

So to mark our 25th anniversary this year, we asked our executive recruiting team to compile our favorite 25 interview questions we have found most insightful.

Mark Sonstein – CIO @ Chugach Electric

Chugach Electric Association, Inc. is Alaska’s largest electric utility, proudly serving more than 90,000 members across Anchorage and northern Kenai Peninsula. As a member-owned cooperative, Chugach Electric is deeply rooted in the communities it serves and committed to delivering safe, reliable, and affordable power while advancing a cleaner and more resilient energy future.

Marty Pearson – SVP, IT Operations & Infrastructure @ NW Administrators

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Northwest Administrators on a retained executive search to find their new SVP, IT Operations & Infrastructure in Seattle. Since 1958, Northwest Administrators Inc. has been a trusted third-party administrator with a long-standing reputation for delivering accurate, compliant, and member-focused benefit administration services.

Mel Ewing – CTO @ 3 Rivers Communications

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with 3 Rivers Communications on a retained executive search to find their new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in rural Montana. 3 Rivers Communications is a member-owned telecommunications cooperative providing broadband, VoIP, and related IP-based services to rural communities across central and western Montana.

Amy Spanik – CFO @ Johnstone Supply

Johnstone Supply (The Founders Group) is a leading HVAC/R wholesale distributor that has been serving contractors across the Western United States since 1953. Operating 20 branch locations six Western states, the company stocks products from more than 300 premier brands

How to Deliver a 5-Star Candidate Experience

Whether fair or not, an executive candidate will judge what it’s like to work at your company based on their recruiting experience and communication.

Eric Rose – President @ Markey Machine

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to partner with Markey Machine on a retained executive search to find their new President. Since 1907, Markey Machine has been the global leader in the design, manufacturing, and servicing of high-performance marine winches and deck equipment.

Neill Bafus – CFO @ Rottler Manufacturing

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

After 25 Years of Executive Search: What the Algorithms Still Can’t Do

I co-founded Herd Freed Hartz as a retained executive search firm in Seattle in July 2001. LinkedIn didn’t exist. Indeed was still three years away. Twenty-five years and more than 1,000 searches later, one truth stands out: the tools have changed almost everything—except the part that matters most.

The Hidden Costs of an Unsuccessful C-Level Search

A vacant C-suite seat is rarely just a gap on…

Neil Moody – Director of Quality @ Red Dot Corporation

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

David Pepin – VP Sales & Marketing @ Whirlwind Services

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

The Fractional CFO Inflection Point: Moving Beyond Interim Finance Leadership

Fractional CFO vs. Full-Time CFO: The Question Behind the Question…

March Madness Lessons for Executive Hiring: Why the Best Teams Win (Not Just the Flashiest Stars)

After more than two decades in broadcasting, I can’t help but still view the tournament through that lens: the storytelling, the preparation behind each performance, the small moments that reveal something bigger about a team. But now, as an executive recruiter, I also see it through a second lens—one that’s focused on how people perform, how teams are constructed, and what ultimately drives success over time.

The “Flip an Egg” Question: The Epic Interview Story

What if you could ask just one interview question and achieve a remarkably high degree of hiring success?

Here’s the story of when that actually happened—and how you can put this concept to work in your next search.

Craig Morris – President @ Keyport

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Bruce Wolfram – CFO @ L&E Bottling

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Mark Musburger – CFO @ Conversion Logix

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Tom Ryan – Director of Finance @ Hallcon

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Stan Kawahara – VP Operations @ Quantum Windows & Doors

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Mark DeCosta – Director, National Accounts @ Cascade Coffee

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Ben Coker – VP Finance @ joe.coffee

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Lizzie Marsters – CEO @ Starker Forests

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Our 25th Anniversary Celebration!

2026 is a big milestone year: USA’s 250th anniversary, FIFA…

Ken Price – COO @ Northwest Harvest

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Joe Jacuzzi – CEO @ America’s Automotive Trust

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Mark Mattke – Executive Director @ Centerforce

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Bret Downing – President @ G3 Builders

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Elisabeth Zeller – CEO @ Craft3

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Jared Green – Director of Operations @ Photon Kinetics

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Rob Johnson – Executive Director @ Seattle Center Foundation

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Nick Kolar – EVP of Sales @ UMBRAGROUP

Our Herd Freed Hartz executive search team was honored to…

Private Equity Executive Pay in 2025: What the Numbers and Deal Data Reveal

What the Data Shows: Compensation Remains Competitive In 2025, compensation…

Alaska Executive Search Insight

In our experience filling many CEO, CFO, Executive Director and executive level searches for Alaska based organizations, we’ve learned a winning formula for developing a winning partnership.

There is a moment nearly every leader experiences when they begin working in Alaska—a moment when the landscape, the culture, and the responsibility of this place reset their sense of what leadership means.

CEOWORLD Names Herd Freed Hartz #1 Retained Executive Search Firm in the Northwest for 2025

For the second consecutive year, Herd Freed Hartz is proud to announce our recognition as one of America’s premier executive search firms—once again securing the #1 position in the Northwest and #39 globally on CEOWORLD Magazine’s esteemed Top 100 Executive Search Firms and Consultants Globally for 2025.