A Helping Hand for Candidates New to the Process

By Jordan Sanford

There is a long list of challenges facing arts leaders today. Navigating a search firm should not be one of them. As you move through a leadership search, your focus should be on how you can help solve an organization’s challenges and advance your own trajectory, not on deciphering the mechanics of a mysterious or opaque hiring process.

Many arts and culture organizations rely on executive search firms to help fill senior leadership roles, including Artistic Director, Executive Director, and department-level leadership positions. For those who haven’t worked with a search firm before, the process can feel unclear or intimidating.

We’ve compiled this article to demystify how executive search firms such as ours operate, what you can expect when working with TOC Arts Partners, and how to navigate the process with clarity and confidence. While this resource reflects our particular approach, every firm is different. If you’re working with another search firm, we encourage you to review their website or job profile for similar guidance.

What Do Executive Search Firms Do?

Organizations hire executive search firms to lead structured hiring processes for senior leadership roles. That work includes engaging and directly recruiting candidates through outreach and exploratory conversations, managing logistics, promoting the search, reviewing applications, and supporting boards and staff as they make hiring decisions.

Search firms vary widely in how they do their work, from the size of the search team to the approaches they take in sourcing candidates, to the care they extend to those candidates. You can find some of our perspectives on what organizations should consider when vetting search partners in this blog article.

At TOC Arts Partners, we see our role as going beyond logistics and our known contacts. We work closely with organizations to understand not just the responsibilities of a role, but the broader context a new leader will be stepping into. That includes organizational culture, community relationships, internal dynamics, and long-term goals. This approach shapes how we assess candidates and how we support them throughout the process.

Some firms operate at a much higher volume and rely more heavily on automation or broad outreach, while others take a more closed or confidential approach, focusing primarily on direct sourcing and private conversations. This can be for a variety of reasons, and we are not editorializing as to why that might be. That said, TOC Arts Partners uses a hybrid approach, balancing expansive outreach with deep, relationship-based candidate care.

How Do I Get on a Search Firm’s Radar?

Search firms engage candidates in several ways: through direct outreach, open applications, referrals, and internal candidate databases. Submitting your materials through a firm’s website helps ensure your experience is on record when aligned opportunities arise.

You may be asked to share materials even when no specific role is posted. That is common practice and does not necessarily mean a job is being filled behind the scenes (though sometimes it can happen that way). It allows firms to better understand who you are, which roles you might be interested in, and when it makes sense to reach out in the future.

Should you be asked to submit a resume, but not for a specific position, consider what roles you’re most interested in and tailor your document accordingly. These tips for helping recruiters find you can also be a useful reference as you think about how to present yourself clearly and proactively. Some firms are more relationship-driven than others. At TOC Arts Partners, we view this as an ongoing conversation rather than a one-time transaction.

While we can’t always meet one-on-one with candidates live for general or exploratory conversations due to the volume of requests we receive, we are always grateful to learn more about you as part of our network so we can keep you in mind.

A Quick Note on Roles and Terminology at TOC Arts Partners

Every executive search firm uses slightly different language. At TOC Arts Partners, you may hear a few terms used consistently across searches:

The Search Lead is the senior staff member overseeing a specific search. They work directly with the client, lead discovery conversations, shape the job profile, and guide the internal team on strategy and timeline. In our case, search leads bring expertise in both executive search practices as well as the sector and domain of the role we are searching for.
The Search Operations Team manages the research, outreach, systems, and administration of the search, including candidate communications, scheduling, logistics, and day-to-day coordination, to ensure the strategy is executed effectively.
The Client is the organization that has hired us to facilitate the search. While we advise and support throughout the process, the final hiring decision always rests with the client, either a hiring manager or a search committee, depending on the role.

Should I Follow Up After Submitting Materials?

Following up after submitting materials is completely appropriate, especially if you did not receive a confirmation email or want to acknowledge your submission. A brief note expressing interest or appreciation is always welcome.

We also want to name something we see often: candidates sometimes follow up by reattaching their resume and cover letter, usually out of a desire to show enthusiasm or to ensure a real person is at least seeing their materials. That concern is understandable, particularly given how common AI screening has become across the hiring landscape (though not with us).

At TOC Arts Partners, if your application is in our system, it will be reviewed by a human. Submitting through the portal is the most effective way to ensure your materials are seen. Sending the same documents again by email does not increase visibility and can create duplication or confusion. While other firms may operate differently, a more constructive approach is to keep communication concise and, if appropriate, ask a clarifying question about the process or confirm receipt of your application.

Can I Ask for an Informational Conversation?

Many candidates seek one-on-one conversations with search firms, particularly when navigating a career transition or considering a leadership role for the first time. While those requests are understandable, many small firms, including TOC Arts Partners, are limited in the number of individual conversations they can schedule during active searches, since we may be fielding hundreds of applicants in addition to our candidate outreach.

If you have specific questions that would help you decide whether to apply or better understand a role, emailing those questions in advance of your submission is often the most effective approach. It allows firms to respond with clarity while ensuring that all candidates have equitable access to our team. In some cases, if the search lead is available and feels a conversation would be most helpful, they may initiate a call after reviewing your questions.

Will I Receive Feedback if I Am Not Selected?

We know feedback can be especially valuable for candidates. At TOC Arts Partners, while we are not able to provide individualized feedback to every applicant due to application volume, decisions are made thoughtfully and in close conversation with our clients. Once a candidate is engaged for an interview, if they are not moving forward, we always seek to provide feedback and helpful closure.

This is an area where search firms vary significantly. Some firms offer limited feedback, others do not. As noted previously, reaching out with targeted questions via email before applying to a role can be more useful than seeking feedback after a search concludes. That said, we encourage candidates to do so with care: after fully reviewing the position profile, if you are seriously considering applying but have unresolved questions that would influence your decision, it is appropriate to reach out.

Application Timing, Deadlines, and What to Expect

When working with TOC Arts Partners, a priority deadline is not a hard cutoff. It marks the point at which we typically share an initial group of candidates with the client so they can begin review of the pool. We continue to accept and review applications after that date, and strong candidates are often identified later in the process.

That said, this approach is not universal across all executive search firms. Some organizations do treat posted deadlines as firm cutoffs. Because practices vary, it is important to carefully review the language in each job profile to understand how that particular search is being managed and make decisions accordingly.

For TOC Arts Partners searches, we aim to follow up within approximately three weeks of receiving your application. Timelines may shift depending on application volume or interest in the role. If you have not heard from us within four weeks, you are welcome to reach out for an update. Regardless of the outcome, all candidates working with us will receive updates on the status of their applications.

A Technical Note on Communications

When working with TOC Arts Partners, we recommend taking steps to ensure your email system recognizes messages from @tocartspartners.com as trusted. This helps ensure you receive updates from everyone involved in the search, including search leads, operations staff, and associates. Each job profile also includes the email address of the search lead responsible for that role, for your convenience.

More broadly, when engaging with any executive search firm, it's a good practice to approve or save contact emails listed in job profiles or on the firm’s website. Email systems filter aggressively, and important messages can land in spam folders without notice. While you are actively applying or waiting on updates, periodically checking your spam or junk folder can help prevent missed communication. (We also take efforts on our end to improve deliverability, but it never hurts to take precautions on yours.)

Are Applications Reviewed by AI?

At TOC Arts Partners, every application is reviewed by a real person. We do not use AI, keyword filters, or automated scoring to decide who advances in a search. The application system we use helps us to organize materials, but evaluation is 100% human-led.

This is not the case across the entire industry. Larger search firms and talent acquisition departments, in particular, may use AI or automated tools to help manage large volumes of applications (for example, a pool of 1,000+ applicants). The extent to which these tools are used varies widely, and policies are not always made public. Reviewing a firm’s website is often the best way to understand its approach.

Because we do not use AI in this way, we do not offer guidance on optimizing resumes for automated screening. Our recommendation is to focus on clarity, substance, and alignment rather than keyword strategy.

How Do I Know If a Role Is the Right Fit?

Job profiles are meant to provide clarity, not to function as rigid checklists. At TOC Arts Partners, we do not expect candidates to meet every qualification listed. If much of the role resonates with your experience, interests, and values, we encourage you to apply.

Written descriptions cannot capture every nuance of a role. We encourage candidates to email us their questions about leadership expectations, internal culture, and external relationships to better understand whether the opportunity is a good match. You might also find it helpful to read our blog post on TOC Arts Partners' inclusion statement, which offers insight into how we encourage candidates from a range of backgrounds to feel confident applying, as well as our piece on navigating career shifts and nonlinear growth.

What About Interim or Project-Based Leadership Work?

In addition to full-time searches, TOC Arts Partners supports organizations through interim and fractional leadership placements. These roles can be a strong fit for leaders interested in short-term, project-based, or part-time engagements, especially during periods of transition. If this type of work aligns with your interests and experience, you can learn more and express interest through our interim placements page.

Navigating leadership searches in the arts and culture sector can be challenging—especially if you're unfamiliar with how executive search firms operate. We hope this resource offers helpful clarity as you chart your path forward. TOC Arts Partners is committed to ensuring candidates feel informed, respected, and well supported throughout the process. Whether we are able to help you find your next role or not, know that we are wishing you the best of luck as you seek it. And remember: hold fast to joy, and persist.

Jordan Sanford is the Director of Search Operations & Community at TOC Arts Partners. TOC Arts Partners (formerly Tom O’Connor Consulting Group) is a national consultancy aligning strategies, structures, and leadership toward a thriving cultural sector. For over a decade, Jordan has dedicated his efforts to helping emerging creative professionals forge successful careers, with a special emphasis on supporting youth of color. Jordan developed and coordinated college and career pathway programs to serve systematically marginalized youth through senior management roles at The Art Effect and the Maryland Institute College of Art.