Open the market map you sent with your last search. Company, name, current salary, a notes column. Forty rows deep, it reads as a tracking sheet, and clients treat it like one: they skim past it and ask when the shortlist arrives.
A market map has one job. It lets the client see the whole talent pool at a glance: who exists, how they differ, and which of them fit.
Two obstacles stand between your spreadsheet and that view. Nobody agrees on what a market map should contain. And turning candidate data into something a client wants to look at takes design work you were never hired to do.
The Grid: Archetype Crossed with Company Stage
An executive search market map earns its name from two axes. Rows classify each candidate by the kind of leadership work they've proven they can do. Columns classify the companies where they've done it.
Leadership archetypes (rows):
- Builder: 0→1 or 1→10 creation
- Scaler: 10→100 growth and complexity
- Operator: Run, optimize, deliver predictably
- Transformer: Modernize a broken engine
- Turnaround: Stabilize decline, cut costs
- Professionalizer: Founder→organization, intuition→systems
- Integrator: Align regions, functions, or post-M&A
- Innovator: Create next growth engine
Company stages (columns):
- Startup: Pre-product-market-fit, <50 employees
- Scale-up: Rapid growth, building infrastructure
- Late Private: Mature private or PE-backed
- Public (Small/Mid): Listed but agile
- Public (Large): Enterprise complexity
Each cell tells you what a candidate is built for, and the same resume changes meaning as it moves across the grid. An Operator who runs a mature machine flawlessly may stall when handed an empty org chart. A Builder who thrives at a founder's elbow may drown in enterprise process. Plotting both axes surfaces the fit before anyone books a call.
What Belongs on the Map
Search-Level Information
Frame the map before a single candidate appears:
- Role: Finance, Engineering, Operations, General Management, and so on
- Seniority band: Director, VP, CxO, Partner, or Owner
- Description: scope of the search, client context, anything unusual about the brief
Candidate-Level Data Points
For each name on the map:
Required:
- Name: full name
- Current company: where they work now
- Location: city or region
Classification:
- Primary archetype: one of the eight rows above
- Company stage: Startup, Scale-up, Late Private, or Public
- Availability: Active (looking), Passive (open but not looking), or Not Moving
- Fit: Yes (strong fit), Maybe (possible with caveats), or No (ruled out)
- Priority tier: A (top), B (strong), or C (backup)
Optional:
- Title: current role
- Industry: sector expertise
- Experience: years-of-experience band
- Salary: current compensation
- Notes: fit rationale, concerns, outreach status
Build Your Market Map
Set the role and seniority, add candidates with an archetype and a stage each, and watch the grid fill in as you go. When it looks right, export a client-ready PDF.
The export runs five sections:
- Cover page: role, seniority band, and your logo
- Executive summary: candidate count with a status breakdown
- Market map: the archetype-by-stage matrix with numbered dots
- Candidate index: full details for every name on the grid
- Archetype definitions: a reference page so clients can read the rows without you in the room
Presenting the Map to Clients
Frame the Search
Open on the cover page. Ten seconds on the role and seniority band keeps the client from skipping straight to names.
Walk the Grid
The matrix is the conversation. Point at the patterns it exposes: a market heavy on Builders but thin on Operators at scale-up stage, candidates concentrated in large public companies who'll need a compelling story to move, an empty Transformer row that tells the client the profile they want is scarce.
Review Priority Candidates
Fit and Priority give the discussion its order. Take the A tier first, with a fit rationale and an outreach plan for each name. B tier comes next as credible alternatives, along with the reason each one missed the top group. C tier gets a sentence apiece, caveats included.
Use Annotations
Map-level notes carry context that no single candidate can: market conditions, compensation benchmarks, timing pressure. The PDF gives them a dedicated section.
Two Ways a Market Map Fails
Overloading it. Every extra column slows the client's eye. Once they have to study the map instead of scanning it, you've handed them a database. Keep the fields that drive a decision and park the rest in your ATS.
Sending the working file. A raw spreadsheet or CSV export shows the client exactly how much presentation effort went in. The map is usually the first deliverable they see, and it sets their expectations for everything after it. A spreadsheet tracks the search internally; the map is what presents it to the client. Deliver work that deserves exclusivity.
Ready to present market maps that win exclusive searches? AirTA is a marketplace where agencies compete for exclusive searches with proposals. Create your agency account and browse open jobs.