
How to Go Fully Retained Without Losing Your Clients
From The Elite Recruiter Podcast by Benjamin Mena
April 16, 2026 · 1h 6m · Season 1 · Episode 316
About this episode
Andrea Colabella shares her journey to transitioning to a fully retained recruiting model and the strategies she employs to manage client expectations.
The This Is Your Year Recruiter Summit kicks off April 27th — less than 2 weeks away. Free live sessions with the industry's best, including Mike Williams, Brianna Rooney, and Mark Whitby. Register now: https://this-is-your-year-recruiter-summit.heysummit.com/ Most contingent recruiters think the hardest part of going retained is convincing their clients to pay upfront. Andrea Colabella thought the same thing — until she actually did it, and discovered the anticipation was far worse than the conversation. Andrea is the founder of Cardea Group, a fully retained executive search firm based in New York City specializing in legal and compliance professionals within investment management. She started cold-calling recruiting agencies in 2005 asking to be hired as a recruiter, found her first mentor, and spent the next 18 years niching further and further — from admin and HR, to software sales, to investment management broadly, to a single laser-focused vertical: legal and compliance at hedge funds, private equity firms, and family offices. She built Cardea Group in 2009 during one of the worst markets in modern financial history. She's a Pinnacle Society member, has placed over 500…
People in this episode
Host: Benjamin Mena
Guest: Andrea Colabella
Topics covered
- retained recruiting
- client management
- executive search
- recruitment strategies
- legal and compliance
- investment management
Keywords
- retained recruiting
- executive search
- client interviews
- recruitment strategies
- legal compliance
- investment management
- Hinterview
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Cardea Group
Places: New York City
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