Meso is different from a typical recruiting firm — most significantly, we are project managers and advisors in addition to the functional aspect of recruiting. We focus on advising and conducting an equitable search from the creation of the role, to the creation of a good hiring process, to the mediation of a final decision. Our goal is to provide additional capacity and ensure that the details go right. We also work with clients to assess and improve any existing hiring practices you may already have! We want to leave you with a better hiring standard than you started with.

Reach out to us to set up an introductory call! We would love to talk to you as early in the process as possible — much of the most vital work happens before a job is ever posted. Our goal is to be with you as a partner from start to finish. And, as a small team, we are able to be nimble and flexible to meet your needs. Suffice it to say we can tackle every step of the process from job description, recruitment, screening, interviews, and more. We oversee the project's success and tackle many of the details. If appropriate, we can also handle candidate tasks or other assessments.

We can provide general consulting on hiring, equity, and more. By bringing our equity and hiring expertise in-house, we will evaluate your current hiring process, advise on upcoming hires, and more. We can provide you with concrete guidance to build your team. Reach out to us to learn more!

If we're not the right fit for you, we're happy to recommend trusted colleagues in DEI and organization development work.

We're focused on supporting all types of roles and fields in any and all mission oriented work! We're interested in companies and organizations working towards a better future. Whether you're a small team or well-established, we're happy to take it on.

Executive & Senior searches - whether it’s a new Executive Director, Chief of Staff, or Director of Development, we are equipped to work with key stakeholders, including boards, to run a successful search.

Mid-level and early career roles - unlike most search firms, we love to help hire for roles of all types. We bring the same energy and support to these efforts.

All departments - organizing, development and fundraising, digital, tech, data, you name it - we've done it! We understand organizational structure inside and out. We're well versed in the needs of 501c3s, 501c4s, labor unions, PACs, LLCs, IEs and campaigns.

Equity is woven into the DNA of our mission. Our practices are informed by research, best practices (as well as a little trial and error) in this ever-evolving field. We are an entirely POC and women and non-binary team. We hold ourselves and our clients to high standards of equity in the hiring process and their organizations as a whole. While we never guarantee that the hire will result in a candidate of a particular demographic, we critically evaluate applicants' understanding of equity in the workplace. In 2022, this resulted in almost 70% of hires being people of color and 70% women or non-binary people.

We do many things at Meso to make sure a hiring process is equitable. This includes publicly posting salaries, removing arbitrary education requirements, and reviewing pool attributes. We also work with clients to build out interviews that are structured and as fair as possible. We ask DEI questions that get to the root of the client and applicants' understanding of racial and social justice.

We work with advocacy, non-profit organizations, and civic engagement groups, as well as companies that support the social impact space. We work with a variety of organization types - whether federal, state, or local focused, remote or in person, and so on. We're happy to provide references following an introductory conversation.

Our clients include civic organizations such as Fair Fight Action and Alliance for Youth Action, non-profit organizations like Economic Security Project and Texas Freedom Network, and companies that support this important work.

It depends! But in the current job market, we recommend 2 to 3 months for a non-senior/non-executive hire. A senior or executive hire typically takes 4 to 6 months. We can work with you to make searches run quickly and smoothly, but applicants are rightfully taking their time to research and apply to opportunities. We want to ensure that you find the right person, not the first person.

Our team is a group of experienced women and non-binary people who have worked in the non-profit and political sphere. We deeply understand the type of work and missions of our clients - your mission keeps us motivated too! Everyone on the team has worked on hires for roles from entry level to executive. We will determine the appropriate staff member based on your specific needs as well as capacity. You can read our full bios on the Team page.

Meso maintains our own internal talent database of applicants. However, talented individuals in the progressive and political space get hired quickly, so we never depend on that as a sole source. It is only one of many tools available to us.

We take a "broadcast" approach to recruiting - we make sure the job is publicly available on relevant job boards, we reach out to key connectors in the space, and we utilize our networks to get your job in front of the right people. This approach has a high success rate!

While we work closely with our clients, the final decision is yours. We provide general support and recommendations for the offer process, but can not participate directly in any negotiations.

We charge on a flat fee basis, with half due at the start and half due upon completion. Our fees vary based on the seniority of the role (and therefore the amount of work needed) and the scale of the organization. We provide discounts for returning clients and multiple hires. We also prioritize low-cost or free services for Black-, Latine/x-, Asian- and/or Trans-led organizations. Below are a few cost examples. These do not guarantee your estimate or final costs.

• A large for-profit firm needs to hire a new CFO. Meso helps them develop the job descriptions, recruit and interview ~20 applicants, and supports the hiring process throughout, including working directly with senior members of the team and board. This will cost approximately $50,000.

• A small non-profit organization needs to hire a Managing Director. The role is new to them, but they have a strong existing process in mind. Meso will manage the project to ensure its success, as well as execute the recruitment, screening, and other standard deliverables. This will cost $37,500.

• A mid-size organization needs to hire multiple people to build out a new data department with mid-level and entry-level jobs. The roles are on similar hiring timelines but have unique qualities and needs. Meso is able to offer a discounted average of $17,500 per hire.

• An organization needs to hire a dozen organizers. Meso will help winnow down a huge pool of applicants and get to the final stages quickly. The job description is identical for all 12 organizers, so Meso is able to conduct all of these hires for around $40,000 total.

• A small Black-led organization needs support to hire a member of their leadership team. This organization has been historically under-resourced by traditional fundraising entities. Meso will provide the same high-quality work for a nominal $2,000 fee.

Part of the reason we work with our clients in such depth is to try to avoid a mis-hire. But of course, sometimes things don't work out and an employee leaves or is dismissed. We are happy to discuss next steps with you.

However, our fees are based on the work of project management, consultation, etc. We do not place individuals nor charge on that basis. So while we want to do our best to be flexible and make it work, we do not offer refunds or placement guarantees.

Get in touch with us!