Frequently Asked Questions

VANTAEL is a Talent Sourcing Advisory firm based in Quezon City, Philippines. We deliver Talent Intelligence Reports — structured research documents containing market mapping, consented candidate profiles, compensation benchmarks, and sourcing strategy recommendations — to international growth-stage technology and financial services companies building or expanding Philippine-based remote teams.

We are not a recruitment agency. We do not place, deploy, or contract labour. Our deliverable is research and advisory output. The client retains full and sole discretion over all hiring decisions.

No. VANTAEL is a Talent Sourcing Advisory and is not a licensed Private Employment Agency (PEA) under DOLE regulations. Our engagements are structured around the delivery of research intelligence, not the placement or referral of workers for a fee tied to hiring. This distinction is explicit in every Talent Sourcing Advisory Agreement (TSAA) we execute.

VANTAEL does not use the words “placement fee,” “referral fee,” or “recruitment fee” in any engagement document. Fees are described exclusively as “Advisory Engagement Fees” for research services rendered.

VANTAEL’s primary focus is senior and specialist roles for international companies building Philippine-based remote teams, particularly in:

• SaaS and technology — engineering leadership, product, data, and senior individual contributors
• FinTech and digital finance — compliance, technology, and operations leadership
• IT-BPM and multinational subsidiaries — country leadership, shared-services heads, and regional functional leads

Standard Advisory Engagements are best suited for Manager level and above. For roles below that threshold, a standalone Market Intelligence Briefing may be the more appropriate product.

VANTAEL sources talent within the Philippines and serves clients headquartered internationally — primarily in the United States, Australia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. All client engagements are conducted remotely. VANTAEL’s advisory model is designed for international companies that lack local Philippine market intelligence and cannot reach senior passive talent through conventional sourcing methods.

VANTAEL’s primary market is international companies hiring Philippine-based remote talent. Domestic Philippine client engagements are considered on a case-by-case basis depending on role type and market fit. Contact us to discuss.

A Standard Advisory Engagement follows a defined 5-stage process across approximately 20–25 business days.

Director-level and above searches run on a 30–40 business day cycle.

Every Standard Advisory Engagement report includes:

• Executive Market Brief — an overview of the Philippine talent landscape for the specific role, including hiring timeline context and sourcing observations
• Compensation Benchmarks — market salary ranges for the role, sourced from at least two independent data sources, alongside benefit norms and equity expectations
• 3–5 Candidate Profiles — each profile includes current title, employer (internal reference only), career background, key competencies, compensation expectation, and motivation and availability notes. Every profile is supported by a signed Candidate Profile Consent Form.
• Sourcing Advisory Notes — VANTAEL’s recommended engagement approach for each candidate, based on their stated motivations and fit with the client’s mandate

A Standard Advisory Engagement delivers 3–5 fully consented candidate profiles.

A Market Intelligence Briefing delivers a market overview, 5–8 anonymized candidate profiles, salary benchmarks, and sourcing strategy notes. It is primarily a discovery and validation tool. Profiles in a Market Intelligence Briefing are drawn from existing market research and do not involve active candidate outreach or individual Candidate Profile Consent Forms — employer names are suppressed and profiles are presented anonymously.

The Philippines has a 96.2% employment rate. The highest-value senior professionals are already placed and will not respond to public job postings. VANTAEL accesses this passive talent pool through:

• Direct outreach using precision Boolean search and competitor org-chart research
• Career consultation calls framed as market intelligence conversations, not solicitations
• VANTAEL’s proprietary Talent Database — professionals who have previously registered their interest and consented to future advisory outreach
• AI-augmented market mapping to identify talent density by geography, function, and seniority

The Role Intelligence Brief is a structured research specification co-authored by VANTAEL and the client before any market mapping begins. It is not a job description. It defines what the right candidate actually looks like — target function, seniority, industry context, compensation parameters, competitor organizations to target, and the distinguishing characteristics that separate a correct hire from a credentialed near-miss.

It is mandatory because the most common reason a search fails is not sourcing failure — it is scope failure. The client and advisor had different mental models of the target. The Role Intelligence Brief closes that gap before it costs either party time or money. Research does not start without it.

VANTAEL’s obligation under the TSAA is fulfilled upon delivery of the Talent Intelligence Report. The advisory fee is earned on the delivery of research, not on the client’s subsequent hiring decision. Both tranches are payable regardless of whether you hire anyone from the report.

This is not a limitation — it is what makes the advisory relationship honest. A firm paid only on placement has a structural incentive to push candidates through. VANTAEL’s incentive is to deliver research that earns your next engagement.

No. VANTAEL guarantees the delivery of a Talent Intelligence Report containing 3–5 consented candidate profiles within the agreed timeline. We do not guarantee that the client will hire any candidate from the report. The hiring decision belongs entirely to the client.

Yes, through a Sourcing Advisory Retainer. The Retainer format is designed for clients with recurring or concurrent hiring needs, with up to 2 or 4 active mandates running simultaneously depending on the retainer tier. See the For Clients page for full retainer details.

VANTAEL uses a flat advisory fee model — not a contingency or percentage-of-salary model. Fees are structured by service tier and seniority:

All fees are quoted in USD and are exclusive of applicable Philippine taxes. Payment is accepted via wire transfer or Wise.

For Standard Advisory Engagements: 50% of the Advisory Engagement Fee is invoiced on TSAA execution. Research begins only after this payment is confirmed. The remaining 50% is invoiced on delivery of the Talent Intelligence Report. Both tranches are payable regardless of whether you hire any candidate from the report.

For Market Intelligence Briefings: 100% is invoiced upfront on TSAA execution.

For Sourcing Advisory Retainers: the monthly retainer is invoiced in advance. Per-report delivery fees are invoiced on delivery. 30 days written notice is required to cancel a retainer.

The Strategic Impact Bonus is a discretionary acknowledgment available to clients who independently choose to engage a candidate profiled in a delivered Talent Intelligence Report within 60 days of report delivery.

It is not a placement fee or a contingency. It is not mandatory. Non-payment does not constitute a breach of the TSAA. This distinction is explicit in TSAA Mandatory Clause 4.

The SIB rate is 8–12% of the candidate’s agreed first-year annual base salary, and is applicable only if: the candidate appears in the delivered report, the client independently engages or makes an offer to the candidate within the 60-day window, and the client confirms the engagement in writing.

Fee ranges reflect the research complexity, seniority tier, and timeline of each engagement. All fee discussions are conducted prior to TSAA execution. Fees are confirmed in writing in the TSAA before research begins and are not subject to retroactive adjustment.

Every engagement is governed by a signed Talent Sourcing Advisory Agreement (TSAA). The TSAA covers: scope of advisory services, client hiring autonomy, fee basis and payment terms, SIB terms, candidate data and RA 10173 compliance, confidentiality, dispute resolution, and governing law (Philippine law, Quezon City).

A Mutual NDA is executed before any discovery call in which proprietary client information — org structures, target names, compensation data — is discussed.

TSAA terms govern pause and cancellation. The 50% upfront advisory fee, once paid, is non-refundable because it funds research already committed and in progress. A pause of up to 10 business days may be accommodated without additional fee upon written notice. Cancellation after research has commenced does not entitle the client to a refund of the upfront tranche.

Before any proprietary client information is shared — including organisational structures, target names, compensation data, or competitor mapping — VANTAEL executes a Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). The NDA defines confidential information broadly, restricts its use to evaluating the advisory engagement, and remains in force for two years after the engagement concludes.

TSAA Mandatory Clause 7 reinforces this: both parties are bound to confidentiality for all information exchanged during the engagement, including candidate identities, client organisational data, and compensation benchmarks.

VANTAEL is registered as a Personal Information Controller (PIC) with the National Privacy Commission (NPC) under Republic Act No. 10173. Candidate data is processed only with the candidate’s explicit informed consent, collected through a digital Candidate Profile Consent Form. No candidate profile is shared with any client without a signed consent form on file. Candidate data is retained for a maximum of two years from the date of consent, unless the candidate requests deletion earlier.

TSAA Clause 9 (Governing Law) covers all disputes through a three-step process: good-faith negotiation (14 days from written notice), mediation under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004 (RA 9285), and arbitration in Quezon City, Philippines.

No. Candidates never pay VANTAEL. Our fees are paid entirely by the hiring companies that engage us. VANTAEL does not charge candidates for career consultations, database registration, profile inclusion, or any other service at any stage.

If you receive a request for payment claiming to be from VANTAEL, contact us immediately at data-privacy@vantaelsearch.com. Legitimate talent advisory firms do not charge candidates.

VANTAEL identifies potential candidates through structured market research: competitor org-chart analysis, LinkedIn Boolean sourcing, and our proprietary Talent Database. A direct approach from VANTAEL is not a job offer and carries no obligation on your part. It is an invitation to a confidential career consultation to explore whether your profile and motivations align with an active advisory mandate.

Yes — and most of the professionals VANTAEL contacts are not actively looking. An initial career consultation is exploratory, confidential, and carries no obligation to proceed further. Many professionals find value in understanding their market position, compensation benchmarks, and how international companies are approaching their function — regardless of whether they ultimately express interest in any specific mandate.

VANTAEL is engaged by client companies to conduct research for specific advisory mandates. We are not a general career coaching or job placement service. If there is no current mandate that aligns with your profile, VANTAEL may invite you to remain in the Talent Database — with your consent — so your profile can be considered for future mandates.

VANTAEL publishes its current research mandates at vantaelsearch.com/candidates/mandates. This page lists the types of talent VANTAEL is currently researching on behalf of clients. It is not a job board.

Each mandate card shows only the professional function, industry, seniority band, and approximate compensation range. No employer name is ever displayed. There is no “Apply Now” mechanism.

The page allows qualified professionals to register their interest in the VANTAEL Talent Database. Registering does not constitute a job application and does not guarantee inclusion in any Talent Intelligence Report.

No. Registering your interest adds your profile to VANTAEL’s Talent Database — an internal research tool. It does not create any direct connection between you and any named employer. Your profile is never shared with any client without your explicit written consent, obtained separately through the Candidate Profile Consent Form.

A typical process moves through the following stages:

Career Consultation — a 20–30 minute call with VANTAEL. This is a market intelligence conversation, not a job interview. VANTAEL will ask about your career motivations, compensation expectations, and availability.

Consent Invitation — if your profile aligns with an active mandate, you will be invited to complete a Candidate Profile Consent Form. This is required before your profile is included in any report.

Profile Compilation — if you consent, VANTAEL compiles your professional profile and includes it in the Talent Intelligence Report delivered to the client.

Outcome Notification — if you completed a consent form but were not included in the final report, VANTAEL will notify you by email and confirm the status of your data.

The Candidate Profile Consent Form is a digital form that records your explicit written consent for VANTAEL to include your professional profile in a Talent Intelligence Report prepared for one specific, undisclosed client. It is mandatory — no candidate is included in any report without a signed form on file.

The form confirms: your profile will be shared with one specific client only; your personal data will be handled per RA 10173; your profile will be retained for up to two years unless you request deletion; and you may withdraw consent at any time by emailing data-privacy@vantaelsearch.com. You will also be asked whether you consent to remain in VANTAEL’s Talent Database for future mandates.

No. Consent is entirely voluntary. Declining carries no consequence and will not affect your ability to engage with VANTAEL in the future. If you consent and later change your mind, you can withdraw at any time before the Talent Intelligence Report is delivered.

No — and this is by design. VANTAEL maintains strict confidentiality about client identities as a condition of every engagement. Disclosing a client’s name to candidates being researched would compromise the integrity of the advisory process and expose the client’s talent strategy to the market.

Your consent form confirms that your profile will be shared with “one specific, undisclosed client.” This is standard practice in talent advisory research.

VANTAEL will send you a written non-selection notification. This email will confirm that you will not be included in the current report, confirm your data status and retention period, invite you to remain in the Talent Database for future mandates if you opted in, and provide a data deletion link if you prefer your information removed immediately.

Once the report is delivered, VANTAEL’s research obligation is fulfilled. If the client independently chooses to contact any candidate profiled in the report, that interaction is directly between the client and the candidate. VANTAEL is not a party to any employment negotiation or offer.

VANTAEL monitors a 60-day Strategic Impact Bonus window following report delivery, during which the client may voluntarily notify VANTAEL if they have independently engaged a profiled candidate. This does not affect the candidate in any way — the SIB is a commercial arrangement between the client and VANTAEL only.

VANTAEL collects only the information necessary to conduct talent research for specific advisory mandates: your full name, email address, phone number (optional), current job title, current employer, LinkedIn profile URL, skills and years of experience, career motivations, compensation expectations, availability status, and notes from the career consultation call.

VANTAEL does not collect sensitive personal information as defined under RA 10173 Section 3(l) — including health data, religion, political opinions, government-issued identification numbers, or financial account numbers.

No. VANTAEL treats all candidate interactions as strictly confidential. VANTAEL will not contact your current employer at any stage, share your name or profile with any client without your prior written consent, or disclose your identity to a client before you have been notified and have consented to inclusion in the report.

Candidate personal data is retained for a maximum of two years from the date of initial consent. VANTAEL conducts a database review every six months. Profiles that have exceeded the retention period or where re-consent has not been received are permanently deleted. You will receive a re-consent request before the two-year period expires.

Yes. As a data subject under RA 10173, you have the following rights:

• Right to Access — request a copy of the personal data VANTAEL holds about you
• Right to Correction — request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to Erasure — request deletion of your data from the Talent Database at any time
• Right to Object — object to VANTAEL processing your data for specific purposes
• Right to Withdraw Consent — withdraw consent for profile inclusion at any time before the relevant Talent Intelligence Report is delivered
• Right to Data Portability — request your data in a structured, machine-readable format

All data rights requests: privacy@vantaelsearch.com VANTAEL will acknowledge and respond within 15 business days.

Your profile data is shared only with the specific client for whose mandate you have provided explicit written consent — and only at the point of Talent Intelligence Report delivery. It is not circulated to other clients, posted on any platform, sold or transferred to any third party, or shared with your current or former employers. VANTAEL does not use candidate data for advertising or marketing profiling.

Email data-privacy@vantaelsearch.com at any time with the subject line “Data Deletion Request” or “Consent Withdrawal.” Include your full name and the email address associated with your profile. VANTAEL will confirm deletion within the timeframe required by RA 10173.

Withdrawing consent after a Talent Intelligence Report has already been delivered does not retroactively remove your profile from that specific report — but VANTAEL will remove your data from the Talent Database immediately upon request.