Part 5: What It Costs to Start Over
Cycle 1's investment doesn't carry forward. Cycle 2 starts the clock — and the fees — over again, usually under more pressure than the first search ran under.
The first four reports in this series covered how often these outcomes happen, how long they run, what they cost while they're happening, and who else absorbs that cost. This one closes the loop on the number every other report has been building toward: what does the do-over actually cost?
Every low-hire and every mis-hire ends the same way — a full second hiring cycle, run from zero, on top of everything already spent on the first one.
What Does the Do-Over Cost?
Cycle 1's investment doesn't carry forward. Cycle 2 starts the clock — and the fees — over again, usually under more pressure than the first search ran under.
The second search, in full
A replacement search carries the same direct costs as the first, and the vacancy clock resets to zero. Job board and assessment fees run $2K–$5K for an IC search; executive search runs 25–30% of OTE.
Recruiting cost, twice
Average cost-per-hire is $5,475, and agency-led replacement runs 20–25% of salary. Everything spent on Cycle 1 is sunk the moment the hire exits, and the replacement needs 9–12 months to ramp.
Severance, legal, and urgency
A mis-hire adds what a low-hire doesn't: severance, legal and HR counsel, and a search run under pressure. Severance runs 1–2 weeks per year of service for ICs and 13–16 weeks at VP level, over a floor of 30% of first-year salary.
Cycle 2 Starts at Full Price
The search fee and the replacement-cost benchmark, by role. Neither is discounted because the company has run this search once already.
| Role | Cycle 2 search cost | SHRM hard replacement cost |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise AE | $28K–$35K agency (20–25% of $140K base) | 50–250% of salary |
| Enterprise SE | $28K–$35K agency (20–25% of $140K base) | 50–200% of salary |
| VP of Sales | $87K–$105K executive search (25–30% of OTE) | 200% of salary |
Everything spent on Cycle 1 is sunk the moment the hire exits. Cycle 2 doesn't start from a discount. It starts from zero.
What a Complete Second Cycle Actually Runs
Search, onboarding, the second vacancy period, and — for a mis-hire — severance and legal. Every figure is a published range, not a point estimate, because where a given restart lands depends on tenure, whether the search goes to an agency, and how many people left in the meantime.
Floors assume fast detection, a contained exit and an internal re-hire. Ceilings assume long tenure, an agency-led replacement and downstream departures — for the VP mis-hire, a full org reset.
The Exit Itself Has a Price
That's the full arc this series has traced: how often it happens, how long it runs before anyone acts, what it costs while it's happening, who else absorbs it, and what starting over costs on top of all of it. None of the five is the exception. Together, they're the honest planning number.
Cost-per-hire: $5,475 average (SHRM). Agency fees: 20–25% of base (IC), 25–30% of OTE (executive). Hard replacement cost: 50–250% of salary, role-dependent (SHRM). Severance: 1–2 weeks/year (IC), 13–16 weeks median (VP, LHH 2025). Replacement ramp: 9–12 months, ~3× base salary (SaleSo 2025).
Research compiled May 2026 · Sources: SHRM, RepVue, Bridge Group, Ebsta × Pavilion, BLS, McKinsey, Robert Half, LHH, Gartner, LinkedIn Talent Trends, SaleSo, Seattle Corporate Search
These are planning numbers. The hire is the variable.
Twenty minutes, no pitch — what the role really needs, and whether this is a search worth running.