Sartre Group: Running End-to-End Finance Hiring Pipelines
Built and managed full hiring pipelines for finance-sector clients, from sourcing through negotiation and close.
Utsav Agarwal
Associate Researcher at Sartre Group
From their time as
Associate Researcher
Sartre Group • 2025 - Present
Overview
Utsav joined Sartre Group as an Associate Researcher, working as a headhunter in the finance industry within a small India-based team. Because the team was lean, he owned the full pipeline from first client conversation through to candidate close.
The Story
Utsav joined Sartre Group as an Associate Researcher, working as a headhunter in the finance industry within a small India-based team. Because the team was lean, he owned the full pipeline from first client conversation through to candidate close.
His process started with the hiring brief. He worked directly with HR heads and hiring managers at client firms to understand their requirements, then built candidate pipelines using cohort analysis across geography, technical stack, domain background, and relocation preferences. For roles requiring trading professionals, he applied quantitative filters to assess candidates' numerical and domain competency.
Advisory Work
Beyond sourcing, Utsav contributed advisory work to several clients. He delivered market intelligence and competitive landscape analysis, and helped multiple companies build white papers on local labor laws. One significant engagement involved a financial exchange that wanted to hire remote portfolio managers internationally. Utsav prepared full documentation on the relevant employment structures and regulatory considerations, and presented it to the client's Head of HR. The work helped the client understand how to structure the hire and move forward.
He also identified operational gaps at client firms and recommended process improvements, including automated candidate communication systems to reduce duplication and drop-off.
Throughout each engagement, he acted as the negotiation bridge between candidates and companies, managing expectations on both sides through to close.