The Fractionally Curious Resource Guide
For the marketing, finance, engineering, sales, and HR leaders asking “what’s next?”
By Mike Dwyer | PeopleXperience Recruiting
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If you’ve DM’d me on LinkedIn asking how I made the jump to fractional, you’re not alone. I get this conversation several times a week. Leaders from every discipline, all asking some version of the same question: Is this real? Is it sustainable? Where do I even start?
Three years ago I wrote about what fractional leadership is and why it matters That was the “to be or not to be” question. This is the answer.
If you’re Fractionally Curious, meaning you’re seriously considering the shift from in-house to fractional but don’t know where to start, here’s what I tell everyone.
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THE NUMBERS TELL THE STORY
This isn’t a fringe movement anymore. The data makes that clear.
The fractional executive market was valued at $9.4 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $24.7 billion by 2034, growing at an 11.3% CAGR and far outpacing the broader staffing industry.
Deloitte projects that by end of 2025, 35% of U.S. companies will have at least one fractional executive on their org chart.
Over 72 million Americans now work independently, including 27.7 million full-time independent professionals.
And perhaps most telling: 78% of fractional leaders expect increased opportunities ahead, and 78.4% feel optimistic about the future of fractional work.
When a market is at $9.4 billion and growing, and nearly 8 in 10 practitioners feel good about where it’s headed, that’s not a trend. That’s a structural shift.
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START WITH COMMUNITY. NOT JOB BOARDS.
The biggest mistake I see is people jumping straight to “how do I get gigs?” before they understand the landscape. The fractional world has its own culture, norms, and economics. Immerse yourself first.
Fractionals United is your first stop. Monthly meetups in most major cities. Real practitioners, not influencers. Go to one before you do anything else.
If you’re an HR or TA executive, I’m biased. I’m a founding member of Fractional People People. It’s built specifically for people leaders making this transition. The conversations in there are the ones you’re not finding anywhere else.
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THEN LOOK AT THE MARKET.
Once you’ve got context, start understanding what the demand actually looks like. FractionalJobs.io aggregates roles across disciplines and industries. It’s a good reality check on what companies are hiring for and what they’re willing to pay.
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WHAT I’VE LEARNED AFTER THREE YEARS.
The fractional model works best when you stop thinking like a vendor and start showing up like a peer. Companies don’t need another consultant handing them a deck. They need an operator who can sit at the table, challenge their thinking, and build something real. Without the full-time price tag.
That’s the arbitrage. And it’s very real.
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ONE ASK.
There are communities like Fractional People People in every discipline. Finance, marketing, engineering, sales. I only know my corner well. If you’re in one that’s worth sharing, drop it in the comments. Let’s build this list together.
If you’re Fractionally Curious and want to talk it through, you know where to find me!
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Mike Dwyer is the Founder of PeopleXperience Recruiting and a Fractional Talent Acquisition Leader working with growth-stage companies typically in the $50M-$200M range.
