In this episode of Founder Diaries (a RecTalk podcast), Nitin Sharma sits down with Tim Lane, founder of Park Lane Recruitment and a true veteran of the recruitment industry with over 40 years of experience. Tim shares his incredible journey from the early days of IT mainframes and fax machines to running his own business in today’s AI-driven world.

We explore how Tim consciously chose recruitment (rather than “falling into it”), the pivotal moments that shaped his career, and the lessons he learned while building Park Lane Recruitment over the past decade. From being headhunted early on, to launching an IT training division that became one of the UK’s top providers, Tim has seen it all.

Tim also offers invaluable insights on:

• How recruitment has evolved from paper CVs and Rolodex cards to job boards, portals, and AI tools.
• Why adaptability and lifelong learning are essential to staying relevant in recruitment.
• The importance of outsourcing and playing to your strengths when running a business.
• Building trust, relationships, and reputation over decades—and why what you do today plants seeds for tomorrow.
• His candid thoughts on AI: not a recruitment killer, but the latest in a long line of tools that good recruiters can harness.

We wrap up with Tim’s reflections on success, lessons learned, and advice he’d give to his younger self before starting his business journey.

Who this episode is for:

• Recruitment founders and business leaders looking for timeless lessons on growth, resilience, and adaptation.
• Recruiters curious about the history and evolution of the industry.
• Anyone navigating technology shifts like AI and wondering how to stay relevant.
• Entrepreneurs weighing the leap into running their own business.

🔗 Connect with Tim Lane

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timlane/

🔗 Connect with Nitin Sharma

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/

Discover recruitment tools and services at Rectools.io: https://www.rectools.io/

Find out about the Recruitment Curry Club:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-recruitment-curry-club/

RecTalk will return! New episodes drop every Wednesday and Friday. Stay tuned for more Founder Diaries, where real entrepreneurs share raw stories of building businesses in recruitment and tech.

Listen to RecTalk on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/

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