What if you could swap 100 cold calls a day for content that reaches thousands?

That’s exactly what award-winning recruiter Justis Pederson did. In this episode, Justis shares how going digital didn’t just scale his reach—it nearly doubled his revenue.

Justis is the President & CEO of the Pederson Group of Companies in Winnipeg, which he has grown from $500K to $1.8M in revenue. His group includes recruitment, media, and real estate, with a recruitment focus on construction and engineering. He's also a member of the Pinnacle Society, an elite collective of top-performing recruiters in North America.

Rather than hiring another recruiter, Justis made an unconventional move: he hired a full-time content and social media manager. This decision reshaped how they marketed, grew their brand, and attracted inbound business.

🎯 Episode Highlights:

[02:57] From door-to-door sales to top recruiter in construction

[11:33] Traits that separate average recruiters from great ones

[13:19] Shifting from cold calls to digital marketing

[26:10] The ROI of hiring a full-time marketing person

[31:22] The 3 pillars of strong content: writing, video, design

[34:55] How to hire a marketing pro—and what to expect

[37:39] Posting content consistently with simple systems

[43:18] Building a brand without a big budget

[47:30] Transitioning to a retained search model

[51:38] Getting business without asking for business

[53:02] Justis shares a personal story of resilience

Why They Switched to Content-First Marketing

Cold calling limited their reach to 100 people a day. Content marketing allowed them to showcase their expertise to thousands. By posting regularly on LinkedIn, they moved from one-to-one calls to one-to-many digital influence.

In 2022, Justis hired Cass—not as another recruiter, but as a dedicated content and marketing lead. They began producing short videos, graphic designs, and thought leadership posts tailored to their niche. The result? Inbound leads started flowing, and revenue nearly doubled in a year.

The ROI—and Patience—of Hiring a Marketing Person

“When I first hired Cass, we billed around $500K. A year later, that was nearly $1M,” says Justis. But he emphasizes: this wasn’t an overnight win. It took nearly two years of collaboration, trial, and learning to gain traction.

He cautions listeners not to expect results in 30, 60, or even 90 days—but to commit to the long game.

The Three Content Pillars

Writing

Video

Graphic Design

Writing forms the foundation of their messaging and underpins both video scripts and visuals. Their content strategy is simple but effective: post four pieces per week, focus on one or two channels, and don’t overthink production quality.

“It doesn’t have to be a high-budget effort,” Justis explains. “You can start small and still get results.”

About Justis Pederson

Justis is an award-winning recruiter and CEO of the Pederson Group of Companies. He specializes in recruitment for the construction and engineering sectors, and complements his business with a media division focused on content and video strategy. He sits on two boards and is a member of the Pinnacle Society.

People & Tools Mentioned:
Pinnacle Society | Loomly | Monday.com

Connect with Justis:
LinkedIn | [Pederson Group Website]

Connect with Mark Whitby:
Free Strategy Call | LinkedIn | @RecruitmentCoach on Instagram

If you’ve been enjoying The Resilient Recruiter, please take two minutes to leave a review. It helps us reach more people and support more recruiters like you!