Recruitment Cheat Codes

One rejected candidate shouldn’t destroy the relationship.

In this Recruitment Cheat Code, Tamar Avakian explains why the best recruiters think beyond individual placements and focus on long-term trust with both candidates and clients.

Because recruitment is rarely transactional.

The strongest recruiters keep relationships alive even when deals don’t happen immediately.

Cheat Sheet:

• Rejection is part of recruitment
• Strong recruiters don’t take it personally
• Long-term relationships create future opportunities
• The best recruiters think beyond one deal

From the Talent Matters podcast.

One of the biggest challenges for recruitment founders is accountability.

Without a manager, mentor, coach, or trusted sounding board, it's easy to drift into bad habits and blind spots.

Chris Everitt explains why every business owner needs someone willing to challenge them.

Cheat Sheet:

• Entrepreneurship can be lonely
• Accountability doesn't happen automatically
• External perspective creates better decisions

From the Talent Matters Podcast.

Recruiters often complain about the industry's reputation.

But a lot of that reputation was earned.

When someone changes job, they're making one of the biggest decisions of their life. Oversell the culture, hide the challenges, or paint an unrealistic picture, and they'll remember it for years.

The recruiters who build long-term trust do the opposite.

They tell candidates the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Cheat Sheet:

• Job changes are life-changing decisions for candidates
• Overselling opportunities destroys trust quickly
• Honest recruiters create better long-term relationships
• A realistic job preview beats a polished sales pitch

From the Talent Matters Podcast.

The best recruiters don't start with a sales pitch.

They start by creating value.

In this Recruitment Cheat Code, Nitin Sharma explains why every interaction is either a deposit or a withdrawal from your relationship bank account. The recruiters who consistently share knowledge, make introductions, help people and build communities create trust long before they need a transaction.

And when the opportunity finally appears, they're already the obvious choice.

Cheat Sheet:

• Build relationships before you need them
• Give value without expecting an immediate return
• Communities create trust
• Trust creates opportunities
• Long-term recruiters play a longer game

From the Talent Matters Podcast.

A recruitment startup does not need a giant tech stack on day one.

In this Recruitment Cheat Code, Holly breaks down the 3 core systems recruiters actually need to get operational fast without overcomplicating things.

Simple first. Scale later.

Cheat Sheet:

• Why CRM should come first
• The importance of candidate sourcing channels
• Why communication systems matter more than most recruiters realise
• How to avoid overbuying recruitment tech early

From the Talent Matters podcast.

Recruitment agencies are under pressure to reduce fees right now.

But once you drop your rates, it’s incredibly hard to recover them later.

In this Recruitment Cheat Code, Ashby Jenkins explains why recruiters need to hold the line on pricing, protect the value of their work, and avoid racing the industry to the bottom.

Cheat Sheet:

• Why lower fees create long-term problems
• The hidden danger of undercutting competitors
• How to defend your value in difficult markets
• Why walking away is sometimes the right move

From the Talent Matters Podcast.

Most recruiters only review job board performance when contracts renew.

By then, the damage is already done.

This Cheat Code breaks down why agencies should be reviewing ROI throughout the contract, not just at renewal time, and how small changes can massively improve performance.

Cheat Sheet:

• Track ROI continuously
• Review contracts after 90 days
• Identify weak-performing sources early
• Optimise content, salary and job setup before renewal panic hits

From the Talent Matters Podcast.

Great recruiters don’t wait for the market to improve. They adapt faster than the market changes.

When hiring slows down, most recruiters focus on what’s disappeared.

The best recruiters look for where demand has moved.

This clip breaks down why consistency, adaptability, and understanding market shifts matter more than ever in difficult recruitment markets.

Cheat Sheet:

• You can’t control the market
• Consistency matters during downturns
• Demand always moves somewhere
• Strong recruiters adapt faster than competitors
• Relationships still matter even when budgets slow
  

From the Talent Matters Podcast.

The best recruiters don’t just fill open roles.

They create opportunities before vacancies even exist.

In this Recruitment Cheat Code, Tamar Avakian explains why proactive recruiting still matters — even in a market dominated by email, automation, and structured hiring processes.

Because great recruiters don’t sit back and wait for inbound jobs.

They actively represent strong candidates in the market.

Cheat Sheet:

• Cold calling still has value in recruitment
• Strong recruiters proactively market candidates
• Relationships matter more than ever
• Passive recruiting limits opportunity creation

From the Talent Matters podcast.

In episode 2 of Recruitment CheatCodes, host Chris talks to the legendary Kamila, a data analyst at Wave, to discuss the importance of website analytics for recruiters. They discuss Kamila's three essential cheat codes about why website analytics is important for every recruiter, the key metrics to track and measure, and why recruiters should be using Google for Jobs.

With a vast amount of experience in digital marketing, SEO and PPC advertising, Kamila offers advice packed with valuable insights and tips for recruiting success. From understanding your website's performance to tracking your recruitment efforts, any recruiter looking to improve their website's performance needs to check this out.

Wave attracts talented candidates to recruitment agencies with three products that together form a complete solution for candidate attraction - WaveTrackR (data-powered multi-poster, analytics platform and application management system), WaveMedia (strategic media buying), and RecWebs (professionally designed recruitment websites to showcase your brand).