Quick question: When was the last time you read a LinkedIn post from a recruiter and thought, “Wow, this person really gets our industry”?

Yeah, me neither.

Here’s the problem most of us face: We’re trying to attract specialized talent (engineers, developers, nurses, etc.) but we don’t have deep expertise in their fields. So we end up writing generic “join our amazing team” posts that make everyone’s eyes glaze over.

But what if there was a way to create expert-level content for ANY industry, even if you know absolutely nothing about it?

In this week’s episode of The Next Step, I walk through exactly how to do this using a simple AI tool (Perplexity) that costs $20/month.

Here’s the system:

* Find where your target talent actually hangs out (hint: it’s probably Reddit)

* Use AI to analyze what they’re discussing RIGHT NOW

* Connect those trending topics to your company’s unique value

* Generate weeks of specific, credible content ideas in 30 minutes

Real example: Instead of posting “We’re hiring civil engineers!” you could share insights about recent infrastructure project failures and how your company’s focus on long-term stability prevents those mistakes.

Which post do you think gets more engagement from experienced engineers?

The best part? Once you build this system, you can run it every Monday morning to generate fresh content ideas based on what your target talent is actually talking about that week.

[Watch the full breakdown here →]

This isn’t about replacing human creativity—it’s about using AI to research and understand communities you’d never have access to otherwise.

Worth 20 minutes of your time? I think so.

Talk soon,

James

Other useful links:

My Dueling Ted Talks series starts tomorrow with Rocki Howard on LinkedIn Live.

See 25 employer brand agencies side-by-side in their own words so you can pick the perfect partner.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit employerbrandheadlines.substack.com