
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Employer branding has become an industry of polished campaigns, expensive EVP exercises and carefully crafted promises. But how much of it reflects the reality of working for an organisation?
In this episode of The Marketing Rules, James Whitelock is joined by Amit Parmar, CEO of Cliquify, to challenge the traditional approach to employer branding and explore whether the industry has lost sight of what really matters.
In this episode, they discuss:
Why employer branding has become too focused on recruitment campaigns.
Whether employer branding belongs in HR, talent acquisition or marketing.
Why traditional EVPs often fail to reflect the reality of employee experience.
The difference between building a strong employer brand and simply promoting one.
How employee sentiment and real-time feedback could reshape employer branding.
It's a conversation about moving beyond the marketing promises and understanding what actually makes an organisation somewhere people want to work, and stay.
Download Own The Conversation Here: https://thinkincircles.com/#ebook
#MarketingRules
#TheVoiceOfRecruitmentMarketing
To connect with Amit:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/parmar79/
Learn more about James and ThinkinCircles:
https://thinkincircles.com/
https://www.themarketingrules.com/
Everyone tells recruiters to work harder, move faster and do more. But what if the real solution isn't putting in more hours, but protecting your time better?
In this episode, Tayla Veenstra speaks to Sarah Higgs, Founder of Recruitment Angel, about why time has become one of the recruitment industry's most valuable assets. They discuss burnout, how virtual assistants are changing the way recruiters work, relationship-led business development, and why creating a more sustainable way of working is becoming increasingly important for recruiters and business owners alike.
The conversation also explores Sarah's journey from recruiter to founder, what she has learned building a successful business as a female entrepreneur, and why genuine relationships continue to outperform hard selling in today's recruitment market.
If you're looking to grow your recruitment business without sacrificing your wellbeing, this episode is packed with practical advice, honest insights and ideas that could change the way you think about success.
In this episode we discuss:
Download Own The Conversation Here:
https://thinkincircles.com/#ebook
To connect with Sarah:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahhiggs01/
Learn more about ThinkinCircles:
https://thinkincircles.com/
https://www.themarketingrules.com/
Recruitment technology is moving fast, but that does not necessarily mean recruiters need more tools.
In this episode of The Marketing Rules Podcast, Moh Mehrabani, co-founder of Tavi, joins the conversation to explore how AI agents could change the way recruiters work, why search and sourcing are far from commoditised, and what happens when technology starts working alongside recruiters rather than simply giving them another platform to manage.
Moh brings an interesting perspective to recruitment. He has built and exited a technology business, worked across consulting, policy and brand strategy, and only relatively recently entered the recruitment industry. That outsider perspective has shaped how Tavi has been built and how he thinks about the future of recruiter workflows.
The conversation covers:
The episode also finishes somewhere slightly different, with a discussion about Moh’s other life as experimental musician Saint Abdullah, creativity, music production and why creating something genuinely distinctive still matters.
Another conversation about where recruitment is heading, and the ideas shaping what comes next.
Download Own The Conversation Here: https://thinkincircles.com/#ebook
The Marketing Rules Podcast is sponsored by Smart Sifty
smartsifty.com
#MarketingRules
#TheVoiceOfRecruitmentMarketing
To connect with Moh:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammad-mehrabani-26b0b914/
Learn more about James and ThinkinCircles:
https://thinkincircles.com/
https://www.themarketingrules.com/
Everyone is creating content. AI can write a month's worth of LinkedIn posts in minutes. So how do you stand out when everyone is trying to build a personal brand?
In this episode, James is joined by Rhona Barnett-Pierce, founder of Workfluencer Media, to explore what actually builds authority today. They discuss why conversations matter more than impressions, whether LinkedIn has become too noisy, how businesses should think about founder brands versus company brands, and why AI should amplify your thinking rather than replace your voice.
If you're looking to build influence, strengthen your brand or create content that leads to real commercial conversations, this episode is packed with practical insights.
In this episode we discuss:
Download Own The Conversation Here: https://thinkincircles.com/#ebook
The Marketing Rules Podcast is sponsored by Smart Sifty
smartsifty.com
#MarketingRules
#TheVoiceOfRecruitmentMarketing
To connect with Rhona:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhonabarnettpierce/
Learn more about James and ThinkinCircles:
https://thinkincircles.com/
https://www.themarketingrules.com/
In this episode, James is joined by Adam Gordon, founder of Poetry and one of the recruitment industry's leading technology entrepreneurs. Together they explore the rise of recruiter enablement, why AI is changing the way recruitment teams operate, and what the recruiter of the future might look like.
In this episode, we discuss:
Key takeaways:
Whether you're running a recruitment agency, leading an in-house talent team or simply trying to understand where AI is taking our industry, this episode is packed with practical insights and plenty of food for thought.
The Marketing Rules Podcast is sponsored by Smart Sifty
smartsifty.com
#MarketingRules
#TheVoiceOfRecruitmentMarketing
To connect with Adam:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwgordon/
Learn more about James and ThinkinCircles:
https://thinkincircles.com/
https://www.themarketingrules.com/
In this episode of the Marketing Rules Podcast, James is joined by Theo Smith, one of the leading voices on neurodiversity, inclusion and workplace design.
Theo has spent more than 17 years working across recruitment, talent acquisition, recruitment marketing and HR technology. Today, he helps organisations understand how hiring processes, workplace systems and company cultures can unintentionally exclude talented people.
They discuss:
Whether you're a recruiter, talent acquisition leader, hiring manager or business owner, this conversation will challenge how you think about hiring and workplace performance.
The Marketing Rules Podcast is sponsored by Smart Sifty
smartsifty.com
#MarketingRules
#TheVoiceOfRecruitmentMarketing
To connect with Theo:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/theosmithuk/
Learn more about James and ThinkinCircles:
https://thinkincircles.com/
https://www.themarketingrules.com/
This week on The Marketing Rules Podcast James is joined by Andy Dunn, Managing Director of TEAM, the UK’s largest network of independently owned recruitment businesses. They dive into something that almost everybody talks about, but very few people genuinely understand: networking and community building.
They discuss what separates networks that create real opportunities from those that simply look good on paper, why giving value first matters, and how to stay visible without becoming just another voice in the noise. Andy also shares what it really takes to build and manage a thriving community, the mistakes people make when trying to grow one, and why face to face connections still matter in an increasingly digital world.
They also get into:
Whether you run a recruitment business, work in talent acquisition, or are trying to build stronger relationships in your market, there are plenty of practical takeaways in this one.
The Marketing Rules Podcast is sponsored by Smart Sifty
smartsifty.com
#MarketingRules
#TheVoiceOfRecruitmentMarketing
To connect with Andy:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyedunne/
Learn more about James and ThinkinCircles:
https://thinkincircles.com/
https://www.themarketingrules.com/
Most people in recruitment think burnout is just part of the job.
Long hours. Constant pressure. Always “on”.
But what if the real problem isn’t workload… it’s how we’re operating?
In this episode of the Marketing Rules Podcast, James is joined by recruitment leader turned performance coach Michelle Flynn to talk about sleep, stress, burnout, breathwork and why so many recruiters are running at 100mph with no recovery.
This is one of those episodes that will probably make you stop and rethink how you work.
They cover:
If you work in recruitment, run a business or constantly feel switched on, this episode will probably hit home.
The Marketing Rules Podcast is sponsored by Smart Sifty
smartsifty.com
#MarketingRules
#TheVoiceOfRecruitmentMarketing
To connect with Michelle:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleflynn/
Learn more about James and ThinkinCircles:
https://thinkincircles.com/
https://www.themarketingrules.com/
This episode flips one of the biggest assumptions in recruitment on its head.
We spend so much time defining people by job titles, CVs and neat career paths. But what if that is exactly what is limiting performance, creativity and growth?
In this conversation, I sit down with Daen Fox to unpack why labels in recruitment are becoming less relevant, and what actually drives high performance in today’s market.
We get into the reality of modern recruitment. Why generic processes are creating average results. How curiosity is becoming a real competitive advantage. And why the people who step outside their defined role are often the ones who win.
We also talk about identity beyond work. From building a career in recruitment to performing as a DJ, Daen shares what happens when you stop trying to fit into one lane and start leaning into what makes you different.
This is not a conversation about theory. It is about how people actually operate, perform and grow in a market that is changing fast.
If you are building a team, growing a recruitment business, or just feel like you are being boxed in by your role, this episode will challenge how you think about work.
What you will take away:
This one is about thinking differently, operating differently, and ultimately winning differently.
The Marketing Rules Podcast is sponsored by Smart Sifty
smartsifty.com
#MarketingRules
#TheVoiceOfRecruitmentMarketing
To connect with Daen:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daenjafox/
Learn more about James and ThinkinCircles:
https://thinkincircles.com/
https://www.themarketingrules.com/
In this episode of The Marketing Rules Live, the ThinkinCircles team explores how AI is reshaping recruitment marketing from a marketer’s perspective. We discuss the rise of AI-generated written content, the risks of overusing automated imagery, and the growing challenge of protecting brand consistency as consultants publish more frequently than ever.
This session covers:
We also examine the wider implications of AI use, from sustainability concerns to misinformation risks, and why due diligence is now a business-critical responsibility.
AI can accelerate your marketing. It cannot replace your thinking.
If recruitment is a people business, then recruitment marketing must remain human at its core.
Featuring Chris, Kat, Fiona, Richard and Tayla from ThinkinCircles.
The Marketing Rules Podcast is sponsored by Smart Sifty
smartsifty.com
#MarketingRules
#TheVoiceOfRecruitmentMarketing
Learn more about James and ThinkinCircles:
https://thinkincircles.com/
https://www.themarketingrules.com/
From the publisher's feed