The Resilient Recruiter

“We spend 50% of our lives working… What is crazy is that 8 out of 10 people in today’s workforce say they don’t even feel a connection to their jobs or their employer. Which means that most of us are probably half of our lives feeling disengaged and maybe feeling unfulfilled.”

This is how Charlie Saffro opened her TEDx talk on prioritizing people in your business. As the CEO of a recruiting firm, she gives insightful takes on how a people-first culture can positively impact you and your client’s retention and long-term revenue.

Charlie is the CEO of CS Recruiting, which specializes in the Supply Chain, Logistics, and Transportation industries. The company is based in Chicago and recruits nationally. Charlie founded CS Recruiting over a decade ago and has built it from the ground up into a multi-million dollar organization.

She leads a team of 28 talented recruiters, emphasizing a people-first culture. 

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:55] How Charlie fell into recruiting and eventually put up her recruitment firm.

• [10:46] Winning and completing a project involving hiring 50 people in the first year of business.

• [14:32] Milestones within the 10-year journey as a founder and CEO.

• [21:41] Fostering a People-First Culture and its long-term benefits to retention and revenue.

• [33:58] The four magnets in building a people-first culture.

• [36:25] Transitioning to and embracing the full CEO role by learning to delegate.

• [43:47] Keys to developing a strong brand.

• [53:33] Charlie’s perspective on the current market environment and how she responds as a leader.

The Four Magnets in Building a People-First Culture

From a business point of view, a people-focused culture benefits employees and contributes to the organization's long-term success and resilience. Charlie gave very specific and pragmatic initiatives that they implement to engage with their employees. What strategies can you implement to foster a people-first culture in your recruitment firm? 

Charlie explains that culture acts like a magnet in attracting the right talent while repelling those who don't align with the company's values. She breaks down this concept into four key "talent magnets":

• Walk the Talk: The company should live its values daily, celebrating employees who embody these values, like recognizing "value winners" quarterly.

• Beyond the Paycheck: This magnet offers more than just a salary; it offers flexibility, benefits, and other tangible and intangible perks.

• Intentional Connection: This is about fostering genuine relationships within the team, getting to know them beyond their work roles, and maintaining regular check-ins to gauge team happiness.

• Growth Takes Two: This emphasizes collaboration between employees and leadership on career development, ensuring promotions align with employees' personal goals and conducting "evolution meetings" to discuss future aspirations.

Charlie believes that these magnets help attract and retain the right talent while ensuring a strong and aligned company culture.

Practical Steps to Enhance People Engagement

What steps do you currently take to enhance your team's engagement? Does it need a big budget? I wanted to know the actual actions that Charlie implements from a leadership perspective to further a people-centric environment. 

A notable takeaway is how Charlie initiates small, personal gestures of appreciation, like handwritten notes or small gifts, regardless of whether there is no budget allocation for these gestures. These small acts of recognition made a significant impact on employee morale and engagement. Over time, this evolved into a formal appreciation and recognition program within her organization.

The program includes a budget for recognizing milestones such as new hires, promotions, anniversaries, and personal achievements like buying a house or having a baby. There's also a "petty cash" fund for impromptu recognition, where any team member can submit a form to acknowledge a colleague who might need a pick-me-up, whether it's sending a gift card, treating them to lunch, or something as simple as giving them their favorite candy (a part of their onboarding process is asking members to share favorite foods or places).

These small, thoughtful gestures cost very little and can significantly boost employee morale and foster a strong, people-centered culture. She advocates for sharing these practices with clients, especially those in small businesses, to help them retain their talent by showing genuine appreciation for their employees. Would you apply the same for your team?

How to Develop a Strong Brand

While the topic of an engaging culture is certainly most interesting, I also wanted to pick Charlie’s brains on building a strong brand and online presence. Charlie is excellent at leveraging her voice through social media and building her brand. She became a recruiter back when LinkedIn was not yet a thing, and she is now utilizing various platforms to build her brand.

You may find the following action items helpful when building your brand:

1. Start Posting Consistently: Initially, Charlie used LinkedIn like many recruiters—sourcing candidates and building projects without much focus on content creation. However, she began posting content regularly, even though her early posts were generic and received little engagement.

2. Experiment with Content: After years of posting expected content, such as interview tips and salary negotiation advice, Charlie noticed that her posts weren't resonating with her audience. Inspired by a viral TikTok video her son created, she experimented with more personal and relatable content. This shift in approach proved to be a game-changer.

3. Share Personal Stories: The viral success of a family-related post gave Charlie the confidence to open up more about her personal life, including her experiences as a mother and leader. This authenticity helped her connect with her audience on a deeper level and drove business opportunities in unexpected ways.

4. Engage with Your Audience: Charlie found that sharing personal content led to increased engagement, with people reaching out to her with business inquiries and personal messages. This interaction helped her build a community and strengthened her brand's presence.

5. Post Regularly and Stay Inspired: Charlie developed a routine of posting five days a week, always looking for inspiration in her daily life that she could share with her audience. She emphasized the importance of staying consistent and adapting content based on what resonates with her followers.

Charlie Saffro Bio and Contact Info

Meet Charlie, a recruitment expert with a passion for human leadership, talent acquisition, employee engagement, company culture, and retention. She founded CS Recruiting over a decade ago and has built it from the ground up, managing a multi-million dollar organization and leading a team of talented recruiters with an emphasis on a people-first culture.

As CEO and Founder, Charlie's mission is to create meaningful connections that empower others to discover their full potential. She is a recognized expert in the Supply Chain, Logistics, and Transportation industry and her firm has worked with a diverse range of clients nationwide.

Charlie's goal is to develop long-lasting relationships with clients and candidates, making appropriate and timely career matches for all levels of positions. Beyond her work, Charlie is also a dedicated yogi and encourages her clients and team to practice mindfulness in the workplace and beyond. She believes that personal development and self-care are crucial to achieving success and fulfillment in all areas of life. Charlie is also a proud mother of three teenage boys and actively volunteers with local organizations to support and empower women in the workforce.

• Charlie on LinkedIn

• CS Recruiting website link

• Charlie’s TEDx talk: Business IS Personal - Prioritizing People Pays Off | Charlie Saffro | TEDxWilmette

People and Resources Mentioned

• Amy Cuddy TED Talk - Fake it Till You Make it

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call

• Mark on LinkedIn, 

• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby

• Mark on Facebook

• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, please take two minutes to leave a review. Your review is greatly appreciated because it helps us attract a bigger audience and help more recruiters.

When he started his search firm, Vince was told that you would make 100 grand in year one if you're lucky. In his first year, he did more than $600k in revenue! Was that just a lucky year? Definitely not. He would not even consider his 12 years in business his best year. What are Vince’s key strategies in achieving this phenomenal result? In this episode, he shares two things: his belief system and his hard work.

Vince Dunne is the President of Dunne Search Group, an executive search firm based in South Carolina. For the last 12 years, he’s specialized in recruiting salespeople for the biotech industry and has helped build some of the most important companies in cancer testing.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [01:56] How Vince got into recruiting and how he was able to shorten his learning curve.

• [10:26] Transitioning from a top recruiter to a recruitment business owner.

• [14:27] Overcoming the scarcity mindset: would you be friends with a close competitor?

• [16:34] Pulling off $600k in his first year of business. 

• [25:51] How Vince set up 210 interviews to land 70 monthly placements.

• [35:10] Discussion on Retain vs Contingent?

• [36:53] Vince reveals his team size and structure.

• [42:10] How to pitch an exclusive search arrangement with your client.

• [45:25] Topic on tech stack and approach to reaching out to clients and candidates.

• [56:03] How to “make a name for yourself.”

• [59:12] The biggest adversity Vince faced in his career.

Pulling off $600k Revenue in His First Year

Vince and I talked about his motivation to transition from being a top recruiter to launching his search group. “But I noticed I was getting my clients. Nothing was handed to me, and I thought it was because ‘Vince will figure it out. You know, he's. He's doing well. He's rookie of the year.’ I'm hitting all my numbers every quarter… So I was getting my clients anyway. So why am I splitting my business? And so I felt like I was ready. I've got enough clients out there of people that want to do business with me.” Knowing that he was ready, he took on the challenge of becoming a recruitment business owner, leveraging the skills he learned and the relationships he built over the years. Remarkably, he was able to make more than $600k in revenue in his first year!

I wanted to dive deep into the causal factors of this phenomenal success. Vince believed that he was just lucky. But you will find out as we continue our conversation that there are two main ingredients for his secret sauce: his belief system & hard work. Vince was really competitive and strictly adhered to his no-fail mindset. He would reach out to ten people before 9:00 AM daily to generate leads. These traits enabled him to shorten his learning curve when he was just a rookie and surely contributed to his success as a business owner.

How to “Make a Name” For Yourself

Another topic that resonates with me is Vince’s emphasis on building a reputation and making a name for yourself. Vince’s niche is in the Biotech industry, a very competitive circle, which means that your reputation is a huge deal. Vince shared insights on how he makes a name for himself and that people know him within the sales biotech world.

• Reputation Through Results: Vince builds a strong reputation by consistently delivering results, making successful placements, and ensuring client satisfaction.

• Client Focus: He emphasizes the importance of caring for his clients, going above and beyond, and even working late hours to meet their needs.

• Referrals: Vince actively asks for referrals during and after a project to expand his network and connect with more potential clients and managers.

• LinkedIn Recommendations: He sometimes asks clients for LinkedIn recommendations to build credibility and visibility.

• Personal Connections: Vince maintains relationships by sending personalized gestures, like Christmas gifts, and ensuring that he remains in his clients’ minds for future opportunities.

Building Relationships is Always Better in the Long Run

Vince shared an insightful take on building relationships versus burning bridges. If you have been unfairly treated by a client before, you will most likely relate to his story. I asked Vince about the biggest adversity in his career, and he shared that it was learning not to burn bridges.  His aggressive, competitive nature sometimes led to conflicts with clients, particularly when he felt he wasn’t fairly compensated or recognized for his work.

Vince acknowledges that, in hindsight, there were times he should have taken the high road instead of standing his ground, which ultimately damaged relationships with some clients. He overcame this challenge by realizing the importance of choosing his battles wisely and maintaining long-term relationships, even if it meant compromising on smaller issues. He now prioritizes staying loyal to clients who treat him well, even if it means turning down business from competitors. 

A key takeaway is that maintaining a positive image and strong relationships is crucial in the long run. Vince balances his competitive nature with a more strategic approach, focusing on clients who value and respect him while still holding onto the principles that have made him successful.

Vince Dunne Bio and Contact Info

A graduate of the Coles College of Business, Vince Dunne brings his keen business acumen and 12 years of accomplished biotech search experience placing the most qualified candidates in both established corporations and start-up companies. Vince utilizes his proven, unique business model to conduct his search to locate and refer the ideal candidate(s) to meet the tailored, strategic needs of an organization, conserving their company resources and increasing corporate efficiencies.

Vince has helped build out some of the most important companies in cancer testing.   Having focused on many areas in biotech, the oncology and women's health space is where we spend most of our time.   We pride ourselves on being very well-known and trusted in the market.  

• Vince on LinkedIn

• Dunne Search Group website link

People and Resources Mentioned

• Craig Picken on LinkedIn

• Rich Rosen on LinkedIn

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call

• Mark on LinkedIn

• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby

• Mark on Facebook

• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, please take two minutes to leave a review. Your review is greatly appreciated because it helps us attract a bigger audience and help more recruiters.

How did a Certified Public Accountant launch and scale his recruitment business from the ground up? In this episode, you will hear about Troy’s journey in starting and growing his search business! Troy shares the hurdles he faced and his strategies to overcome them and thrive.

Troy is the President of Benchmark Search Group in Dallas. He founded the company in 2018 after working at one of the Big Four accounting firms and more than a decade with one of the largest national recruiting firms. 

Troy has built Benchmark’s reputation as a trusted advisor for sourcing and recommending the right accounting talent, specializing in direct hire placement, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. 

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:02] How Troy got into recruiting and was almost fired in his first 90 days.

• [08:00] Winning Best Place to Work for Working Parents.

• [11:57] Key challenges in Troy’s journey of building his own business.

• [21:44] Time tracking exercise to improve efficiency while focusing on value-adding activities.

• [24:00] Hiring a VA and fostering an environment where your team members are proactive.

• [33:09] Doing things differently to improve the training component.

• [42:40] Troy shares insights on what he had learned while running his search firm.

• [50:01] Troy’s three most important metrics in running a search firm.

Overcoming Showstoppers When Launching a Search Firm

How a successful search firm owner started his journey is always interesting. Most often, launching your recruitment business can be extremely challenging! Even if you are an excellent recruiter, running your own business is a different ball game; nothing can fully prepare you for it. Troy shared his journey from being a solo entrepreneur to building his own team. Below are the takeaways from the challenges he had, and I am sure you will be able to relate if you are already running your own recruitment business:

• Starting as a solo entrepreneur: Troy knew he needed to hire, but it took him nine months to hire his first employee.

• Slow initial growth: His hiring process was slow, which resulted in impediments. However, Troy focused on hiring top producers from other firms who were looking for a better culture fit, enabling him to build a core team over time.

• Lack of infrastructure or processes in place: When he started to scale, Troy realized he didn’t have enough infrastructure or processes to support his growth. He established SOPs and initiated training programs to create a more scalable structure.

• Trying to do everything: Troy became a bottleneck as he felt he needed to get involved in everything. He struggled with the need to control all aspects of the business. He eventually learned to delegate and focus on higher-level activities.

Fostering a Proactive Team Environment for Virtual Team Members

A good sign of a great team is when your members come to you and ask to take stuff off your plate rather than you having to reach out and delegate the tasks. This behavior describes Troy’s team, especially his virtual assistants. How do you foster a proactive team environment with a virtual team? 

Troy fosters a proactive team environment, even with onboarding virtual assistants, by treating them as integral members of the team rather than just freelancers. He emphasizes the importance of full integration, where the VAs are not just completing tasks but are actively involved in the business. An example is when his first VA quickly took on leadership responsibilities and even helped onboard a new marketing VA while he was away, demonstrating trust and empowerment.

Another approach is to ensure that the VAs are involved in the company's operations and goals, which fosters a sense of ownership and commitment. This approach allows them to proactively take on tasks and support the team, contributing to a strong and cohesive work environment despite the physical distance and different time zones.

Troy’s Top Three Metrics in Running a Search Firm

Metrics and KPIs are not there to micro-manage your team but rather guide them in ensuring that they are prioritizing tasks that contribute to your organization’s bigger objectives. I wanted to know Troy’s take on the three most important metrics to measure his team’s success. He gave a straightforward response: “Recruiters have to have at least, ten interview screens... And then six client interviews in a week... If you end up with three a week, you're going to end up with one to two placements a month. And so there's a scaling factor to that. Then, on the client side, there are at least two meetings with clients every single week. And then that will be five to eight also interviews a week.”

Troy Ashby Bio and Contact Info

Troy Ashby, President and Founder of Benchmark Search Group, founded the company in 2018 after working at one of the Big Four accounting firms, in addition to more than a decade of experience working with one of the largest national recruiting firms. With more than 20 years of professional service experience, Troy has built Benchmark’s reputation as a trusted advisor for sourcing and recommending the right accounting talent, specializing in direct hire placement, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. Troy is responsible for overseeing business development and talent acquisition along with P&L responsibility, marketing, and operations.

Troy’s greatest joy comes from encouraging and helping others, personally and professionally. He has a genuine passion for people, developing long-term relationships while working to make a lasting impact in the Dallas Fort Worth community – Troy takes a servant leader attitude to heart and delivers excellence every day. He has a proven track record of building teams, creating culture, and empowering associates, clients, and candidates to win!

He has a passion for developing long-term relationships in both business and his community. He has been actively involved in various professional and civic organizations around DFW chairing committees or serving on boards including the Richardson Family YMCA, The Family Place, the Dallas Regional Chamber, and the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of Leadership Dallas and Leadership Richardson and has also been an active volunteer in March of Dimes, Genesis Women’s Shelter, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He has been a guest speaker for multiple professional associations including the Risk Management Association (RMA) Young Risk Management Association (YRMA) and the Dallas Society of CPAs. Troy has also been cited in industry publications such as the Journal of Accountancy as an expert source

Troy received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Oklahoma State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and previously worked in public accounting at Ernst & Young, Arthur Andersen, and Whitley Penn. He and his wife Cayce have two children, Owen and Claire. Troy places a strong emphasis on family which is why he has built a strong internal corporate culture for his employees, centered around a workplace that has been designated as a Best Place to Work for Working Parents for multiple years.

• Troy on LinkedIn

• Benchmark Search Group website link

• Benchmark Search on Facebook

• Benchmark Search on X (Formerly Twitter)

• Benchmark Search on Instagram

• Benchmark Search on YouTube

People and Resources Mentioned

• Clockify

• Asana

• The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call

• Mark on LinkedIn

• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby

• Mark on Facebook

• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, please take two minutes to leave a review. Your review is greatly appreciated because it helps us attract a bigger audience and help more recruiters.

“You can't manage people and lead them at the same time… You're managing a task. You're leading people”

Do you apply the same principles when running your recruitment firm? How do you develop leaders and managers to establish a succession plan when you are scaling it?

My special guest, Trey Hugley, shares his insights on fostering an environment in his recruitment business that not only grew his team in numbers but professionally as well. Trey is the President of Genesis Resources based in Dallas Forth Worth. Trey is a leader in executive search for the insurance industry, with over 28 years of experience.

Having launched and sold a recruiting firm, Trey founded Genesis Resources in 2004 with a commitment to bringing a consultative approach to recruitment. Trey also founded a sister business, Genesis Industries, in 2014, expanding consultancy practices into the Manufacturing, Engineering, Accounting & Finance, and Healthcare sectors. 

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:21] Trey’s story from being a recruiter to starting his firm.

• [06:45] Sharing perspectives on how commitment and exclusivity work with client relationships.

• [19:54] Milestones in building an organization - how Trey built his team to 27 people.

• [33:09] How do you decide when you have to part ways with a team member?

• [46:56] Planning your brakes rather than it creeping up on you.

• [51:13] Developing business leaders and managers.

Scaling His Recruitment Firm Successfully

A key achievement of Trey that I wanted to pick his brains on is how he progressed in building his business from just him to having 27 team members. “I could have made a lot more money over the last 15 years if I was just doing it on my own. Mine is an end game. If I build it, I think my mentality is a little different. I enjoy the concept of building. I like the idea of growing something.”

Trey shared his practices when looking for someone to join his team. He mentioned hiring competitive individuals, often with a background in team sports, who can thrive in a competitive environment. He stressed the importance of training and creating an environment where his staff can support and learn from each other. We covered two focus areas when scaling: taking responsibility and ownership for hiring decisions and training to ensure that the right people are in the right roles. 

Deciding When to Let Go of a Team Member

It can be challenging to let go of team members. A recruitment business owner could have invested so much time and resources in hiring and training, and the relationship built over time can make it difficult to let go. 

Although difficult, Trey explained that it is part of scaling your business effectively, especially if the overall fit of your recruiter is not aligned with your organizational goals. He outlined the following objective factors that can help you decide when it is time to transition your team member to a new career:

1. If they're not meeting their metrics, like having consistent candidate or client conversations, it’s a red flag. 

2. Their ability to generate revenue is crucial; it's a concern if they're not producing at least $20,000 a month (in the case of Trey’s organization). 

3. Assessing their pending deals and interview activities can predict future performance; if these numbers are low, they indicate potential issues. 

4. If they lack the drive and initiative to meet basic expectations consistently, it may be time to let go.

Trey ended it by saying,  “We'll, you know, we'll call it a career transition is what we call it. We're gonna transition you. If you can't succeed here, we don't think you're gonna be able to succeed in recruiting.”

Developing Leaders

Engaging your staff and making them leaders is another achievement that Trey is proud of. He has not only grown his team in size, but he grew them professionally into team leaders and managers. He described his approach and mindset well, “There's a certain humility that comes with managing and, leadership, and I think those are two different, two completely different things. Management is the day-to-day, task-oriented. Have you met your numbers? Leading is, how do I make someone better? … But the concept is, you can't manage people and lead them at the same time. Right? You're managing a task. You're leading people, at least in my mind.”

One thing that Trey shared is fostering an environment where asking questions and continuous learning are supported. He said, “I think the biggest piece is that there is no dumb question. And those who are most inquisitive tend to grow quicker than the others in nurturing a lot of that.”

He also shared an integrated approach (egalitarian versus a top-down model), where his staff can always approach him for ideas, scenarios, and proposals. This is except for metrics and numbers, for which clear expectations are in place.

Aside from very competitive compensation, Trey also shared their setup for working onsite and working from home, which offers practical benefits to his employees.

Trey Hugley Bio and Contact Info

An Executive Leader in the Insurance Recruiting Field for over 28 years. Trey Hugley launched and sold a recruiting firm and then began building Genesis Resources in 2004 as the premier example of partnership in the industry. Launched as an Executive Search firm, Genesis quickly moved to a full-service recruiting organization focused on the recruitment of passive candidates for several of its premier clients in the insurance industry.  

Trey graduated from Texas A&M University in 1994 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. Upon graduating, he began his career in Recruitment with a boutique recruiting firm out of college and a focus on multiple disciplines. Soon after, he joined his partner in a start-up dedicated solely to the property & casualty insurance industry. After 8 years, Trey sold to his partner to start a more consultative approach to recruitment; one that was more dedicated toward executive search methodologies with an overall consultative approach that highlighted his passion for successful recruitment and the improvement of individual careers.  In 2004, with a focus on “new beginnings” as the name Genesis implies, Trey launched his new company – Genesis Resources. Trey focused on integrating true consultation efforts into recruitment and building relationships with every professional with whom he interacted. Genesis Resources today focuses on passive candidate recruitment while staying at the forefront of the insurance industry.

Trey’s career includes over twenty-nine years of furthering the careers of others. He has developed a variety of leaders and helped them grow to their full potential in the insurance industry. Not only has he achieved this externally, but his current employees have followed in his footsteps, and within a span of the last ten years, Genesis Resources now has several leaders and Executive Recruiters who elevate the careers of all those with whom they come in contact.

In 2014, several of Trey’s HR leadership relationships moved outside the industry. Together, they built a recruitment offering that would highlight the best practices of Genesis Resources while focusing on several new industries; Genesis Industries was born. From a national project to building out an internal recruiting team, revamping an entire sales organization, and multiple other leadership placements along the way, Genesis Industries has become its own “go-to” consultative and recruiting firm with its staff of experts. Genesis Industries has a primary focus on Manufacturing, Engineering, Accounting & Finance, and Healthcare.

• Trey on LinkedIn

• Genesis Resources website link

• Genesis Resources on Facebook

People and Resources Mentioned

• Gail Audibert on LinkedIn

• Gerald Legrove on LinkedIn

• Joel Slenning on LinkedIn

• Chris DiNaso on LinkedIn

Related Podcast You Might Enjoy

• TRR#171 4 Essential Skills that All Recruitment Business Owners Need to Be Successful, with Chris Dinaso

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call

• Mark on LinkedIn

• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby

• Mark on Facebook

• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, please take two minutes to leave a review. Your review is greatly appreciated because it helps us attract a bigger audience and help more recruiters.

Already exploring AI but unsure how to maximize its potential to elevate your recruitment business?

In this episode, our coach and Client Services Director, Julie McGrath, shares how you can further embrace AI when creating content specific to your niche market. Julie shares insights on how you can use AI to drive sustainable growth for your recruitment business. 

Julie is a highly experienced coach with 15 years of experience in the recruitment industry, including 8 years as a solo recruiter specializing in Tech and Executive recruitment. Before her career in recruitment, Julie worked in large-scale operations and managed 200 people. 

You will also get a preview of an AI Program she designed explicitly for Recruiters and recruitment business owners, including a Training program for recruiters to help with Business Development, account management, and candidate sourcing.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:31] From a graphic designer to a recruitment business owner - how Julie got into recruitment.

• [09:57] Retrospect: things Julie would have done differently when starting her business.

• [16:02] Developing programs to assist young job seekers.

• [26:30] Running a successful RPO model.

• [31:03] Common qualities of successful recruitment business owners.

• [41:09] Leveraging AI to improve your recruitment business.

• [51:31] Creating content specific to your client and candidates’ needs through AI.

• [1:01:30] Testing ChatGPT 4.0.

Common Success Qualities of Recruiters and Recruitment Business Owners

Julie’s experience as a recruiter, business owner, and recruitment coach puts her in a position to work with some top-performing recruiters and business owners. She shared great insights and observations on the most common challenges and critical success factors. 

“I'm very fortunate to be in this position where I get a peek behind the curtain of the top-performing recruiters. And then also those that are maybe new to the industry that are just starting and trying to define their feet, like we all did it at one point or another in our career.”

Here are the critical success factors that she shared:

• Consistency in actions and routines is foundational to success in business and personal growth.

• Implementation and Action - Top performers build consistent work routines and stay focused on both immediate tasks and long-term goals.

• Work on and in the Business - Balancing working "in" the business (daily operations) and "on" the business (strategic growth) is crucial.

• Goal Setting - Setting specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timely (SMART) goals is essential.

• Accountability ensures continuous progress and the ability to navigate setbacks.

• Business Building vs. Job Creation  - Successful recruitment business owners understand the difference between creating a business and creating a job for themselves.

• Resilience - This involves self-awareness, flexibility, and adaptability.

• Self-Awareness and Adaptability - Adapting to changes and being open to new approaches can lead to sustained success.

Julie believes these key factors can help business owners achieve high performance, build sustainable businesses, and effectively navigate industry challenges.

Leveraging AI to Enhance Your Recruitment Business

During our Live Summit in Edinburgh last year, Julie delivered a fascinating session on leveraging AI to improve recruitment businesses. ChatGPT was pretty new at that time, and she was able to provide an amazing take on why the recruitment community needs to embrace AI. 

The world will look so different in the next 3-5 years, and I think that understanding AI as early as now can enable recruiters to contribute a more profound impact to their industries. Julie and I discussed her passion for AI, and how it can help recruiters and business owners further engage with their clients and candidates. 

Julie pointed out that AI isn’t a new player on the field; it’s just that Generative AI, ChatGPT, and OpenAI have recently brought it into the limelight. She explained that while AI has been used for decades, primarily in automation, it’s now becoming more accessible to individuals and small businesses. 

Julie’s passion for AI is driven by its potential to revolutionize the recruitment industry, and she believes that getting ahead of the curve will have a more positive impact. Julie underscored that even small businesses can compete effectively by creating targeted content and using AI to understand and meet the needs of their clients and candidates.

If you want to know more about how we can integrate AI into our recruitment process, you may check the link below for a free training session developed by Juli and our colleague Leanne. 

Creating AI Content That Is Specific to Your Client and Candidate Needs 

Julie also touched upon creating content with AI while focusing on providing a great experience for your clients and candidates. This is how she puts it: “And if you can spend your time and your skills more focused on providing a great experience for your clients and your candidate, using the emotional intelligence side of things that can't be replaced by AI just yet, and being able to use AI as a crutch to make you work faster and smarter with the data-driven insights and information that it can give you, I can only see this being a positive change in our world and the world of recruiting overall.”

She outlined a straightforward process when creating AI content with a human touch:

• Create your brand guidelines and support your content creation through data and insights.

• Understanding your clients - what they look for and what they want to consume will enable you to make data-driven decisions.

• Based on these data and insights, you are creating content for a specific person, nation, and target audience, instead of creating content for ‘everybody.

Julie McGrath Bio and Contact Info

Julie McGrath is a highly experienced coach and conducts our 1-2-1 monthly calls with members. She has 15 years of experience in the recruitment industry both in large-scale operations and running a solopreneur agency specializing in Tech and Executive recruitment.

She is an active STEM ambassador and panel judge for various socio-economic and diversity initiatives. She currently manages her own digital skills agency that supports businesses to embrace new technological processes and upskill staff for the new digital world of work.

Julie is also an NLP practitioner and this means she can help business owners break through mental and physical barriers so they can live a life of abundance and release the restrictions of mediocrity. Julie is well versed in helping recruitment business owners with business burnout, stress, loss of purpose and direction, and also those business owners who are doing well and want to continue achieving and attracting success into their lives.

• Julie on LinkedIn

• Access to Free Training on AI: Recruitmentcoach.com/AI

• Comprehensive Program on How to Recruit Smarter with AI

People and Resources Mentioned

• ChatGPT

• Fireflies

• Otter

• Google Gemini

• Recruitment Coach Live Summit in Florida

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call

• Mark on LinkedIn

• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby

• Mark on Facebook

• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, please take two minutes to leave a review. Your review is greatly appreciated because it helps us attract a bigger audience and help more recruiters.

In this episode, we dive into the challenges and rewards of managing enterprise clients. Drawing from over two decades of experience in the Recruitment & Executive Search Industry, Gina Matteson shares her learnings from handling large-scale clients effectively.  Gina and I discussed strategies for effective stakeholder management, navigating complex challenges, and delivering exceptional value.

Gina is the Founder & CEO of GemTek Recruiting. They strategically partner with clients in  Connective Intelligence is our groundbreaking recruitment solution that combines the power of advanced AI with a reliable commitment to genuine human interaction.

With over two decades of hands-on sales & recruiting experience in Canada & the US, Gina's passionate approach to work is underscored by an unwavering commitment to prioritizing relationships above all else. 

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [01:35] How Gina found her way into the recruiting world.

• [03:38] What led Gina to start her own business?

• [05:18] Enterprise Insights: Valuable lessons Gina learned from working with big clients.

• [16:14] How Gina tackled a major challenge—a 15% pay rate cut.

• [23:06] GemTek's Rollercoaster Ride: The highs and lows of launching Gemtek.

• [26:36] Gina’s unique recruitment strategy, blends AI with a personal touch.

• [34:26] A dive into Gina's book and the toughest battles she faced.

$25 Million Annual Billings for a Single Enterprise Client 

Gina’s diverse experience working with enterprises like American Express, Honeywell, and Google puts her in a great position to offer perspectives and strategies when working with large clients. She highlighted her experience working for a $2B organization, American Express. She shared what led to her success, which includes annually bringing in $25m in revenue for the client. 

One key component is bringing people together, communicating, and bridging the gap between large organizations within the organization. Gina said, “Bringing those groups together and kind of bridging that gap, regular meetings, I would often bring different stakeholders together and actually host a meeting within the organization because one group could be asking for something and then another group, it doesn't work with them.” 

You will also hear about the biggest challenges she faced when she had to undergo an audit stating that she owed $10m from her client and how she dealt with a 15% pay cut that also affected her subcontractors. Her stories are not only inspiring but also reminders of the importance of thinking on your feet, being organized, and transparent stakeholder management. 

AI Meets Empathy: Extensively Utilizing AI Without Sacrificing the Human Element

A GemTek methodology is pragmatically utilizing AI. Gina shared how AI helps in initial resume sifting, and narrowing down candidates for interviews. They also shared their tools, such as ChatGPT and other ATS (Applicants Tracking System). They balance technology use by advocating the importance of the human element. During in-depth interviews, personality, and technical assessments, Gina believes that “in recruiting, the human element for me and for my organization can never take a backseat to anything.”

Do you have the same approach when it comes to AI? 

A Dive into Gina’s Book and Her Story of Resilience

It is not directly related to recruitment, but we also touched upon Gina’s story of resilience and the most significant adversities that she had to navigate. She shared what inspired her to write her semi-autobiographical novel, A Thousand Masks. Aside from professional challenges, Gina also opened up about a deeply personal story of resilience that has shaped her life and her business. Listening to her journey can remind us that we can turn adversity into strength and use our experiences to help others.

Our Sponsor

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Their technology and methodology allow recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees, and increase their billings. Their software combined with world-class training enables you to transition from transactional, contingency recruiter to consultative, retained recruiter. Instead of being perceived as a “me too” vendor, you’ll be positioned as a “me only” solutions provider. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: https://recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Gina Matteson Bio and Contact Info

Gina Matteson is a seasoned thought leader celebrated for her triumphs in sales and recruiting within the Recruitment & Executive Search Industry. With over two decades of hands-on experience in Canada and the US, Gina's passionate approach to work is underscored by an unwavering commitment to prioritizing relationships. Her consultative methodology ensures clients, candidates, and employees receive the respect they deserve while collaboratively crafting tailored solutions. As the Founder & CEO of GemTek, she leads a professional services and recruitment firm with a rich legacy on both sides of the border, known for its transparent and partnership-driven approach. Beyond her professional achievements, Gina is an inspiring entrepreneur and acclaimed #1 International Best Selling author, advocating for personal growth and resilience through her novel, "A Thousand Masks." With remarkable tenacity and creative vision, Gina Matteson is a force making a lasting impact in both the business and literary worlds.

• Gina on LinkedIn

• Gina’s website link

• GemTek website link

• GemTek on Facebook

• GemTek on Instagram

People and Resources Mentioned

• A Thousand Masks, by Gina Matteson

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call

• Mark on LinkedIn

• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby

• Mark on Facebook

• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, please take two minutes to leave a review. Your review is greatly appreciated because it helps us attract a bigger audience and help more recruiters.

Have you ever wondered how a top-performing recruiter becomes a firm owner? Katharine Wilcox, President of Resource Mosaic, shares her journey. After joining the firm in 2011, Katharine took over the business in 2022.

In this episode, she discusses her transition from director to owner, her challenges and the strategies that drove her success in executive search. Whether you’re a recruiter considering firm ownership or looking to boost your performance, Katharine’s insights on building trust, hustling, and executing in the competitive world of accounting and finance recruitment are not to be missed. 

With a background in entertainment and accounting, Katharine boasts a proven track record of connecting top talent with growth opportunities. Katharine is a member of the Pinnacle Society, a fantastic group of recruiters who are among the top producers in the United States.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [01:58] Katharine’s background in a talent agency and how she went into recruiting.

• [06:47] Discussion on how Katharine transitioned from being a director to becoming a business owner.

• [19:43] Building teams that drive company growth.

• [25:36] What is the secret to building trust with your clients and candidates?

• [32:25] Why Katharine loves MPC marketing and her process.

• [39:54] Initiating conversations with hard-to-reach roles.

• [47:04] What a support team looks like for big billers.

• [50:11] Quick Q&A on Katharine’s operational structure and business model.

• [52:55] Katharine reveals the biggest challenges she had to face as a recruiter.

Three Key Elements When Building Effective Teams to Drive Company Growth

One key highlight in my conversation with Katharine is how she builds trust with clients and candidates when building teams in key projects. She fondly recalls how her first hires eventually became CEO and CFO, which makes her extremely proud. “So if I get a certain number, hey, we're looking for these, I just have to go find that soft skills, that personality, that desire, that career drive, whatever it is that they're looking for that will help drive the company's growth and change and hopefully last for a really long time.”

Katharine shared three critical elements when building an effective team that drives the company’s growth: 

1. Building trust - she emphasized the importance of understanding client needs and having honest conversations.

2. Hustle - Katharine encourages showing up every day and committing to the craft..

3. Delivery & Execution - Katharine values getting the job done quickly and efficiently.

She concluded, “ But, yeah, it's, that combination of trust and hustle, delivery and execution is just such an important piece to what we do on a daily basis.”

Initiating Conversations with Hard-to-Reach Roles

Some recruiters struggle to reach hard-to-reach roles, such as CEOs and portfolio owners. This may only sometimes be the case for Katharine. When we discussed her approach to MPC Marketing, I learned that it enables her to connect with key roles like board members and CEOs. She shared a few tips on how she does this.

She shared that the caliber of talent will always get you the conversation. She thinks working with good talent (MPC) is important as it will likely get people interested. But this is not enough; you also need to get creative in getting your talent information across. She shared her conversation style to build trust, including using her personality and being genuine. 

The other thing is the mindset. As we all know, doing campaigns is also a volume game. Katharine is very much aware of this: “A lot of people are never going to answer my phone or answer my calls. And I don't take offense to it. Some people are just not going to like me. Right. They're not going to want to work with me. I'm okay with that. So. But I'm going to keep trying. And you never know. Maybe I'll break through at some point.”

Katharine Reveals Her Biggest Challenge

I love stories of resilient recruiters, so I had to hear about Katharine's biggest challenges in her career. Most successful recruiters face the biggest challenges, and we can pick up nuggets of wisdom from their experience.

She shared how they were knocked out during COVID-19, but that did not stop her from working. She kept on talking to people, marketing candidates, and positioning herself. “So that was, you know, getting. Having the ability to continue to make those calls and show up, even though you're hearing no for six, seven, eight months? It was hard.”

What motivated her to stay in the game and keep pushing? “It was simple. I just knew any day could be the day to make that break. Eventually. I knew the dam was going to break. Right. I knew that people had hiring needs. I knew that people were looking for jobs or were not happy in their current roles. And I just knew that if I showed up every single day and did what I do, that at some point it was going to pay off.”

Our Sponsor

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Their technology and methodology allow recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees, and increase their billings. Their software combined with world-class training enables you to transition from transactional, contingency recruiter to consultative, retained recruiter. Instead of being perceived as a “me too” vendor, you’ll be positioned as a “me only” solutions provider. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: https://recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Katharine Wilcox Bio and Contact Info

Katharine Wilcox, President of Resource Mosaic, brings a unique blend of expertise and leadership to the world of executive search. With a background spanning from entertainment to accounting and finance, Katharine has a proven track record of connecting top talent with opportunities for growth.

Katharine joined Resource Mosaic in 2011 after 6 years with the Lucas Group as a Senior Partner on the accounting/finance executive search team in Atlanta. In 2022, she took on additional responsibilities and ownership of the firm as President.

At Resource Mosaic, Katharine specializes in recruiting exceptional accounting and finance professionals across the Southeast, while also supporting clients' leadership needs in various functions, including HR, operations, legal, and sales/marketing. Her approach is rooted in navigating complex challenges, identifying hard-to-find talent, and aligning leadership with business objectives. She is passionate about connecting talent and driving growth for companies in Atlanta and across the Southeast.

Beyond her professional achievements, Katharine can be found chasing around her 6-year old twins and serves on the Board of the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, working to create a more connected and vibrant city. Originally from San Diego, she graduated from UCLA in 1999 with a degree in communication studies.

• Katharine on LinkedIn

• Resource Mosaic website link

People and Resources Mentioned

• Monte Merz on LinkedIn

• Nate Zimmerman on LinkedIn

• Jen Meyer on LinkedIn

• The Pinnacle Society

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call

• Mark on LinkedIn, 

• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby

• Mark on Facebook

• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, please take two minutes to leave a review. Your review is greatly appreciated because it helps us attract a bigger audience and help more recruiters.

Multi-hire team-build projects can be profitable if strategized clearly and executed effectively. Where do you find opportunities to engage in multi-hire team-build projects? What should be your main areas of focus for successfully implementing? Our guest, Paul Press, is here to give insights! 

Paul is the Managing Partner and Founder of Press & Associates, a leading executive search firm specializing in recruiting top technology talent for private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Before founding Press & Associates, Paul Press built a well-rounded career with experience in an executive search firm and an in-house talent acquisition position.

In this episode, you will hear valuable insights into leveraging experience as an in-house recruiter, applying MPC marketing strategies, and successfully navigating the complexities of multi-hire team-build projects.

Episode Outline and Highlights

03:25 Paul’s recruiting backstory and how he launched his own firm.

06:37 Learnings from working in-house translating to running his own agency.

12:30 When to consider hiring a third-party recruiter from an in-house recruitment perspective.

18:35 Transitioning to Private Equity expertise.

23:11 Two main areas on winning multi-hire team build projects.

35:59 The risks of handling large-sized projects and how to mitigate them.

40:15 Paul shares the story of his $450k fee and MPC strategy discussion.

51:47 What Paul’s MPC marketing strategy looks like.

58:04 Upcoming exciting times for Paul and Press Associates acquisition.

Leveraging Experience as an In-House Recruiter

Before founding Press & Associates, Paul built a well-rounded career in an executive search firm and an in-house talent acquisition position. He has always aspired to set up his own agency, and this experience was a stepping stone that gave him a complete perspective on what a successful search firm should look like.

Paul gave his insights and compared the approach from an in-house to an agency perspective. He emphasized the value of building and nurturing relationships on the in-house side while investing heavily in business development on the other. From an in-house perspective, I also wanted to know the primary considerations when hiring a third-party recruiter. Who are the most successful ones? What companies really did poorly? Paul gave his answer: 

“I would say the biggest thing is the ones who took the time to be personalized, to make a very human approach and connection, and who were very empathetic; those were the ones that really stood out. It's amazing how transparent people's approaches are and how easy it is to tell when there's an email sequencing campaign going on, with an email coming out to you every kind of two or three … So it is very easy to tell kind of what's being automated, what's actual human touch and who are people that want to be in it for the long run versus, hey, I've got my monthly targets to hear.”

Two Areas of Focus to Win Multi-Hire Team Build Projects 

A key topic Paul and I discussed is his success in doing multi-hire team-build projects. The main takeaway is this: multi-hire team build results from placing a key executive. By ensuring that great relationships are built and the best experience for the executive is provided, a potential opportunity to then build out the team underneath them will likely happen.

This idea came about based on Paul’s previous in-house experience. “I'd say it kind of goes back to lessons learned when I went in-house and was building those relationships and understanding the big picture behind those hires and what those companies were trying to achieve. And that, combined with the private equity space, really kind of mesh well together.”

Paul shared two main areas of focus to be successful in this approach:

1. Communication - “It's certainly a communication game. In multi-hire campaigns, there are usually multiple hiring managers. So you got to figure out each individual style of communication, building relationships with those people.”

2. Project Management - making sure you're implementing your standard procedures in terms of market mapping, talent pipelining, and going through your own internal processes.

Paul also shared the most common challenges you will experience in multi-hire team-build projects and the steps they took to mitigate them.

MPC Strategy Resulting to a $450k Fee

An achievement Paul shared with me is how he was able to make a placement with a $450k fee. He made a placement using the MPC (Most Placeable Candidate) marketing approach. Many recruiters will find this part of our conversation relatable because although this may be familiar to many recruiters, some will tell you that you can’t apply MPC marketing to executive recruitment. 

We discussed Paul’s mindset on this strategy, and he shared how he executes it. We discussed proactive candidate representation and effective KPIs, such as making 5 introductions daily.  We also agreed on this critical point: the goal is not to place the candidate. The goal is primarily to get your foot in the door to start a conversation, demonstrate the caliber of your network and the people you represent, and come to them with interesting ideas that could bring value to their business.

Our Sponsor

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Their technology and methodology allow recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees, and increase their billings. Their software combined with world-class training enables you to transition from transactional, contingency recruiter to consultative, retained recruiter. Instead of being perceived as a “me too” vendor, you’ll be positioned as a “me only” solutions provider. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: https://recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Paul Press Bio and Contact Info

Paul is the Managing Partner and Founder of Press & Associates. Paul started Press & Associates in 2016 with the goal of building the number one search firm hiring technology talent for Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies. Since its inception, Paul has built close and long-lasting partnerships with numerous globally renowned private equity firms, helping them make key hires in their value creation team and numerous c-suite appointments across their portfolio companies - all within the technology function.

Prior to founding Press & Associates, Paul built a well-rounded career in executive search working for a boutique search firm (Mackinnon Bruce), one of the largest talent acquisition firms in the world (Hays), as well as an in-house talent acquisition position with Murphy Oil looking after hiring key positions across North America.

Paul has a BA (Hons) in Managing Performance from the University of Leeds and is accredited by the Institute of Retrained Search.

• Paul on LinkedIn

• Press and Associates website link

• Press and Associates on YouTube

• Press and Associates on X (Twitter)

• Press and Associates on Facebook

• Press and Associates on Instagram

People and Resources Mentioned

• How Clients Buy, by Tom McMakin & Doug Fletcher

• Loxo 

• Dripify

• Rob White of Tempting Talent on LinkedIn

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call

• Mark on LinkedIn, 

• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby

• Mark on Facebook

• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, please take two minutes to leave a review. Your review is greatly appreciated because it helps us attract a bigger audience and help more recruiters.

Helen joined us three years ago to share how to attract 70% more diverse talent by leveraging DEI - diversity, equity and inclusion. This time, she returns as a special guest to share an amazing feat - the platform she co-founded, Diversely.io, has just been recently acquired. This means more sourcing and recruitment firms can now access the platform, meaning more recruiters and sourcing firms can embed DEI in their hiring process.

What fascinates me more is Helen’s strategies and lessons learned from exiting Diversely.io. She shared strategies and things she would have done differently, which I am sure many of us will also learn from. Overall, Helen believes that the key to success is following a purpose-driven business model.

Helen McGuire is an exited founder, author, advisor, mother, podcast host and DEI changemaker. 

Helen is a leading figure in DEI and business strategy and is renowned for her impactful initiatives. She founded Hopscotch. work, the first women's careers platform in the Middle East and Asia, and her journey led to the creation of Diversely.io, a groundbreaking AI platform acquired by The Access Group in 2023.

As the host of The D&Igest podcast and author of the upcoming book  'The Female Scale', Helen's expertise extends to coaching female founders and advocating for purposeful businesses globally. 

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:50] Helen shares updates on Diversely.io’s acquisition by the Access Group.

• [08:54] What barriers do entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds face when starting a business?

• [13:00] Encouraging more women to take the entrepreneurial leap.

• [17:33] Walkthrough on Diversely.io’s exit process and how a purpose-driven business model made it happen.

• [30:00] Things that Helen would have done differently when undergoing acquisition.

• [38:31] Teaser on Helen’s new book, The Female Scale.

Embedding DEI Into the Business Strategy

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are critical in the hiring process. This is essential because it is the right thing to do and a strategic business decision that can lead to more innovative and successful organizations.

I had Helen as a guest three years ago, and I am fascinated by her current position on championing DEI in the recruitment industry. She is a great example of an astounding business leader who advocates equity and opportunity for lesser-represented groups.  As a female founder, you will hear insightful perspectives on how underrepresentation affects certain groups and how to empower more women to launch their own businesses.

She is about to finish a new book, The Female Scale, which will provide insights on this issue. “It's not written specifically for women, but it's written with a very female lens. You know, the challenges that you encounter as a woman setting up a business, and there are, you know, so many female-led businesses, startups, smaller businesses out there.”

In this episode, Helen shared an astounding feat: They could exit Diversely.io, an end-to-end hiring platform that uses tech to reduce bias in businesses' hiring processes. By being acquired, she believes this platform will be more accessible to a much larger audience of sourcing and recruitment firms.

Learnings on Being Acquired and Exit Strategies

As a business owner, you may relate with me if you are also fascinated with stories of how exits and acquisitions work. I wanted Helen to walk me through what was involved in their acquisition process. She shared detailed stories of how it started, what was expected, and what happened. She also shared curve balls and how their expertise and networks played major roles in making the exit happen.

In hindsight, here are some learnings that Helen shared if you ever plan to exit or scale your business:

• Be more prepared for the level of due diligence you must go through.

• Be well-organized: ensuring all relevant agreements and data sheets are in one place.

• Invest in good lawyers and accountants - they are absolute lifesavers.

What resonated with me the most was Helen’s idea of the exit. It has always been purpose-driven.

“And you have to kind of, so when you're thinking about selling your business, it's not just about what I need from it as a dollar value. What can I also achieve off the back of that? What does that give me as a founder, as someone who's going on this journey?”

Building a Purpose-Driven Business Model

Building a business, especially focusing on recruiting and sourcing, is not always profit-focused. The vision and mission statements need to be clear, as the impact we can have on people can be life-changing. 

This aligns with what Helen believes when creating a purpose-driven business model. This is how she described it: 

“And it wasn't all about the dollar value. I think when you set up a purpose-driven business, it's very important to keep profit and profitability in mind because it's hard to create impact without that. It's not sustainable as a business or as an idea. But equally, you've got to balance it with, you know, what am I doing here to solve this problem, and how can I solve this problem? And we would have taken another god knows how many years to try and get to the scale that…”

When Helen co-founded Diversely.io, it was to solve her own frustrations as a female in a male-dominated industry. Her purpose was clear from the start - to help women and under-represented groups gain fair opportunities. This purpose-driven business model contributes well to her current successes and future aspirations.

Our Sponsor

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Their technology and methodology allow recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees, and increase their billings. Their software combined with world-class training enables you to transition from transactional, contingency recruiter to consultative, retained recruiter. Instead of being perceived as a “me too” vendor, you’ll be positioned as a “me only” solutions provider. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: https://recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Helen McGuire Bio and Contact Info

Founded the first women’s careers platform in the Middle East and Asia—Hopscotch.work—in  2015, Helen has won numerous industry awards for her work and led part of UN Women’s efforts to increase gender representation in the UAE. 

To scale the impact of her mission beyond gender, Helen joined the tech start-up accelerator Antler in January 2020 with a vision to conquer the issues around DEI in the workplace through the use of technology.  Diversely.io was that solution; a multi-awarded global AI-driven platform built alongside her co-founder,  Hayley Bakker, and with the support of industry investors over four years. One of the world’s leading software companies, The Access Group, acquired the platform for an undisclosed amount in 2023 and continues to be integrated across its portfolio. 

As host of The D&Igest podcast, Helen now utilises her formidable communications skills to give those who are making a difference in the global DEI space a voice. Professionally, she focuses on ensuring DEI is at the forefront of business strategy and coaches female founders on holistic business strategy. Her first book - ‘The Female Scale’ - is due in 2024, and she speaks and advises globally on the topic of DEI and creating purposeful businesses. 

A communications professional of twenty years, Helen began her career in London, achieving her dream  role at BBC Radio 1 in her early twenties, going on to produce, DJ and present for the music industry in over 

• Helen on LinkedIn

• The D&Igest Podcast link

People and Resources Mentioned

• The Access Group website link 

• Justin McGuire on LinkedIn

Related Podcast You Might Enjoy

• TRR#57 Diversity as a Differentiator – How Recruiters Can Attract 70% More Diverse Talent, with Helen McGuire

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call

• Mark on LinkedIn, 

• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby

• Mark on Facebook

• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, please take two minutes to leave a review. Your review is greatly appreciated because it helps us attract a bigger audience and help more recruiters.

Measuring your company's economic influence drives self-motivation and is a powerful tool for marketing and business development. Jennifer Meyer of Govig Executive Search joins us in this episode to give insight on using specific metrics to measure your economic impact and how you can communicate it with potential clients.

Jen has a lifetime cash-in of $20M over her 26 years in the industry. She’s the SVP of Strategic Partnerships at Govig & Associates, where she’s at the helm of business development. She leads the overall team of 27 recruiters, actively front-facing with clients and playing a significant role in surpassing $14M in results.

Jen’s recruitment efforts have been vital in assisting small to mid-size firms, particularly those under private equity, to double in size. Jen’s placements have contributed to an economic impact exceeding $1B.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [01:51] Jen’s start in the recruitment industry as a college intern.

• [10:09] Differentiating techniques in communication and business development.

• [19:06] “Speak to them in their language”

• [28:02] Training your team to apply the TSI (Targeted Sales Information) approach.

• [40:00] How to quantify your economic impact.

• [50:41] A boutique recruitment firm’s differentiators against the bigger organizations.

• [54:53] Discussion on team development strategies.

• [59:18] Jen’s take on work and life harmony.

Quantifying the Economic Impact of Your Recruitment Business

Measuring your company’s economic impact can be significantly beneficial for at least two reasons. The first one is self-motivation; knowing how you contribute to the broader economy can positively impact and fulfill. The second one is on the marketing and business development side. It can help potential clients understand the bigger value you will bring to their organization. 

Jen shared how she is able to track her placement’s economic contribution using specific metrics. Her placements overall have contributed to more than $1B in economic impact. She shared their formula: “We always talk about the size of our billings or our business in relation to what were invoicing or what our split was in relation to cash in. But we really should be talking about the salaries of the people that we place, you know, if you were going to relate it that way…Yeah, it does go beyond that, though, where you are at the, you know, again, at the basic level, you are affecting the person, and you're affecting the hiring manager. So that could be a times two, right?”

Here is a takeaway: Start trying to calculate the individual impact you're having in the world, particularly the positive impact you're having for your clients, and try to quantify that. If you have the appetite, even go back in history and try to work it out. But even just starting right now, try and figure out what difference you're making because that's really motivating!

Differentiating in the Business Development Side

A key topic I wanted to discuss with Jen is how she is able to differentiate, especially on the client acquisition and business development side of things. Jen has always been consistently recognized as a top performer in her career. I wanted to pick her brains on her approach when it comes to communicating with potential leads and candidates, and she surely did not disappoint. Jen revealed specific tips and verbiage that you may want also to use. Here are some key takeaways:

• Focus on authenticity and listening more by asking curious questions.

• Avoid typical questions like “Can I help you?” or “How are you doing?”

• Use power phrases such as “Are you in a place where you can talk confidentially?” or “I’ve only got a minute” instead of “Have you got a minute?”

• The effective use of body language.

She explained, “Whether you're 30 minutes into the business or you're 30 years into the business, everybody is saying the same thing and overcoming objections in the same way. So what can you do that just sounds different? You know what I mean? And I think if you think about it from a perspective of what that person is going to hear based on their world helps you...And so if you speak to them in their language, they get it.”

You will also hear Jen’s insights on developing her team to elevate their levels on the business development side, which is quite similar to the TSI (Targeted Sales Information) approach.

Team Development Strategies as a Billing Manager

A billing manager is a critical and challenging role in a recruitment firm. The role entails ensuring individual profitability while leading your team to do the same. Jen has been passionate about mentoring and developing her people, so I wanted to hear her methods in helping her team be successful. Jen elaborated on the following topics:

• Consistent deskside training.

• Real-time feedback and call reviews.

• The importance of teaching structure.

• Listening for opportunities in candidate interviews.

• Using a checklist.

Our Sponsor

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro 

i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Their technology and methodology allow recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees, and increase their billings. Their software combined with world-class training enables you to transition from transactional, contingency recruiter to consultative, retained recruiter. Instead of being perceived as a “me too” vendor, you’ll be positioned as a “me only” solutions provider. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: https://recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Jennifer Meyer Bio and Contact Info

Over the past 26 years, Jen has been a guiding force, significantly influencing numerous organizations and professionals. She has generated over $20M in cumulative cash-in, contributing to an economic impact exceeding $1B. This remarkable achievement includes the highest fee, which is over $300k. Currently serving as the SVP of Strategic Partnerships at Govig & Associates, Jen plays a crucial role in propelling the company forward. She's at the helm of business development and leads the overall team of 27 recruiters, actively front-facing with clients and playing a significant role in surpassing $14M in results.

Jen's professional journey began with a 6-year tenure at an MRI office, where she consistently ranked in the top 10% among approximately 5000 recruiters at that time. She then co-founded North Coast ExecuSearch, Inc., where she served as a billing manager for 14 years, maintaining a position in the top 50 out of 750 offices worldwide. Jen's recruitment efforts have been vital in assisting small to mid-size firms, particularly those under private equity, to not only meet but also exceed their growth objectives, with several doubling in size and achieving revenues over $1 billion.

Jen’s work ethic is not driven by the desire for accolades but by a deep-seated passion for mentorship and forging lasting relationships. She believes in the collective improvement of the industry, emphasizing the importance of recognizing recruiters as valuable consultants and ensuring they are compensated fairly for their expertise. Her remarkable career is enhanced with numerous accolades, including her 24-time recognition as a "Pacesetter" Award Winner, her induction into the Hall of Fame and The Ring of Honor within the MRINetwork, and receiving the prestigious Alan R. Schonberg Lifetime Achievement Award for her revenue contributions and character and her acceptance to the Pinnacle Society over a year ago.  Not to mention she is very active in a commitment to community service, most recently acting as the President of the MRINetwork Charitable Foundation, where she led the board to raise money for Shriners Hospitals for Children.

As Jennifer shares her insights, her quiet confidence, impressive achievements, and unwavering dedication to talent development serve as a powerful reminder of the influence we can all have in shaping the futures of many.

• Jen on LinkedIn

• Govig Executive Search website link

• Govig on Facebook

People and Resources Mentioned

• Katherine Jerald on LinkedIn

• Brent Orsuga on LinkedIn

• Crelate

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• TRR#218 How Grit and Determination Fueled a $2M Recruitment Firm’s Success, with Brent Orsuga

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• Mark on LinkedIn

• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby

• Mark on Facebook

• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

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