The Resilient Recruiter

Is recruitment a numbers game? To say so would be an oversimplification, but there’s no denying that data-driven insights can lead to improved performance and profits. 

Recruitment is a numerically predictable business. If you want to maximize your billings, it’s important to measure both your activity (quantity of effort) and ratios (quality of effort). 

We also recommend setting yourself KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to stay on track and increase the likelihood of achieving your billings goal.

If you’re not already tracking your metrics, or if you do not know what numbers and ratios to measure, I am sure you will find value in this episode. By analyzing metrics such as “job order to placement ratio” and “average placement value,” recruiters can identify areas for improvement. The exciting part about knowing your numbers is that small improvements can lead to a big increase in billings with the same or less effort.  

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [00:32] Why some recruitment business owners are reluctant to measure their metrics.
• [03:30] Why are KPIs critical for you to achieve your goals?
• [04:40] What is the Recruitment Business Health Check? Discussion on reasons why you need to do it.
• [10:30] What are the specific numbers and ratios that you should be tracking?
• [16:13] Tangible steps to track your metrics and KPIs.
• [21:06] The benefit of getting an accountability partner.

Perform a Recruitment Business Health Check

When clients join our Recruitment Coach community, one of the first things we do is a Recruitment Business Health Check. Business owners analyze their desks by looking at their billings, average invoice value, how many interviews to make a placement, how many candidates it takes to get an interview and other significant metrics. The purpose of this is to give you a benchmark of your current performance and allow you to pinpoint the obvious area for improvement.  Whatever your goal is, you can reverse engineer and work backward. Whether your goal is an annual revenue of 500k or 1m, you can figure it out by working on your weekly, monthly, or quarterly milestones. Hence, aside from leading you to your goals, the value of tracking your metrics is to give you the maximum chance of hitting your business goals.

What Should You be Tracking?

You may be wondering, what specific numbers and ratios you should be tracking. Before I lay out a few critical data points, I want to draw an important distinction. There is a difference between the numbers you are tracking and KPIs. People often use those two terms synonymously, but they are not the same thing. I want you to track, absolutely everything. The more data you have, the clearer it will be. However, a KPI - key performance indicator, is something you are going to target yourself on or target your team on. We don’t recommend giving yourself or your people too many different targets. Having three KPIs at most that you are constantly focused on is enough. At the same time, having access to all the other data means that you can refer to it as needed and make informed business decisions. Here are some important data points that you should be constantly looking into:

• Billings 
• Number of placements
• Average placement value (Billings/Number of Placements) 
• Number of first interviews
• Number of candidates presented/submitted
• CV to Interview Ratio
• Number of new job orders
• Number of sales conversations with clients
• Numbers of recruiting conversations with candidates.

The list is definitely not exhaustive, but I would encourage you to be on top of the above data points and be able to work out your ratios accordingly.

Tangible Steps to Track Your Metrics 

Speaking about the benefit of tracking your KPIs and metrics, where do you start? There are low-tech and high-tech solutions. You can use an old-school whiteboard if you want to create a visual of the data you are tracking. Most people nowadays use CRM systems, which have the capability of producing reports which will make it easy for you to see your KPIs. Don’t be discouraged if you do not have a CRM yet, you can use a spreadsheet or even a paper-based system if you want. The important thing is to start tracking and monitoring your numbers asap!

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro and Recruitment Entrepreneur.

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: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Recruitment Entrepreneur is the world’s leading Private Equity firm specializing in the international recruitment industry. If you’ve dreamed of starting, scaling, and selling your recruitment business, this is your chance. James Caan and his team at Recruitment Entrepreneur are actively seeking ambitious recruiters in who they can invest. They provide everything you need to grow a successful recruitment business including funding, financial expertise, coaching and mentoring, operational strategy, back-office support, marketing, and talent attraction solutions. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Start a conversation here: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/vc

People and Resources Mentioned

• Leanne on LinkedIn
• Jordan Rayboy on LinkedIn
• Atomic Habits, by James Clear

• 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’re building a recruitment business, you might want to consider replacing the 360 degree “full desk” model with a 120-120-120 model.

In this fascinating interview, Pree Sarkar shares why he believes it’s easier to scale a recruitment business with a 120 degree model. You’ll hear how it gives his firm a competitive advantage in the market. Plus, Pree reveals their entire end-to-end recruitment process including the KPIs and metrics of a successful search firm leveraging the 120 business model. 

You’ll be inspired by Pree’s story of resilience, from losing his job during the Great Financial Crisis to starting a successful recruitment company and making a positive impact locally and globally. 

Pree Sarkar is the Founder and Director of Switch Recruitment, specializing in recruiting for start-ups and SaaS companies in the APAC region. LinkedIn rated him as a Top 1% Recruiter, Amazon rated his book Switch, a #1 bestseller in Careers and Job Hunting and he is a member of The Pinnacle Society, a select group of industry-leading recruiters globally.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:05] From losing his job to launching a recruitment business.
• [05:02] Key inflection points in the road to recruitment business success. 
• [10:47] Building trust from scratch when nobody has heard of you or your company.
• [15:14] Transitioning from being a generalist to a niche specialist. 
• [18:30] Why it is essential to focus on your strengths and hire others to complement your weaknesses.
• [22:02] Pree describes Switch’s building phase and how it has evolved. 
• [25:08] What is the 120-120-120 team model?
• [29:30] Discussion on incentives, metrics, and KPIs in the 120-degree model.
• [32:00] Pree shares their end-to-end recruitment process in detail.
• [38:30] Giving back to the community - sponsoring a child with every placement. 
• [46:34] How Pree became a thought leader and trusted advisor in New South Wales.
• [54:50] Pree shares the backstory of his best-selling book, Switch.

Inflection Points Leading to Recruitment Business Success

Pree shares an amazing story on how he got into the recruitment business. On the eve of the Great Financial Crisis, he ended up losing his job. Determined to provide for his family, he believed that from that point onward that no matter how dark it was, serendipity can change the course of his life. 

The first three months were really hard with two kids under five while being a single-income family. They had just recently purchased a house, and they had to break open the piggy bank in order to survive. I am sure you will be amazed at how one thing led to another for Pree, which can be attributed to his mindset and resilience. 

There are four distinct inflection points in his journey that he elaborated on:

1. Learning how to listen with empathy to solve problems.
2. Learning to sell.
3. Learning to lead.
4. Learning to build.

Experiencing difficulties first hand moved Pree to give back to the community by means of sponsoring  a child for every placement. They currently sponsor 21 children across the planet and provide food, medication, clothing, and education through their partnership with Watoto and Compassion Australia. 

Why Pree Believes the 120 Degree Model Is More Effective

In discussing how Pree built Switch Recruitment, we covered the topic of Switch’s 120-120-120 model, which they find more effective than a 360 model. Pree believes that recruiters must have situational awareness in three areas: who are the companies, what are the jobs, and who are the candidates? With this in mind, there should be team effort involving:

• A researcher who lives and breathes all the data and information.
• A recruiter who is speaking to 20+ candidates all day, every day.
• An account manager who solely focuses on the client ecosystem.

This minimized risks for everyone on the team as the specialization allows each person to embrace their skills and build expertise. Part of Switch’s value proposition is that they offer a “relay race” with three recruiters working on each project resulting in faster placements. 

How to Build Your Reputation as a Trusted Advisor

A series of events lead to Pree becoming a trusted advisor in his industry - to the point of being recognized by the Australian government and publishing his book, “Switch”. To summarize, Pree likes having conversations with executives, listening to their problems, and genuinely wanting to solve them even if it may or may not result in a transaction. These conversations built the foundation for him to be more visible, and lead to him published his book, Switch: Stand Out, Get The Right Job And Accelerate Your Career.

When the pandemic hit, the book was really timely as a lot of people needed help. Pree shipped 200 copies of the book for free, and they ran 40 workshops and recorded an online course. They then approached companies offering outplacement support for employees who were losing their job. This lead to Pree being awarded a Certificate of Outstanding Service by the New South Wales Government.

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro and Recruitment Entrepreneur.

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: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Recruitment Entrepreneur is the world’s leading Private Equity firm specializing in the international recruitment industry. If you’ve dreamed of starting, scaling, and selling your recruitment business, this is your chance. James Caan and his team at Recruitment Entrepreneur are actively seeking ambitious recruiters in who they can invest. They provide everything you need to grow a successful recruitment business including funding, financial expertise, coaching and mentoring, operational strategy, back-office support, marketing, and talent attraction solutions. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Start a conversation here: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/vc

Pree Sarkar Bio and Contact Info

Pree Sarkar is an executive recruiter and career coach. LinkedIn rated him in the Top 1% of Recruiters for Search Excellence and Talent Pipelining. Prior to recruitment, he was a top-performing account executive and sales director with Fortune 500 companies, including Xerox and FedEx.

Since 2008 he has been advising leaders and professionals at global technology companies and pre-IPO start-ups to help them build winning teams and great careers.

• Pree on LinkedIn
• Switch Recruitment website link
• Switch book, by Pree Sarkar

• 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

Is fear and self-doubt preventing you from building your personal brand and growing your recruitment business?

In this episode, you’ll discover how my guest Mike O’Riordan overcomes his tendency to be a perfectionist, pushes outside his comfort zone and gets things done. 

Mike is the founder of Blackwater Search & Advisory, a global executive search and advisory firm focused on the ETF and Digital Assets market. I’ve known Mike for almost 3 years and have witnessed his rapid growth from a one-man band with no recruitment industry experience to running a hugely successful boutique.

Get ready to be inspired by Mike's story and learn how to overcome the pitfalls of perfectionism in your recruitment business.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [01:49] Mike’s catchphrase, “I’m executing the shit out of this stuff.”
• [03:33] What is an ETF?
• [05:20] Why Mike shifted from a decades-long career in banking to recruiting.
• [11:04] Is the negative perception of recruiters justified?
• [19:50] The company’s current size and structure after four years.
• [23:12] The impact of hiring an effective marketing person.
• [28:24] Why perfectionism can cost you millions of dollars.
• [33:10] How digital marketing has been a game changer for Mike’s business.
• [42:47] Why an email newsletter is a good way to start marketing.
• [45:17] Discussion about creating video content - Mike’s journey.
• [48:40] Get comfortable in being uncomfortable - why getting out of your comfort zone is critical to success.
• [54:00] What’s next for the Blackwater search?

Perfectionism Can Cost You Millions of Dollars

Mike and I first spoke back in March 2020, and he was one of the first people who enrolled in my Billings Accelerator program, which has evolved into our Inner Circle community of recruitment business owners. 

Despite having less recruitment experience, Mike made faster progress than many others in his cohort. The reason? Mike is someone who implements like crazy. I remember asking him how he was doing that, achieving so much in a short time. His answer: “Mark, I am just executing the shit out of this stuff.” What a catchphrase!

Mike is now successfully running a global ETF and Digital Assets consulting and executive search firm. In retrospect, Mike never would have imagined achieving so much after spending 20 years as a salaryman in financial institutions. To what does he attribute his success? For Mike, it is about just getting it done. It does not have to be perfect. The most important thing is just to do it. You can always improve it later.

I agree with this a hundred percent! I’m certain that perfectionism has personally cost me a million dollars or more. Looking back on my 21 years as a coach, I can truly relate to how perfectionism - another word for procrastination - has lost me so much potential. That is why this interview with Mike is an eye-opener to so many recruitment business owners out there. Whatever business strategy you are struggling to implement, it doesn’t have to be perfect, what matters is you go out and do it.

Effective Recruitment Marketing is a Game Changer

Another area that we explored in our conversation is the importance of having an effective marketing person on your team. For Mike, this has been a game-changer. You will hear how their marketing strategies have enabled them to leapfrog ahead of their competition and win business with clients that are household names. 

Some of the marketing implementations that were discussed by Mike are:

• Newsletter
• Market Insight Reports
• Salary Survey
• Video Series
• Podcast
• Webinars

We discussed what changed Mike’s mind about recording videos, as to begin with it was not his cup of tea. Just like most of us, he hated to hear his own voice. But he didn’t let the fact he was uncomfortable stop him from taking action.

Get Comfortable in Being Uncomfortable

A known enemy of success is being too comfortable, which may hinder you from stepping out of your comfort zone. Mike and I believe that getting comfortable with being uncomfortable relates to everything in life. If you are not uncomfortable, you may not be trying hard enough, or not pushing yourself enough. 

“When our back sets to the wall, that is when we really realize that there is stuff we can do we never really imagined,” as Mike puts it. The same with a recruitment business, stepping outside of your comfort zone is key to your success.

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro and Recruitment Entrepreneur.

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: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Recruitment Entrepreneur is the world’s leading Private Equity firm specializing in the international recruitment industry. If you’ve dreamed of starting, scaling, and selling your recruitment business, this is your chance. James Caan and his team at Recruitment Entrepreneur are actively seeking ambitious recruiters in who they can invest. They provide everything you need to grow a successful recruitment business including funding, financial expertise, coaching and mentoring, operational strategy, back-office support, marketing, and talent attraction solutions. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Start a conversation here: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/vc

Mike O’Riordan Bio and Contact Info

Mike has over 20 years Financial Services experience. He started his career in Investment Banking working at Deutsche Bank and RBS before moving to Credit Suisse where he began his Asset Management career. He has worked at Credit Suisse, HSBC, BlackRock, and JP Morgan in various product roles covering Mutual Funds and ETFs. Michael launched Blackwater Search & Advisory in May 2019. Blackwater is a global recruiting and consulting company focused on the ETF and Digital Assets market.

• Mike on LinkedIn
• Blackwater Insights podcast 
• Blackwater Search website link

People and Resources Mentioned

• Somer Hackley on LinkedIn
• The 12-Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

• TRR#139 How to Grow a Wildly Successful Executive Search Practice, with Somer Hackley 

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

In the 7th installment of our Recruiter Mistakes series, we delve into the benefits of specializing in a niche market and how it can lead to shorter recruitment cycles, clearer messaging, and increased profits.  

By focusing on a specific niche, you can tailor your message, build a strong candidate pool, and become the go-to expert in your field. However, choosing a niche can be challenging. Some recruiters may feel hesitant due to the fear of missing out on opportunities or letting go of legacy clients. 

We know that specialists usually bill more than generalists and in this session Leanne and I hope to address any fear or hesitation you may have in committing to a niche market.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [00:47] Clearer messaging to attract the right target audience.
• [02:30] Having a targeted and well-defined niche leads to a shorter recruitment cycle.
• [07:06] What could stop recruiters from focusing on a specific niche?
• [08:45] Dealing with legacy clients when transitioning to niche-focused recruitment.
• [15:30] Steps you can take to define your niche.
• [16:26] Next topic to cover in this series: not tracking your metrics.

The Benefits of Specializing

Specializing, in the long run, can help you shorten your recruitment cycle, leading to more placements which ultimately translates to maximized profits. Consider this: how long does it take for you to fill a job on average? If you’re not focusing on a specific niche, you are starting from scratch every time you take on a new search. 

Here is how specializing makes things easier:

• The clearer you can be about your niche the clearer your message and branding can be 
• You can recycle your candidate pool.
• Much shorter recruitment cycle - presenting candidates within 24-48 hours instead of weeks or months.

Specializing is a proven approach. We would estimate that more than 90% of the million-dollar recruitment business owners we’ve had as guests on this podcast are specialists.

What Could Stop You from Committing to a Niche?

Some can feel hesitant to commit to a niche for two reasons: psychologically you may feel that you are turning down profit because you may feel that you are missing out on other opportunities, and you feel that you can’t let go of your ‘legacy’ clients.

If you take a second and think about it, the fear of missing out on other opportunities is quite the opposite of reality. Being a specialist means you will make more money. Although it feels like you are reducing the amount of business you are considering, focusing on a niche gives you more opportunities for repeat businesses and becoming top of mind when it comes to your specific field.

We are not saying that you forgo your legacy clients and leave them behind. A workaround is having a transition period and setting the right expectations with your existing core clients. You can still work with your legacy clients without compromising your commitment to a specific niche. 

What Are the Steps That You Should Take

In our coaching program, we guide you to define or re-define your niche through our market-mapping exercise. Thinking about the parameters of how to define a niche, we use the acronym FILL (Function, Industry, Level, Location). Look back over your last 12-24 months of placements. Where have you been the most successful? That is a good starting point to decide your specialty.

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro and Recruitment Entrepreneur.

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: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Recruitment Entrepreneur is the world’s leading Private Equity firm specializing in the international recruitment industry. If you’ve dreamed of starting, scaling, and selling your recruitment business, this is your chance. James Caan and his team at Recruitment Entrepreneur are actively seeking ambitious recruiters in who they can invest. They provide everything you need to grow a successful recruitment business including funding, financial expertise, coaching and mentoring, operational strategy, back-office support, marketing, and talent attraction solutions. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Start a conversation here: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/vc

People and Resources Mentioned

• Leanne 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

No one is immune from challenging economic downturns and it is certainly the case for my special guest, Michael Pietrack. Making his second appearance on the show, Michael humbly shares his experience of dealing with a severe slump in his market.

Michael’s shares his strategy for surviving tough times and emerging as a market leader. In this inspiring interview, Michael explains how he navigated past recessions and his approach during the current climate. There are lessons for leaders and recruiters alike, including how Michael keeps a healthy mental space for himself and his team, remains relevant and brings value to his customers in a downturn.

You’ll discover the proactive steps to overcome a slump, including best practices and strategies for MPC marketing and cold-calling. You will also hear about Michael’s new book, Legacy, which is about values that guide the choices we make in life and in business.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [01:41] Michael gives a realistic picture of the current climate of the market he serves, which is medical affairs in the pharmaceutical industry.
• [03:18] What to do when companies are downsizing.
• [08:07] Having an agile mindset - changing the roles of your team members to address the needs of the business.
• [10:21] Discussion on MPC strategy.
• [17:30] How to position yourself during downturns to take advantage of the upswing that always follows.
• [21:00] Michael shares his cold calling and voicemail strategy.
• [23:36] Michael explains how to keep a safe mental space for his team.
• [28:35] The power of telling stories to communicate and engage with your team and clients.
• [32:43] Michael discusses his newly published book: Legacy.
• [38:28] Insights on being noble in the recruiting business.
• [40:38] The challenges Michael had to overcome to publish his new book
• [49:00] How choices play a significant role in shaping one's life and success.

Focusing on Doing the Right Things During a Downturn

Since last time I spoke to Michael, the market he serves has contracted significantly. 

“The market in our particular industry totally flipped. We went from the healthiest market you can imagine in 2021, and it just started to nosedive. The business just evaporated. We went from having 99 recs down to 9 as a firm. We carried over 9 from 2022 to 2023.”

The current economic environment for a lot of recruitment firms can pose an unpredictable challenge to owners, no one is immune to what Michael’s team had experienced. If this were to happen to you, how would you have responded? 

Michael, being the resilient leader that he is, possessed a healthy mindset on dealing with a business slump. For him, it is important to keep the team busy and remain relevant. Below are the takeaways that he shared:

1. Putting relationships first - bringing value to both candidates and clients. Not only from a long-term financial ROI perspective, but Michael and his team sincerely believe that this is a good time to build good relationships.
2. When talking to Hiring Managers - start talking about positions that will pop up when conditions are better. Forward-thinking for when ‘the thaw happens’ can give them an edge against their competitors.
3. Staying Agile - the team had to rotate roles, from recruiting to business development. It can be challenging at first, so effective communication with your team is essential to making a successful transition.

A Business Leader’s Guide on Dealing with a Business Slump

Recruiting can be the best job in the world when things are going well, but can also be the worst job in the world if things are not going great. So as a recruitment business owner and leader, how do you ensure that you and your team are able to stay strong?

Michael shared the proactive steps he is implementing in his team:

• Valuing activity more than valuing the results. Michael shared how they gamify activities by creating contests. Keeping people engaged that way has been working for his team and he encourages other business owners to do the same. 

• MPC Strategies. You will hear Michael’s ingenious approach to MPC marketing

• Cold Calling Strategies. Michael also shared his cold-calling strategies and dealing with voicemail.

The most important topic we covered is having the right mindset regarding your business, candidates, clients, and being mentally prepared for what the future holds.

Leaving a Legacy and Being Noble in the Recruitment Field

Michael and I talked about his new book, Legacy: The Saga Begins. This book is an allegory about overcoming fear and self-doubt and finding courage in the face of adversity. Essentially, it’s about values – becoming noble, making choices, and believing in your own abilities. He wrote the book during the pandemic when the world is feeling anxious about an uncertain future. Michael and I discussed how the book’s message is relevant not just for families but also to recruiters - especially as it relates to being noble and making the right choices.

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro and Recruitment Entrepreneur.

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: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Recruitment Entrepreneur is the world’s leading Private Equity firm specializing in the international recruitment industry. If you’ve dreamed of starting, scaling, and selling your recruitment business, this is your chance. James Caan and his team at Recruitment Entrepreneur are actively seeking ambitious recruiters in who they can invest. They provide everything you need to grow a successful recruitment business including funding, financial expertise, coaching and mentoring, operational strategy, back-office support, marketing, and talent attraction solutions. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Start a conversation here: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/vc

Michael Pietrack Bio and Contact Info

Michael Pietrack is a leading Pharmaceutical Industry recruiter from the US. His firm is called TMAC Direct, the executive recruiting arm of The Medical Affairs Company, which is the international leader in direct hire and contract staffing for Medical Affairs.  Michael is known as one of the top five billers in the US, and because of that, he is a sought-after speaker and trainer.  He runs a high-performing desk while overseeing several teams.  His hobbies include creative writing, Bible study, and spending time with his wife and three daughters.

• Michael on LinkedIn
• TMAC Direct website link
• TMAC Direct on Facebook
• TMAC Direct on YouTube
• Michael’s volunteer work: JW.org website link

People and Resources Mentioned

• Legacy: The Saga Begins book
• Jordan Rayboy on LinkedIn

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

• TRR#106 How to Bill £12,800,000 in 14 Years, with Michael Pietrack
• TRR#153 Meet The Recruiter Who Survived And Thrived Through Four Recessions, with Gail Audibert

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Recruiters might need to work a little harder to achieve the same revenue as last year.

“It is not gloom and doom but it is also bringing a little dose of reality that we may need to get our business development hats on, and we may have to ramp up our energy and activity levels a little bit more to generate the same revenues or more.”

These are the words of my special guest, Jeremy Sisemore, who joins us for the second time to share his insight on how to grow your recruitment business in the current market. In this episode, Jeremy talks about the science of having a success mindset, incorporating balance into your personal and recruitment growth, as well as how to set your team up for success.

Jeremy is one of the leading IT executive recruiters in North America and he’s been at the top of his field for the past 20 years. Jeremy has billed over $14 Million in his career and specializes in placing IT executives in SAP, ERP, and Cyber Security at all levels up to and including CIO, CTO, CISO. 

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [01:33] What’s changed since Jeremy’s first appearance on the show?
• [04:34] Sharing insights on the current market - comparison with the 2008-09 recession.
• [07:00] Discussion of mindset and the self-fulfilling prophecy. 
• [14:00] Competitive diving and the concept of balance
• [25:00] Incorporating balance into your recruitment activities.
• [36:23] What is Jeremy doing to create growth and balance? 
• [45:36] Onboarding new team members and setting them up for success. 
• [54:22] KPI Roadmap and metrics to help team members to be successful.

The Science of Cultivating a Success Mindset 

The last time I interviewed Jeremy, he emphasized the importance of inner grit which allows you to turn challenging experiences into stepping stones for success. This time, he shared insights on the importance of having the right mindset in the recruitment industry as the current market and economic climate may present some challenges. 

“I think that people might be able to do the same revenue and numbers, but only if their mind is right and they work a little harder. It may not feel as easy to make the same numbers, I don’t think, in 2023 as it might have felt in 2022… 

“It is not gloom and doom but it is also bringing a little dose of reality that we may need to get our business development hats on, we may have to ramp up our energy and activity levels a little bit more to generate the same revenues.”

Our mindset is like a self-fulfilling prophecy - if you expect great things, and great results, then you will go after it! You will be creative, tenacious, and resilient which will translate into great results. The reverse is also true. 

“There is science behind the self-fulfilling prophecy,” added Jeremy. 

You’ll enjoy Jeremy’s story about his experience as a competitive diver and diving coach and how it relates to the value of having the right mindset - for both beginners and experts in almost any field. 

The Concept of Balance and How to Incorporate it Into Your Personal and Business Growth

Aside from having inner grit and possessing the right mindset - Jeremy discussed the concept of balance. “Balance can mean a lot of different things - depending on how you would like to apply that into our world - recruitment, talent acquisition, building a business, getting clients, getting candidates…” 

Jeremy went on to explain how the concept of balance applies in a variety of areas:

• Balancing work and relationships to address and prevent burnout.
• Having personal balance for personal and professional growth.
• Applying balance in your recruitment business and activities.

You will hear how Jeremy applies this principle - especially in the form of self-talk and reflection as well as having the right mental diet.

Setting Up Your Team For Success

We ended our conversation on the topic of onboarding new team members and setting them up for success, even in a remote setup. Here is the outline of the best practices shared by Jeremy:

• Doing the first four days of training in-person to achieve immersion
• Doing three-way meetings with a client - as a way of osmosis training.
• Doing weekly one-on-one and team meetings.
• Celebrating small and big wins to embed the culture of success.

Jeremy also shared their approach to benchmarking and KPI’s to give each team member a  roadmaps to achieving success.

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro and Recruitment Entrepreneur.

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: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Recruitment Entrepreneur is the world’s leading Private Equity firm specializing in the international recruitment industry. If you’ve dreamed of starting, scaling, and selling your recruitment business, this is your chance. James Caan and his team at Recruitment Entrepreneur are actively seeking ambitious recruiters in who they can invest. They provide everything you need to grow a successful recruitment business including funding, financial expertise, coaching and mentoring, operational strategy, back-office support, marketing, and talent attraction solutions. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Start a conversation here: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/vc

Jeremy Sisemore Bio and Contact Info

Jeremy Sisemore has been one of the leading IT Executive Recruiters throughout North America for the past 20 years.  He started his career with MRI and was Rookie of the Year in 2000 and quickly became the go-to resource for SAP & ERP talent acquisition needs nationally.  Jeremy billed millions of dollars in placement revenue over 6.5 years with MRI, received a CSAM Certification, and became known for public speaking on “best practices” within the recruiting industry.  In his career, Jeremy has over $14 Million in personal production (billings) and has placed IT Executives and Cyber Security talent at all levels up to and including CIO, CTO, CISO levels across all areas of emerging technologies.  ASAP Talent serves over 75 major Fortune 500 clients throughout North America and internationally in Singapore, Germany, and the UK.

Today, Jeremy is CPC and CERS Certified and is a former member of the Board of Directors as Education Chair for The Pinnacle Society, a premier consortium of 80 industry-leading recruiters in North America.  He speaks regularly at industry conferences such as NAPS, NCASP, The Fordyce Forum, HAAPC, and MASA among others.

Jeremy and his business partner, Erek Gerth, founded ASAP Talent Services in 2006 and haven’t looked back since.  Today the ASAP Team of 5 supports well over 75 of the world’s leading companies and generates annual revenues of around $1.7-$2M. Their mission has been to create a boutique talent acquisition firm focused on the highest quality service and to form lasting partnerships with clients that are poised for growth, to be a total solution provider with respect to SAP & Cyber Security Talent.  Jeremy writes industry articles and has been quoted in CIO magazine.  On a personal level, Jeremy graduated from the University of Missouri where he was on the Swimming & Diving Team.  He’s married and is a father to two daughters and a son based out of Houston, Texas.

• Jeremy on LinkedIn
• Jeremy on Twitter @SAPheadhunter
• ASAP Talent Services website link
• ASAP Talent Services Facebook page
• ASAP Talent Services Youtube channel

People and Resources Mentioned

• Gail Audibert on LinkedIn 

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

• TRR#35 Inner Grit: The Traits of a Big Biller, with Jeremy Sisemore
• TRR#153 Meet The Recruiter Who Survived And Thrived Through Four Recessions, with Gail Audibert

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Posting original LinkedIn content is an effective way to build your brand, create top-of-mind awareness and become the go-to recruiter in your niche.

Yet according to LinkedIn, only 1% of active users create content on the platform. Why aren’t more recruitment firm owners seizing this opportunity? Perhaps they’re suffering from “imposter syndrome” or maybe they just don’t know where to start. 

In the 6th installment of our Recruiter Mistakes series, we explain the benefits of posting original content on Linkedin consistently. We want to get you motivated to become a content creator! You’ll also hear some ideas on what to post and how to get started.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:10] Why we advocate posting original content on LinkedIn. 
• [04:49] What do we mean by original content?
• [07:04] Top three reasons that people may hold back from posting, and why you should still create original posts.
• [15:02] Original versus curated content.
• [16:00] What should be the content of your posts?
• [21:00] How often should you post LinkedIn content?
• [22:46] Tips and tricks on how to create posts.
• [27:38] Preview of our next episode in this series.

Three Reasons Why You Should Post Original Content

What do we mean by original content? Well a lot of the stuff you see in your news feed is curated content (sharing or reposting) instead of original content. We want you to be a content creator, not a content distributor!

Why should it matter if the content is original or curated? Aside from the fact that LinkedIn’s algorithm will enable you to get more organic engagement via original content, here are three reasons:

1. You will position yourself as an authority in your own niche.
2. You become visible to your network’s newsfeed.
3. People will understand your market knowledge and personality which will build trust.

What Might Hold You Back and Why You Should Post Anyway

Here are some of the reasons that might hold you back from starting or keeping up posting original content regularly, and why the reason can be superficial and must be overcome:

A post won't do well and it might be a flop - There is no such thing! Even if your posts average 500-1000 views that’s fantastic. That means 1000 people have been exposed to your brand and your ideas. If you post 5 times per week, that’s 5000 impressions per week ... 260,000 in a year. Think of the impact that could have on the success of your business.

Feeling Uncomfortable - If you feel that maybe people might not like what you post, or maybe you will get trolled, this should not hold you back from posting original content. I used to feel that way and even felt anxiety when I first starting on posting years ago. But nothing bad ever happened, only tons of good things. People responded and the posts resonated. It took quite a while for the anxiety to die away, but now I don’t think twice.

Impostor Syndrome - Do you feel that you do not know what to say that can be worthy to share out there? Keep in mind that as a successful recruitment business owner, you are doing a disservice to your market if you are now sharing your expertise on the market. You are qualified to help people in your niche, and you can bring value by sharing your own insights and knowledge.

What and When to Publish?

There are different formats when posting, for example a poll, text only, or image. In terms of getting started, a good example is presenting ideas or insights based on your own experience and the conversations you’re already having every day in your market.

Although entertainment posts such as GIFs or memes tend to perform well, just relying on entertainment won’t cut it if you are wanting to be seen as an expert in your space.

It’s best to share a mixture of personal and professional content. Let’s focus on Authority Content - as this should be at least 50% of the content you share. What are the topics you want to be known as an expert in? 

A brilliant copywriter in history, Gary Halbert, once said: "Find out what your audience is hungry for and then serve it to them hot." 

How often should you be posting? Whatever will be sustainable for you.  We recommend posting at least 3-4 times per week. We compare this to going to the gym.  It’s easy to be enthusiastic at the start but will you stay consistent 6-12 months from now?  Set a pace that you can maintain rather than go all in for a few weeks only to fizzle out.

This is an investment that will pay compound interest over time. You might not see results overnight, but you will indeed see those results in the long run.  

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro and Recruitment Entrepreneur.

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: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Recruitment Entrepreneur is the world’s leading Private Equity firm specializing in the international recruitment industry. If you’ve dreamed of starting, scaling, and selling your recruitment business, this is your chance. James Caan and his team at Recruitment Entrepreneur are actively seeking ambitious recruiters in who they can invest. They provide everything you need to grow a successful recruitment business including funding, financial expertise, coaching and mentoring, operational strategy, back-office support, marketing, and talent attraction solutions. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Start a conversation here: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/vc

People and Resources Mentioned

• The Top 25 LinkedIn Posts - Ebook Link
• Leanne 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

Beyond the Transaction: How to Achieve Growth in an Uncertain Economy

The key factor that ensures successful recruitment business growth while navigating an uncertain economic climate is having sticky client relationships. 

My special guest, Greg Hollis, newly appointed Group CEO of Recruitment Entrepreneur, shares how focusing on the 3 Cs (customer, candidate, consultants)  and developing a strong client relationship can bring about significant opportunities for growth to your recruitment firm. He shared their practices on how they add value to their clients and establish a relationship beyond the transaction.

Greg has 27 years in the recruitment industry, working across multiple sectors and delivery models, he’s launched and managed several businesses, brought an entrepreneurial spirit into a global PLC’s senior leadership team, and successfully lead many high-performance organizations. 

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:41] What Greg learned from spending 17 years at Manpower
• [06:30] Greg shares his insights on Vision and creating a high-performance culture.  
• [13:24] The 3 Cs of scaling a recruitment business.
• [16:29] The philosophy and strategies for developing client relationships.
• [22:15] What are the specific action steps to create more strategic relationships?
• [30:00] Discussion on developing solution-selling skills.
• [34:30] Greg shares how Project RPO works and how it differs from a retained assignment with multiple hires.
• [41:23] Adding value via Post-Deployment Training.
• [43:30] Delivering added value to client relationships.
• [47:58] Facing the current economic situation - what message is Greg giving his stakeholders in navigating this interesting chapter?
• [51:48] With the current condition of the global markets, is there a significant opportunity to scale?
• [53:38] How do you know when is the best time to make your next hire?
• [57:36] What does 2023 hold for Recruitment Entrepreneur?

Creating a High-Performance Culture and Focusing on the 3 Cs.

Greg has a wealth of experience in the recruitment industry and invaluable insight when it comes to managing and scaling your recruitment business. You will hear his thoughts on the importance of having the core focus on the 3 Cs, which stands for Clients, Candidates, and Consultants. 

Greg also discussed what is needed to establish a high-performance culture: it is centered around people with clear goals and expectations. However, the main part is having a clear how. A high-performance culture aligns not only with the objectives but also with learning and skill development.

Critical Keys to Client Relationship Development

For Greg, focusing on the client is a critical factor to scale successfully. Rather than just becoming transactional, it is important to step back and consider your customer base. Some of the factors you may want to consider, as mentioned by Greg, are as follows:

Who are they as an organization? What are their plans not just now but in the next 12, 18 months, 2 years, or 3 years? When you scale your business, do you consider building your team to support your clients as aligned with their plans? On top of onboarding talents into their organization, what support can you provide to take care of their existing talents by improving their unique value proposition in the marketplace? How do we understand the challenges and pain in their processes? 

To summarize, Greg says, “By taking a step back, seeing what we could do differently… starting to think: how we can deliver a service to the customer that is relevant to them?”

With the Current Market Conditions, Are There Significant Opportunities to Scale Your Recruitment Business?

Greg also shared his insight on the current market conditions where there is a recessive economy but strong hiring demand and massive skill shortages in many areas. For him, it has been an interesting few years and his advice is to be attentive, agile, and adaptive as we are only able to address the things that we are aware of. But ultimately, get close to your customers by having a sticky client relationship.

Are there still opportunities to hire and scale your business with the current economic climate? For Greg, “the reality is that there are still significant opportunities to scale out there.” It is about focusing on the 3 Cs - Clients, Candidates, and Consultants.

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro and Recruitment Entrepreneur.

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: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Recruitment Entrepreneur is the world’s leading Private Equity firm specializing in the international recruitment industry. If you’ve dreamed of starting, scaling, and selling your recruitment business, this is your chance. James Caan and his team at Recruitment Entrepreneur are actively seeking ambitious recruiters in who they can invest. They provide everything you need to grow a successful recruitment business including funding, financial expertise, coaching and mentoring, operational strategy, back-office support, marketing, and talent attraction solutions. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Start a conversation here: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/vc

Greg Hollis Bio and Contact Info

With 27 years in the recruitment industry, working across multiple sectors and delivery models, Greg launched and managed several businesses, brought an entrepreneurial spirit into a global PLC’s senior leadership team, and successfully lead many high-performance organizations. Greg now works with some of the industry’s leading entrepreneurs; helping them to grow consistently and predictably, in both new ventures and scaling businesses. With one goal; to turn equity into personal wealth.

• Greg on LinkedIn
• Recruitment Entrepreneur website link

People and Resources Mentioned

• Abid Hamid on LinkedIn
• Elain Tyler on LinkedIn

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

• TRR#147  How to Make 40 Placements per Month by Setting High Standards, Speed, and Having Fun, with Elaine Tyler 
• TRR#124 How to Recession-Proof Your Recruitment Business While Accelerating Growth, with Abid Hamid

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Imagine starting your own recruitment agency with no recruiting experience and growing it to almost a million dollars in the first year.

Sounds unbelievable, right? 

Yet that’s exactly what my special guest, Ben Cross, has accomplished in his first year in recruitment. In this interview, we break down exactly how he achieved those remarkable results.

Ben is the founder and CEO of GLOMO based in Dallas. GLOMO specializes in the global mobility industry providing talent search as well as consulting services in sales and marketing plus mergers and acquisitions. 

So what’s the secret to Ben’s success? It comes down to an intangible asset that doesn’t appear on a balance sheet – his personal brand. Ben was already extremely well-known in his industry prior to launching his own business. 

In this episode, you’ll learn how Ben became a micro-celebrity within his niche using the 3R formula: Reach, Relevance and Relationship.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:55] Ben’s background and his journey as a startup recruitment agency owner.
• [06:28] Ben explains the 3 R’s of personal branding - reach, relevance, relationship
• [08:01] The LOVE + RELO podcast - Spreading love and community building during the pandemic.
• [11:28] What is Global Mobility?
• [18:26] How setting up virtual conferences led to ‘unintended good stuff’.
• [24:58] What motivated Ben to start his own recruitment business?
• [28:35] A critical ingredient for recruitment business owners when starting or scaling.
• [33:52] What GLOMO has achieved this year and what key success factors?
• [42:07] Why should you consider raising your rates?
• [50:00] The value of meeting people in person to build personal relationships.
• [51:28] Failing daily! Ben’s biggest challenges in growing a business.
• [56:27] Things Ben would have done differently.
• [01:04:14] New offices in Dallas and challenging the work-from-home (WFH) setup.
• [01:08:21] What is next for GLOMO?

LOVE + RELO - Hosting Daily LinkedIn Live Streams During the Pandemic

Ben is a genius when it comes to personal branding - a skill that has translated well to his recruitment firm’s success. Ben has been creating content on LinkedIn since 2006. When the platform rolled out a Live Feature, he was one of the Beta testers to utilize the feature. It became his resolution on January 1st, 2020 to go live every day! 

You will hear how their program - Love + Relo came about. It’s a LinkedIn Live stream for the Global Mobility industry where they interview leaders while responding to audience questions. In retrospect, his timing could not have been better. When this pandemic hit in March 2020, people were seeking that sense of connection and community that LOVE + RELO provided.

Ben’s live stream attracted speaking opportunities and invitations to host virtual conferences (and later in-person conferences) for trade associations in the global mobility space.  

You will also hear about their Get Talent! Podcast - which has been a valuable way to connect with both clients and candidates. Ben explained the 3 keys when it comes to personal branding: Reach, Relevancy, and Relationships.

Secrets of Starting a Successful Recruitment Agency

How did GLOMO’s startup recruitment business perform in its first year? 

Ben revealed, “We're coming on the end of the calendar year 2022, I think we are gonna be in the $950k range, I am proud of that.”

There could be several explanations for Ben’s rapid growth. For one, GLOMO was founded in June 2020 as a consulting firm. So Ben was adding recruiting and executive search to an already established business. Secondly, prior to launching GLOMO Ben was the VP of Sales for a moving company so he has a deep knowledge and understanding of the industry he serves.  But that alone doesn’t explain his outstanding results.

Here are some of the factors that Ben attributes GLOMO’s success to: 

• Leveraging his Personal Brand and the momentum of his LinkedIn content
• Hiring the right people, including an experienced and reliable fee-earner
• Giving to the community: creating meaningful content for their industry.
• Raising their rates above their competitors and overdelivering.

We also get into the nitty-gritty of starting a recruitment agency, from getting an ATS/CRM, building the systems and processes, LinkedIn Recruiter, and more. 

Ben’s Perspective on Failing Daily

I asked Ben about the challenges and struggles he encountered and what he would have done differently.

What really resonated with me is Ben’s perspective on the importance of failure: “We fail daily, like every day, all day… If you are not failing, you are not trying. As business owners or professionals, we think that success is avoiding failures. It is not. It is about embracing them, learning from them, and even memorializing them in our mind palace and saying ‘I'm gonna pay homage to this ridiculous epic failure that I had’... We are really big in celebrating failures.”

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro and Recruitment Entrepreneur.

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: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Recruitment Entrepreneur is the world’s leading Private Equity firm specializing in the international recruitment industry. If you’ve dreamed of starting, scaling and selling your recruitment business, this is your chance. James Caan and his team at Recruitment Entrepreneur are actively seeking ambitious recruiters who they can invest in. They provide everything you need to grow a successful recruitment business including: funding, financial expertise, coaching and mentoring, operational strategy, backoffice support, marketing and talent attraction solutions. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Start a conversation here: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/vc

Ben Cross Bio and Contact Info

After 15 year career in the moving and relocation industry, Ben Cross quit his job to start a consulting and recruitment firm called GLOMO. In his first full year of recruiting, this small startup has billed over $1 million US dollars. Over the past three years, Ben has hosted over 400 episodes of his podcast "Love + Relo" which has become "the voice of the relocation industry".

He has also co-hosted a recruitment podcast called the Get Talent! Podcast which shares recruitment insights for hiring managers.

Ben's approach is to build reach, relevancy and relationships through Linkedin Live streams and hosting in-person events where he and his team build their personal brand's social capital. He also hosts conferences within his niche industries and speaks on numerous panels.   

• Ben on LinkedIn
• GLOMO website link
• LOVE + RELO streaming link
• LOVE + RELO on YouTube
• Get Talent! Podcast link

People and Resources Mentioned

• Danny Herskowitz on LinkedIn

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

• TRR#150 How to Self-Destruct a $4M Search Firm and Re-Build on Stronger Foundations, with Mark Phillips

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If you’ve ever tried to grow a recruitment firm, you understand the crazy balancing act of being an effective billing manager. It’s extremely challenging to hire, train and manage a team while at the same time maintaining your personal production.

That’s why I’m especially excited to share this interview with Darwin Shurig. 

In addition to building a team of 11 people, Darwin is personally responsible for over $1.2M million in 2022. Darwin founded Shurig Solutions Inc. in 2015; based in Plainfield, Indiana, specializing in recruiting regulatory affairs, quality and engineering talent for the medical device and pharma industries.  

Darwin was listed as an MRI Top 10 Managing Partner for 2020 and is the number 2 cash biller for revenue as a franchise owner within the MRI Network in 2022. Prior to joining the recruitment industry, Darwin has a clinical background of over 20 years of sales, operations and management within medical devices, diagnostics, medical distribution, and sleep therapy.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [04:48] Joining the recruiting game - what motivated Darwin to join the industry after 20 years of medical device distribution experience?
• [12:06] What is your WHY? Darwin explains the purpose that drives him.
• [15:11] Enormous success in a short period of time - critical success factors.
• [25:20] Darwin describes a typical day when he first started his business.
• [26:55] The value of content marketing when scaling a recruitment business.
• [31:00] Focusing on your DIG - discipline, industry, and geography.
• [34:14] The benefit of hosting webinars for your industry.
• [44:06] What is the expert interview strategy?
• [49:10] Darwin shares the most significant challenges he faced when growing his business.

How Darwin Achieved Consistent Growth in 7 Years

Never in a million years did Darwin imagine he would eventually become a recruiter. He joined the industry relatively late in his career - after 20 years experience in sales, management and operations roles in the medical device industry. 

Darwin’s success in recruitment is astonishing given that he only joined the recruitment industry 7 years ago. Since 2015, he has incrementally increased his firm’s billings to $2.2m, with Darwin personally contributing $1.2M in 2022. At the same time, he has grown a team of 11 people.

I asked Darwin what he considers his success factors. Below is the recap of what he shared:

• Utilizing Digital Media and Automation
• Bringing value to other people that is not tied to revenue.
• Focus on your own skillset and what you can control - Attitude, Effort, and Focus.
• Clarity on your identity and sharing your value proposition.

The Importance of Adding Value to the Industry You Serve

Darwin mentioned one of the challenges in approach when joining the recruitment world is whether he wanted to be a generalist or a serious subject matter expert within the industry. He obviously went for the latter which resulted in leverage to scale his business. This is how he puts it:

“I think that is so important - you should never make decisions solely on money… You are bringing value to many people and I think that the Pinnacle Society is a great example of this… It is about what you can bring to the table and the value that you bring.” 

Darwin shared how he started the SSI Educational Webinar Series as a way to add value to his ecosystem.   

Our Sponsors

This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro and Recruitment Entrepreneur.

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: www.recruitmentcoach.com/retained

Recruitment Entrepreneur is the world’s leading Private Equity firm specializing in the international recruitment industry. If you’ve dreamed of starting, scaling and selling your recruitment business, this is your chance. James Caan and his team at Recruitment Entrepreneur are actively seeking ambitious recruiters who they can invest in. They provide everything you need to grow a successful recruitment business including: funding, financial expertise, coaching and mentoring, operational strategy, backoffice support, marketing and talent attraction solutions. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Start a conversation here: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/vc

Darwin Shurig Bio and Contact Info

Darwin understands the key qualities that companies look for in candidates to grow market share while enhancing their positive culture and team environment. He has a clinical background of over 20 years, including 15 years of sales experience within: medical devices, diagnostics, medical distribution, and sleep therapy; 8 years in sales management success; 3 years in operations; and extensive experience in negotiations and business development before starting SSI. He founded Shurig Solutions, Inc. in 2015; Darwin is responsible for business development, contracting, marketing, and recruiting strategy, personally responsible for over $3.8 Million in revenue generation, created the SSI Educational Webinar series, created the “Candidate Experience- Best Practices Prep”, is a conference presenter for Talent Management Best Practices, a member of the esteemed Pinnacle Society, and leads the SSI team in daily marketing, BD and recruiting activities. Darwin was recently highlighted in the Creative Classics book “The American Entrepreneur” published in 2020, was listed as an MRI Top 10 Managing Partner for 2020, and is the number 2 cash biller for revenue as a franchise owner within the MRI Network in 2022.  When Darwin is not in the office, Darwin loves sports, music, nature, charity, traveling, and spending time with his 3 children and wife, Jamie.  He additionally has a serious addiction to anything with Peanut Butter!

• Darwin on LinkedIn
• Shurig Solutions Inc. website link
• Shurig Solutions Inc. on YouTube
• Shurig Solutions Inc. on Facebook

People and Resources Mentioned

• Wes Ashworth on LinkedIn
• Sharon Hulce on LinkedIn
• Cathy Stewart on LinkedIn
• Joe Mullings on LinkedIn
• The Pinnacle Society website link

• Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call
• Mark on LinkedIn
• Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby
• Mark on Facebook
• Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

• TRR#132 How to Break Out of a Slump and Bill an Amazing $420k in 5 Months, with Wes Ashworth
• TRR#28 Recruiter Midlife Crisis: Boredom, Burnout and Reigniting Your Passion, with Sharon Hulce 
• TRR#142 How a Former Music Teacher Created Her Dream Life as a Top-Producing Recruiter, with Cathy Stewart 
• TRR#80 How to Use Video to Attract Candidates and Grow Your Recruitment Business, with Joe Mullings

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter