The Resilient Recruiter

Recruitment Coach Mark Whitby
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Join "the Recruitment Coach" Mark Whitby as he and his guests unpack the secrets of what it takes to be a profitable and long-lived professional in the recruitment industry.

  1. 3h ago ·  Video

    Claude for Recruiters: How to Automate Your Recruitment Business | Reyhan Khan

    Most recruiters know they should be using AI more. What they don't know is where to start, what to connect, and what it costs. Reyhan Khan makes all of that concrete. Reyhan runs RecruiterGTM and has spent the last 60 days setting up Claude for 35 recruitment agencies. He's based in Lisbon, originally from Pakistan, and spent years running operations for US agencies before launching his own business. He places offshore talent from South Africa, Pakistan, and Latin America into recruitment agencies, which means he operates as a recruiter himself and follows the same process he teaches. In this episode, Reyhan walks through the complete setup: how to connect your ATS, outreach tools, and data sources into Claude so you can run BD, sourcing, and outreach from a single screen. He covers honest tool reviews, a full tech stack cost breakdown, and the three moves to make first if you want results this month, including one approach most recruiters have never considered. In this episode: How Reyhan set up Claude for 35 recruiters in 60 days, and what he found every time Why connecting your ATS, outreach tools, and data sources to Claude changes the economics of BD The recommended tech stack and cost breakdown for solo recruiters and full teams Why downloading your LinkedIn connections and ranking them by fit is the highest-return move most recruiters haven't made Honest tool reviews: RecruiterFlow, Loxo, Bullhorn, and more Why Claude builds market maps at a fraction of the cost of other tools How a recruiter over 60 who described himself as "not tech savvy" built six Claude agents Why offshore talent and Claude work better together than either does alone The recruiter who made a placement by going back to one person she already knew Episode Highlights: [0:00] Intro [02:33] From electrical engineer to online business operator [07:20] Becoming Head of Operations as the agency grew to 45 people [12:56] Deploying Claude for 35 recruiters in 60 days [15:25] Where recruitment agencies need AI most [18:30] Connecting your recruitment tools inside one Claude cockpit [22:43] How a recruiter over 60 built six Claude agents [24:55] The Claude workflow that produced half a dozen placements [27:45] Reyhan's recommended recruitment technology stack [31:27] Why every client and candidate conversation should be recorded [41:29] Building lower-cost market maps with Claude [47:36] The highest-return place to begin with AI [52:26] Combining offshore talent with Claude Listen: https://recruitmentcoach.com/podcast/ Podcast Partner: Recruiterflow, an AI-first ATS and CRM with built-in agents. https://recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow Free Resources: Take the 7-Figure Freedom Scorecard at https://recruitmentcoach.com/scorecard or book a free strategy session at https://recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/ About Reyhan Khan: Reyhan Khan runs RecruiterGTM, helping recruitment agencies build go-to-market systems using AI and Claude. Over the course of his career, he moved from electrical engineering to freelance copywriting to Head of Operations at a US agency, before spending two and a half years coaching recruitment agencies. He now lives in Lisbon, Portugal, where he places offshore talent and helps agencies build AI-enabled recruiting systems. Find him on LinkedIn or at recruitergtm.com. Connect with Reyhan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reyhankhann/ Website: recruitergtm.com Connect with Mark Whitby: Free 30-minute strategy call: www.recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/ Mark on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwhitby/ Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter: https://recruitmentcoach.com/podcast/

  2. Jul 29 ·  Video

    How the Top 1% of Recruiters Win New Business in 2026 | Mike Williams, Jen Meyer, and Pree Sarkar

    What are the top 1% of recruiters doing differently to win new business in 2026? That's exactly what Mark Whitby wanted to find out. So instead of interviewing one guest, he brought together three Pinnacle Society members for a live panel discussion in front of more than 100 recruiters. Jen Meyer is Chief Revenue Officer at Govig and Associates, a firm doing $12 to $15 million a year. Mike Williams built Carnegie Search into a team of 15 and billed $1.5 million last year. Pree Sarkar runs a global firm from Sydney focused on go-to-market hiring for scale-ups and AI companies. They run successful businesses in very different markets, but there were surprising similarities in how they approach business development. Jen explained why companies going through layoffs can become some of your best client opportunities. Mike shared the simple accountability system that keeps his team on the phones every day. And Pree broke down the 90-day framework that led to seven of his last 10 client agreements. If you're relying on referrals and repeat business, this conversation is a reminder that the best recruiters never stop building a pipeline. In this episode: Why layoffs and restructures create high-value search work that never gets advertised The MPC approach that opens doors without the standard recruiter pitch Mike's fifteen-calls-a-day accountability system How to build a prospect list by hand, and what company size to target Ad calls versus target company calls, and what each means for your fees Pree's Brand, Win, Grow framework and the Fill strategy Nets, Seeds and Spears: balancing short and long-term pipeline What to do if you need a search assignment in the next 30 days Becoming "the recruiter for all seasons" Episode Highlights: [00:00] Intro [04:49] Why reputation and relationships won't build a repeatable pipeline [05:28] Jen targets companies that are downsizing, and why it works [09:56] Mike on why accountability beats good intentions [11:23] The fifteen-calls-a-day spreadsheet system explained [14:11] Why Mike builds every prospect list by hand [16:00] The company size sweet spot for director-level roles [16:51] Pree's three pillars: Brand, Win, Grow [18:35] Nets, seeds and spears explained [25:23] What each panellist would do starting over from zero [30:37] Why one hundred calls a day still matters in 2026 [35:10] Ad calls versus target company calls, and the fee difference [45:00] Becoming "the recruiter for all seasons" [57:50] The one metric Jen says to measure every Friday Podcast Partner Recruiterflow: AI-first ATS and CRM with built-in agents. https://recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow About the Guests Jen Meyer is Chief Revenue Officer at Govig and Associates, leading all business development. She has been in the industry for nearly 30 years, including 14 years running her own firm. Mike Williams is the founder of Carnegie Search, an engineering recruitment firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a team of 15. Pree Sarkar runs a global recruitment firm from Sydney focused on software sales and go-to-market hiring for startups, scale-ups and AI companies. Connect with the Guests Jen Meyer on LinkedIn Mike Williams on LinkedIn Pree Sarkar on LinkedIn Connect with Mark Whitby Get your free 30-minute strategy call: https://recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/ Mark on LinkedIn | Twitter: @MarkWhitby | Facebook | Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

  3. Jul 22 ·  Video

    LinkedIn Algorithm: How the Latest Changes Affect Recruiters | Richard van der Blom

    LinkedIn has changed how it decides who sees your content, and many recruiters are feeling the impact. Reach is down for most creators, engagement is changing, and tactics that worked a year ago are becoming less effective. Richard van der Blom has spent years studying those changes. His annual LinkedIn Algorithm Insights Report is now in its seventh edition, built from the analysis of 1.3 million LinkedIn posts published in the first half of 2026. His latest research suggests LinkedIn has fundamentally shifted from rewarding who you know to rewarding what you want to be known for. In this episode, Richard explains what those changes mean for recruiters, how topic fingerprinting influences your visibility, why random posting is hurting more than helping, and how AI is changing the way LinkedIn evaluates content. He also shares the four content pillars behind high-performing posts, why newsletters are becoming one of LinkedIn's most underused tools, and what recruiters should change now to stay visible. In this episode, you'll discover: Why LinkedIn's latest algorithm changes are reducing reach for many recruiters How topic fingerprinting determines who sees your content The four content pillars behind most high-performing LinkedIn posts Why your profile matters as much as the content you publish How LinkedIn is detecting AI-generated content Why newsletters are becoming one of LinkedIn's biggest opportunities What recruiters should change immediately to improve their visibility Episode highlights: [04:47] LinkedIn's shift from a relationship graph to an interest graph [08:41] Topic fingerprinting and why your profile matters [19:19] The four content pillars behind successful LinkedIn content [38:38] Which LinkedIn formats are performing best in 2026 [43:27] The LinkedIn Loop Cycle explained [48:05] AI detection on LinkedIn and the reach penalty About Richard Richard van der Blom is the founder of Just Connecting, a LinkedIn training and consultancy agency. He has been helping businesses use LinkedIn since 2010 and has published the LinkedIn Algorithm Insights Report every year since 2020. His latest report analyzes 1.3 million LinkedIn posts and is widely referenced by organizations including Salesforce, PwC, and Nestlé. Connect with Richard: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardvanderblom/ Website: https://www.richardvanderblom.com/ LinkedIn Algorithm Insights Report 2026: https://sales.richardvanderblom.com/content-algorithm-playbook/ Connect with Mark Whitby: Free Strategy Session: https://recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mwhitby Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter so you never miss an episode.

  4. Jul 15 ·  Video

    How AI Is Helping Recruiters Bill More, with Jordan Shlosberg

    Recruiters don't need AI to replace conversations with candidates or clients. They need AI to give them more time for those conversations. That's the philosophy Jordan Shlosberg has built his entire business around. Jordan is the founder of Atlas, an AI-first CRMx built for recruitment agencies. Before Atlas, he built proSapient, an expert network platform, scaling it to $40 million in revenue and 300 people across four or five offices before stepping back from the business in 2022. In this episode, Jordan explains where AI is already helping recruiters bill more, and where he thinks it has no place at all. He argues that business development, not delivery, is the real constraint on agency growth. He also shares why he uses Claude alongside his CRM to run his own business, and the simple test he applies to every new piece of technology. If you've been experimenting with AI but aren't sure how to turn that into more billings, this conversation gives you a clear way to think about it. In this episode, you'll discover: Where AI helps recruiters bill more, and where it shouldn't be used Why specing a candidate to a client used to take a day, and what that looks like now How Jordan decides whether to use Claude or his CRM for a given task Why business development, not delivery, is the real constraint on agency growth What "micro AI" means, and why Jordan avoids building one big flashy feature The one test Jordan applies to every new feature before it ships What Jordan thinks every recruiter should try in the next 90 days Episode highlights: 00:54 From building proSapient to $40 million to launching Atlas 08:23 The hiring mistake that dropped Jordan's Glassdoor score to 2.2 30:18 Where AI is genuinely good in recruitment today, and where it isn't 34:20 Why Jordan uses Claude over ChatGPT to run his own business 47:19 The search Atlas can run that no one else can do yet 59:39 Why business development, not delivery, is the real constraint on growth Podcast Partner: This episode is sponsored by Atlas, the AI-first CRMx built for recruitment agencies. For more information, visit recruitmentcoach.com/atlas. About Jordan: Jordan Shlosberg is the founder and CEO of Atlas, an AI-first CRMx built for recruitment agencies. He previously founded proSapient, an expert network platform, which he built to $40 million in revenue and 300 people across four or five offices before stepping back from the business in 2022. Connect with Jordan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanshlosberg/ https://recruitwithatlas.com/ Connect with Mark: Free 30-minute strategy call: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mwhitby Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter so you never miss an episode.

  5. Jul 8 ·  Video

    How to Bill $1.29 Million Without Sacrificing Family Life, with Emily Audibert

    Emily Audibert billed $1.29 million in 2025. She did it while eight and a half months pregnant with her third child, living in a 750-square-foot cottage for six months during a home renovation with her husband, two young boys, and a 70-pound dog. Emily is the founder of EA Associates, a search firm specializing in go-to-market roles. The year before, she'd billed $800K. She knew she was capable of billing seven figures, but a bad RPO client was quietly eating the difference. She came home from a conference determined to make some changes, fired the client, worked with her sister, Amanda, to overhaul her processes and technology, and by spring had landed a major new contract. In this episode, Emily walks through that whole sequence, along with the early years of her career, including five failed attempts at the same CPA exam before she ever considered recruiting, and the moment she stopped copying her trainer's script and started sounding like herself on the phone. Today, she's off the phone by 4:30 most afternoons to be with her kids, and she explains exactly how her business is built to make that possible. In this episode, you'll discover: How to tell a good RPO from one that's quietly draining your business Why the type of contract you sign never fixes a role that's hard to fill What changed when Emily brought her sister on as her operations partner Why she spend nearly her whole day on the phone and almost nothing else The three things that took her from $80K to $390K in her second year Why a softer, more personal approach outperformed a memorized script The daily habits she leans on to stay calm during a demanding week How half her breakthrough year came from work she was already doing Episode highlights: 02:26 Life with three kids under five 08:13 How 2025 became her breakthrough year 09:01 The RPO client she fired 14:41 Failing the CPA exam five times before finding recruitment 21:54 From $80K to $390K in year two 26:46 Finding her own voice on the phone 46:04 Why hiring her sister as integrator changed everything 52:43 A great RPO versus one you should fire Podcast Partner: This episode is brought to you by Recruiterflow, the AI-first ATS and CRM built for recruitment agencies and search firms. recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow Free Resources: 7-Figure Freedom Scorecard: https://mark-rf1pexbm.scoreapp.com/ Book a Strategy Session: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/ About Emily: Emily Audibert is the founder of EA Associates, a search firm specializing in go-to-market roles across marketing and sales. She began her career at Hobson Associates, trained under Danny Cahill, and has spent nearly 10 years in recruiting. She was inducted into the Pinnacle Society in 2025. That same year, she billed $1.29 million, up from $800K the year before. Connect with Emily: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyaudibert/ https://ea.associates/ Connect with Mark: Free 30-minute strategy call: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mwhitby Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter so you never miss an episode.

  6. Jul 1 ·  Video

    How to Make More Placements with Split Fees | NPA Worldwide Panel

    How many search assignments have you turned down because they were outside your niche, outside your geography, or you simply didn't have the capacity? In this special sponsored panel episode, Mark Whitby is joined by Heather Gardner, Jeff McGraw, and Jen Anderson from NPA Worldwide to discuss how split-fee partnerships help independent recruiters make more placements without taking on more clients. Heather made six split placements in her first year with NPA Worldwide. Jen has completed more than 55 split placements over the past decade. Jeff has been making split placements since 1994. Together, they explain how split fees work, how to build trusted recruiting partnerships, and how collaboration has helped them fill searches they would otherwise have declined. What You'll Learn: How a standard 50/50 split fee works, including the fee paid back to the network What questions to ask before agreeing to work on someone else's job order How Jeff brought a partner onto an intake call and filled an optics engineer role he couldn't have qualified alone How Jen builds trust with a new partner by copying them on every email with the client and candidate How Heather turned six split placements into a steady first year with NPA Worldwide What separates a partner worth working with from one worth turning down Timestamps: 00:00 Why recruiters turn away good search assignments 07:45 How split fee partnerships work 10:43 Heather's first year: six split placements 22:16 Jeff's optics engineer success story 26:10 How to qualify a split opportunity 28:57 The university client Jen won with a partner's help 37:39 Why collaboration beats competition 45:57 What makes a great split recruiting partner Guest Panel Heather Gardner is the owner of High Sierra Talent in California and made six split placements during her first year with NPA Worldwide. Jeff McGraw is with William Charles Search Group in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has been making split placements through NPA Worldwide since 1994. Jen Anderson is the owner of Prestige Recruiting Firm in Clearwater, Florida. She has been an NPA Worldwide member for 10 years, has completed more than 55 split placements, and currently serves on the NPA Worldwide Americas Board. If you've ever turned down work because it sat outside your specialty, this conversation will change how you think about the next one. This episode is sponsored by NPA Worldwide, a global, member-owned network of independent recruiters built around split fee placements. Learn more about NPA Worldwide: https://npaworldwide.com Mark Whitby: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markwhitby/ The Resilient Recruiter: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/podcast/

  7. Jun 25 ·  Video

    How a Solo Recruiter Went From Running a Bakery to Billing $100K a Month

    Michael Chambers didn't come into recruitment through the usual route. Before becoming a recruiter, he spent eight years running a bakery with his mother in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then his father passed away from cancer, leaving behind a recruiting business that had barely gotten started. Michael decided to take it over despite having no recruiting experience. A few years later, after navigating Covid, relocating across the country, and completely changing niches, Michael relaunched his business in manufacturing and battery recruitment across the Southeast United States. By month two, he was billing $100,000 a month as a solo recruiter. His business development strategy is unlike anything we've featured on the podcast before. Michael combines the Dream 100 methodology with personalized market intelligence reports, handwritten notes, LinkedIn videos, voice messages, phone calls, and in-person visits. In one campaign discussed on the show, 25 personalized mailers generated 15 responses and 10 booked conversations. He even shows up at target companies with cakes featuring their logo printed in icing. In this conversation, Michael breaks down exactly how the system works, why he went all-retained after Covid, how he built a niche in the Southeast Battery Belt, and why giving away value before asking for anything has become the foundation of his business. What You'll Learn • How Michael went from bakery owner to a six-figure monthly recruiting desk • Why he switched to a retained-only business model • The complete Dream 100 campaign and follow-up sequence • How personalized market intelligence reports open doors with target clients • Why physical mail still works in a digital world • How AI helps him create highly customized reports efficiently • The thinking behind his two-year replacement guarantee • How he became known as a specialist in battery manufacturing recruitment Timestamps [1:24] Michael's unusual route into recruitment [8:23] Taking over his father's recruiting business [15:21] Starting in 2019 and navigating Covid [17:47] Going all-retained and becoming more selective [21:51] Sending market intelligence before pitching anything [28:14] Relocating and relaunching in the Battery Belt [29:38] Billing $100K/month from month two as a solo recruiter [39:28] Why physical mailers outperform digital outreach [47:22] Dream 100 campaign breakdown: 25 mailers, 15 responses, 10 conversations [53:09] Showing up unannounced with a logo-printed cake [58:59] Inside a 30-page market intelligence report [1:00:38] The two-year replacement guarantee About Michael Chambers Michael Chambers is the founder of The Chambers Group, a retained search firm focused on manufacturing, operations, aerospace, and semiconductor recruitment across the Southeast United States. He entered recruitment in 2019 after taking over the business his father had started before his passing. Today, he specializes in helping manufacturing organizations hire critical leadership and operational talent across the Southeast Battery Belt. Connect with Mark Whitby Free Strategy Session: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session 7-Figure Freedom Scorecard: recruitmentcoach.com/scorecard LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mwhitby Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

  8. Jun 19 ·  Video

    How to Build a Recruitment Business That Runs Without You, with David Jenyns

    David Jenyns had 15 people on his team when he realized his business still couldn't function without him. Every client wanted him personally. Every escalation came back to him. He was working long hours and couldn't switch off. When he thought about taking time off to be present for the birth of his first child, it filled him with anxiety rather than excitement. "It was a little bit scary when I realized, hey, if I'm not working, the business isn't working." David is the founder of SYSTEMology, a three-times bestselling author of Authority Content, SYSTEMology, and Systems Champion, and a TEDx speaker. He has built and exited multiple businesses and, in 2016, systemized himself out of Melbourne SEO Services by documenting the business, hiring a CEO, and stepping away from day-to-day operations. He has since personally coached 223 businesses across 48 industries and 27 countries. In this conversation, David and Mark explore why founder dependency is so common in recruitment businesses, why it often gets rewarded in the early stages, and how agency owners can break the cycle. David explains the Critical Client Flow, the knowledgeable worker concept, the Systems Champion role, and why documented processes have become even more valuable in the age of AI. In this episode: Why the traits that help build a recruitment business can eventually limit its growth The Critical Client Flow and how to identify the systems that matter most How to distinguish between the work that requires your expertise and the work that doesn't Why key person dependency creates risk beyond just the founder How to capture the knowledge inside your team's heads before it walks out the door The Systems Champion role and how it drives systemization from within How AI can turn recordings into first-draft process documentation Why businesses with documented processes are getting the most out of AI right now What happened when ChatGPT disrupted a quarter of David's business almost overnight Episode Highlights [2:08] Why David's agency became dependent on him despite having 15 team members [4:15] The catalyst: finding out his wife was pregnant [9:03] Why founder dependency gets rewarded in the early stages [13:16] Systemize everything around the magic [19:58] The Critical Client Flow: where to start [25:32] The knowledgeable worker concept [27:41] The Systems Champion role [38:40] Building a Systems Hub for your intellectual property [47:03] How ChatGPT disrupted David's business overnight [49:06] Why process documentation is now the foundation for AI adoption About David Jenyns David Jenyns is the founder of SYSTEMology and a three-times bestselling author. His books, Authority Content, SYSTEMology, and Systems Champion, have been endorsed by Michael Gerber, Gino Wickman, and Allan Dib. A TEDx speaker and serial entrepreneur, he has personally coached 223 businesses across 48 industries and 27 countries. He also hosts the podcast Business Processes Simplified and runs systemHUB, a platform for business process documentation. Connect with David: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/david-jenyns SYSTEMology: systemology.com systemHUB: systemhub.com Podcast Partner Recruiterflow is an AI-first ATS and CRM built for modern recruitment agencies. Book a demo: recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow Free Resources Seven Figure Freedom Scorecard: recruitmentcoach.com/scorecard Free Strategy Session: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session Connect with Mark Free 30-minute strategy call: www.recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mwhitby Twitter: @MarkWhitby Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter: https://plinkhq.com/i/1489513354

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About

Join "the Recruitment Coach" Mark Whitby as he and his guests unpack the secrets of what it takes to be a profitable and long-lived professional in the recruitment industry.

Information

  • Creator
    Recruitment Coach Mark Whitby
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    284
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © (c) Breakthrough Coaching Ltd T/A RecruitmentCoach.com. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Resilient Recruiter

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