Reflections: First-Year Lessons

The Pro Athlete Mindset That Creates World-Class Recruiters

What happens when a former professional athlete brings elite discipline, visualization, and competitive fire into recruiting? You get a recruiter who treats the desk like a sport—and builds a fast-growing search firm in record time.

In this episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast, former pro athlete Jared Watts, founder of Next Play Search Group, reveals how the athlete DNA that took him from youth national teams to the professional level translates directly into high-performance recruiting. From reviewing “game tape,” embracing pressure, and tracking everything like a scoreboard to building trust with PE/VC firms, Jared breaks down the exact mindset and systems behind his rapid rise.

He shares how he structured an in-house role to mimic agency upside, launched his firm intentionally, and built a relationship engine where candidates often become future clients. If you’re looking to grow your desk, strengthen your business development, or operate with more precision and confidence, this conversation will push you to level up.

If you want to:

• Stop guessing and start tracking the right KPIs

• Build a repeatable client engine

• Improve your negotiation and influence skills

• Create a personal operating system that compounds

• Develop the self-belief and discipline of a pro athlete…

This episode will change how you work.

Key Takeaways

• Elite recruiters track like athletes. Jared reverse-engineers every goal using metrics, patterns, and daily habits.

• Relationships scale revenue. Giving without expectation—introductions, notes, referrals—creates a pipeline of repeat PE/VC clients.

• Visualization drives performance. Confidence comes from preparation and treating every conversation like a high-stakes moment.

• Do things that don’t scale. Personal touchpoints create leverage automation can’t match.

• Protect your time. BD, candidates, and high-value conversations come first—everything else waits.

Listen, subscribe, share, and connect with us!

 

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▶️ YouTube Episode: https://youtu.be/CPI43bV5cgI

🔗 Connect with Jared Watts: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-watts-1799339b/

👤 With Host Benjamin Mena (Select Source Solutions):

http://www.selectsourcesolutions.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminmena/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benlmena/