The Resilient Recruiter

Recruitment is a tough job. High pressure and long hours are the norm, combined with extreme emotional highs and lows.  It’s no wonder that burnout has always been a big problem in our industry.  Now the issue is compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought increased anxiety and feelings of uncertainty.  How do you build a high-performing team while taking care of your employees’ mental health and well-being - especially in this time of crisis? My special guest, Paul Hallam is a founding member of Six Degrees Executive, Australia’s leading independent, specialist executive recruitment consultancy.  In this interview, he shares how they grew to net fee income of $25 million AUD a team of 85 people in 3 offices, while placing mental health and well-being at the heart of their people strategy.  Listen as Paul reveals Six Degrees Executive’s holistic approach to ensuring that their employees’ well-being and mental health are protected.  Hear simple yet effective practices that they apply to ensure that people in their recruitment business are “doing OK.” Episode Outline and Highlights [1:20] Paul shares how they are dealing with COVID19’s impact on their business. [6:00] A holistic approach in addressing your employees’ health and well-being. [14:50] Paul shares three key success factors that enabled him to scale his business to 85 people and $25M. [26:05] Paul’s valuable insights on people retention and diversity and inclusion. [37:02] Best practices for planning and creating business strategies. [40:49] Specific investments in technology that enabled Six Degrees to amplify their success. A Holistic Approach to Addressing Mental Health For Paul, the mental health and well-being of his people is the most paramount thing.  Paul shares, “The hardest and toughest day of my life in Six Degrees’ history was when I had to tell people that one of their team members… had taken his own life. We had always been conscious of people’s mental health, but when something like that happens, mental health is probably the most important that we look at when looking after people.” At Six Degrees, they make sure that people are not worked to the bone, not working too hard but have a really good balance in life. They would even enforce vacations if people haven’t taken the holidays they’re entitled to.   In Australia, annually on the second Thursday of September, they hold what they call R U OK? Day which encourages Australians to connect with people who have emotional insecurity, address social isolation, and promote community cohesiveness.  For Paul, it is “not just asking are you okay, but asking second and third questions and also educating people to make sure they see the signs that when people are not okay. In Six Degrees, every day is R U OK? Day. not just one day a year.”   When Scaling Your Business, Diversity and Inclusion Contributes to People Retention “One of the things we are very proud of is in our business, we are a diverse organization. Historically recruitment companies hire like-minded people. We have great diversity and representation of females and females in leadership positions as well. We also have very progressive policies when it comes to maternity/paternity leaves...We also have a father and mother with the same child in this office and they have flexible working arrangements to make it work for them.” Paul proudly shared how they value diversity and inclusion when talking about scaling their business and retaining valuable employees. Additionally, they ensure the learning and development of their employees while being engaged and actively listening to their needs as well. Paul Hallam Bio and Contact Info Paul is one of the founding directors at Six Degrees, an equity shareholder and board member. Paul’s recruitment and search career began in 1996 and he is widely renowned as one of the most connected executive search consultants in Australia. He manages executive search engagements for Retail, Consumer Goods, and Healthcare industries, recruiting General Manager, CEO and Director and C Level roles. Prior to establishing Six Degrees, Paul spent eight years with Michael Page International, establishing their newly formed Sales & Marketing Division in the Victorian market. In 2002, he was promoted to the Australian Board of Directors with responsibility for the National Sales & Marketing Division, as well as managing some of the company’s major preferred supplier relationships. Paul’s philosophy in life and in recruitment is: “look for three things in people, intelligence, energy, and integrity. If they don’t have the last one don’t even bother with the first two." - W. Buffet Paul on LinkedIn Paul on Twitter @paulmhallam Six Degrees Executive website link Six Degrees Executive on LinkedIn Six Degrees Executive on Instagram Six Degrees Executive on Twitter @SixDegreesExec Six Degrees Executive on Facebook Six Degrees Executive on Youtube People and Resources Mentioned Beyond Blue website link R U OK website link Culture Amp website link  Xref Tool website link Recruitment Growth Accelerator website link Greg Savage on LinkedIn Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed  Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #1 The Future of Recruitment: Strategies To Stay Relevant and Effective, with Greg Savage TRR #2 Setting Up A Recruitment Business For Scale, with Jonathan Coxon and Alex Elliot TRR #12 The Commercial Value of Diversity and Inclusion in Recruitment with Raj Tulsiani   Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Reaching out to new clients can be intimidating, especially when the person you want to speak to is a senior executive. What mindset should you possess in order to have the courage to contact key decision-makers? My special guest, Natasha Makhijani has been extremely successful at opening doors at C-level. She’s won major accounts such as British Airways, DHL, Royal Mail, Engie, Mitie, and many others.  What makes this accomplishment even more impressive is that she started her recruitment company working by herself from the spare bedroom of her parent’s house.  In this interview, she shares her strategies and best practices for new business development.  Of course, winning a piece of work is one thing - but being able to consistently over-deliver against the client’s requirements and developing those accounts is quite another matter.  Especially when the client asks for the near impossible -- in one case Natasha and her team filled 150 roles for a client, completing executive searches within 2-3 weeks and lower level roles within 2-3 days.   Natasha also shared proven strategies for building relationships with your clients and how it relates to long term thinking.  Her approach to building relationships has led to some of her clients becoming friends and mentors. Natasha is the CEO of Oliver Sanderson Group PLC and Co-Founder of Snapp CV Group PLC, a mobile job app and video platform. Oliver Sanderson is a dynamic brand in Executive Search & Selection who look after Perm and Interim assignments to FTSE 100 & 250 clients. They offer retained, exclusive and contingent end to end recruitment in a variety of disciplines and serving major UK & Global sectors. Episode Outline and Highlights [1:23] Natasha shares her main strategy to open doors for opportunities. [7:10] How long term thinking is inter-related to building relationships with clients. [33:44] Best practices to apply when reaching out to C-level executives. [36:50] Growing too quickly too soon - Natasha talks about her learnings. [41:50] How Snapp CV applies innovation and artificial intelligence. [49:45] Natasha discusses the biggest challenge in her career The Key that Opens Doors to New Opportunities When Natasha started her recruitment business nine years ago, she was a one-person business who was able to break into major blue-chip companies, being given C-level roles to fill. How was she able to get such opportunities? For her, the main key is being genuine when building relationships. When building her network, she doesn’t “go in with the premise that she wants the business.” This is how she puts it: “My biggest strength has always been opening a door...I call it networking and building relationships and just being genuine… So my biggest strength is opening a door connecting with CEOs, connecting with chief people officers, connecting with group chairman, and basically, meeting them, building relationships.” She added, “I don’t go in with the premise that I want business from you. And that’s not the way I build relationships. I think the key to success is that you have your short term gains, your medium-term and your long term gains. And for me, that is about mapping out the people that I wanted to connect with.”   Natasha’s Biggest Career Challenge When asked to share about the biggest challenge she had to face in her career, her response is: “Going from being a recruiter to managing a business and becoming a CEO.” For her, the transition is not easy as you’ve got to always be thinking five steps ahead. She also emphasized the value of continuous learning. Despite the challenges, was it worth it? As she says, “No longer am I the soft recruiter that I was who just delivers. I’m a businesswoman, I'm an entrepreneur, I’m someone who knows how to achieve. I know how to take a business from zero to hero. And that’s the difference in running your own business.” Natasha Makhijani Bio and Contact Info Natasha is the CEO of Oliver Sanderson Group PLC and Co-Founder of Snapp CV Group PLC, a mobile job app and video platform. Natasha began her professional career with Hays Logistics on their graduate scheme. She set up the Victoria office with her manager, and within two years, the Victoria office and the staff of eight were the top-performing offices in the country. She was offered the opportunity to work with Michael Page and Robert Walters. She started with Michael Page Human Resources, and she became their top biller within HR during her first year. She helped set up their St Albans office and then moved to London to set up permanent recruitment for the Public Sector. Later, Natasha was promoted to Managing Consultant and contributed to the growth of the Public sector office. She considers herself lucky to have had a revelation to an entrepreneurial community from an early age, and she believes this helped her to shape into somebody who is vibrant and enthusiastic and with a keen interest and passion for business. Oliver Sanderson is a dynamic brand in Executive Search & Selection who look after Perm and Interim assignments to FTSE 100 & 250 clients. They offer retained, exclusive and contingent end to end recruitment in a variety of disciplines and serving major UK & Global sectors. They also provide cutting edge service solutions to customers, ensuring the needs are met in tune with the changing marketplace. Natasha on LinkedIn Oliver Sanderson Group PLC website link Oliver Sanderson Group PLC on LinkedIn Oliver Sanderson Group PLC on Instagram Oliver Sanderson Group PLC on Twitter @OliverSanders9 Oliver Sanderson Group PLC on Facebook Snapp CV website link   Special Offer Natasha is launching a brand new version of SNAPP CV & SNAPP RESUME both here in the UK and the USA, in addition to their video interviewing platform: SNAPP INVIEW.  She is happy to offer 5% off any of our pricing plans active from the 5th of July 2020 until the 5th of August, enter code RRP5 at checkout. The app is available from Android and Apple stores.  People and Resources Mentioned Marija Simovic on LinkedIn Gary Vaynerchuk on LinkedIn Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach   Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

In these challenging times, staying the same just won’t cut it. Rather than just battening down the hatches and weathering the storm, what strategic changes can you implement now so you emerge in a position of strength? My very special guest, Mike Brennan shares his thoughts on why redesigning your service offerings is key to success in this challenging environment. Learn how Mike drives innovation to become relevant as a partner to his clients. Mike joined Norman Broadbent Group Plc as a ‘turnaround CEO’ in 2016. With his team, Mike has repositioned the Group as a leading Professional Services firm focussing on Talent Acquisition & Advisory Services. In 2018, the business posted its best annual revenues in over a decade, and in 2019 returned to profit. Episode Outline and Highlights [4:53] Why the executive search market needs to up its game. [9:35] How innovation helps Norman Broadbent achieve a 95% closure rate. [13:00] What is the main challenge with traditional executive search firms? [14:50] What can you do to be relevant as partners to your clients? [21:11] Three best practices to get you through these difficult times and be in a position of strength  [38:24] Mike shares pivotal moments in his entrepreneurial journey [44:03] What significant values contribute to Norman Broadbent’s success? [47:45] Hear Mike’s answer to this question: “If you could speak to your younger self, what advice would you give to that young entrepreneur?” Innovation and Why the Executive Search Needs to Up its Game According to Mike, there hasn’t really been anything innovative happening in the executive search market since 1965. He is both a fan and critic of search, and he believes that it has not evolved or developed as much as it should have done. This is how Mike puts it: “I think traditional search has become very transactional.” He added, “There is a frightening statistic, that 37% of all executive search assignments fail in the UK. So if you think about the market in the UK is worth about £1.5 Billion a year, that’s half a billion in wasted spend every year. That’s indefensible. At Norman Broadbent, we’ve got 95% closure rates. We work hard to see how we can mitigate all the risks in the search process. And how can we make sure that there’s a successful outcome.” Mike is a strong believer in innovation and being relevant as partners to clients. Listen to his best practices especially in these difficult times when recruitment businesses are hurting. Living in a “Darwinian Moment” - Covid’s Impact on the Recruitment Industry Mike and I discussed the impact of the coronavirus to major businesses and specifically to the recruitment industry. While there are struggles, successful and resilient businesses are usually agile and innovative. We see businesses completely revolutionizing themselves at warp speed.  As shared by one online business, “We’ve evolved more in the last three months than we thought we would within the next three years.” Mike said, “These are truly unparalleled times. I think this is a Darwinian moment for our industry. And we need to stay focused as a business, as an industry, and help our clients through these very difficult times.” Hear how being agile, promoting change and transformation while helping out clients can be significant factors in weathering these challenging moments in our economy. Mike Brennan Bio and Contact Info Having spent most of his career in the global Professional Services markets, Mike has lived and built businesses in London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. He also established/managed operations in New York, Dubai, and Singapore.  Starting his first business aged 27 with investor backing from Alexander Mann Group, Mike was one of four founding Equity Partners involved in its sale to PE firm Advent International. He subsequently started an award-winning sister business in HK before returning to London as Global CEO of Alexander Mann's Executive Search arm. Having successfully turned around the business, he led its sale on behalf of Advent/Alexander Mann.  Mike joined Norman Broadbent Group Plc as a ‘turnaround CEO’ in 2016. With his team, Mike has repositioned the Group as a leading Professional Services firm focussing on Talent Acquisition & Advisory Services. These include Board & Leadership Search, Senior Interim Management, Research & Insight, Solutions, and Leadership Assessment. In 2018, the business posted its best annual revenues in over a decade, and in 2019 returned to profit.  In 2019, Mike was recognized by 'CEO Today' as one of Europe’s top CEOs. In 2019 he was also invited to join the United Nation’s UK Judging Panel which recognizes those in business who have promoted the case for diversity. In 2020, Mike was not only invited on to a Bank of England panel but also asked to join The Future Economy Surrey Commission. Mike on LinkedIn Mike on Twitter @MJCBrennan Norman Broadbent website link Norman Broadbent on LinkedIn Norman Broadbent on Twitter @NormanBroadbent People and Resources Mentioned Doug Bugie on LinkedIn  James Caan on LinkedIn  The Real Deal: My Story from Brick Lane to Dragons' Den by James Caan Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #3 The 4 Qualities of The World’s Top Recruitment Leaders, with Doug Bugie   Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

In these unprecedented and challenging times, a recruiter can easily lose sight of the “why” and fall into the trap of boredom and burnout. How do you recover from burnout and reignite your passion? My special guest, Sharon Hulce explains how creativity and continuously reinventing yourself can help you overcome these challenges.  Sharon is the president of Employment Resource Group Inc. (ERG) in Wisconsin and has twenty-four years of expertise in Executive Search specializing in placing outstanding leaders. She has won numerous awards including MRI’s Person of the Year and also Account Executive of the Decade. She is also a Forbes Author who recently published her book, “A Well Done Professional Midlife Crisis: How To Bleed Passion & Energy Back Into Your Career”. Episode Outline and Highlights [2:07] Sharon shares the story behind her book, “A Well Done Professional Midlife Crisis”  [7:18] How do you fight “recruiter’s burnout?” [12:29] Running a desk during a crisis - three specific steps you can take. [25:00] How do you uncover an MPC’s real value? [29:07] How inbound marketing is changing the landscape of the recruitment industry. [31:07] Hear the four “buckets” that Sharon applied in order to generate more inbound leads. [41:10] Sharon explains her company structure and how it works. [48:22] How Sharon shifted from contingent to retained search. Resilience in This Time of Crisis In this challenging environment, many recruiters can easily forget their “why.” What helped Sharon operate during times of crisis? As she puts it, “I have been through two recessions, 9/11, and now a pandemic. So, in my career, I’ve been through a lot. The one thing that I think has made us resilient and stay optimistic and energetic, and actually continue to build through all of this is really understanding what does value mean for your customers.” Hear three specific steps she took to stay in shape during times of crisis.    Shifting to a Retained Search Business Model Sharon has been doing a retained search business model for 18 years. I am an evangelist of the retained model for the benefits it brings to the client, candidate, and the recruiter. However, shifting to this model from a contingent business model can be challenging to some recruiters especially if their client would prefer the former.  How did Sharon come about shifting to the retained search? “I had worked a contingent desk for just shy 17 years… The day I decided I wasn’t doing it any other way [shifting to retained] I lost my top 3 clients. So fifty percent of my business went away. And I held my ground… I said listen, “You have changed your value proposition multiple times since we’ve started working together. I am now changing mine. I am good at what  I do. I am a top 5 construction practice in the country. If you want to work with me as the owner of this organization and have my work on your searches, you need to pay me to do it.” Listen to how being firm and being able to deliver helped Sharon shift to the retained business model.   Sharon Hulce Bio and Contact Info Sharon is the President and CEO of Employment Resource Group Inc. and has twenty-four years of expertise in Executive Search specializing in placing outstanding leaders. Her unique approach to business is as follows: “A business and community’s most valuable asset is the people within.  For our clients, our role is to understand the necessary competencies, knowledge, social interaction, and personality critical for integration and outstanding performance within their organization.  For our candidates, our purpose is to help them define their purpose, attain goals, and find their life’s vocation.  We are proud of the emotional intelligence we have been able to share with our clients and candidates alike”  She has won numerous awards including MRI Person of the Year 2019, Champion of the Chamber Award Winner (Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce 2019), 2019 Walter L. Rugland Community Service award, just to name a few. She was also inducted into the Pinnacle Society in 2015 and is a Forbes Author for “A Well Done Professional Midlife Crisis”. Sharon’s website link Sharon on LinkedIn  Employment Research Group website link Employment Research Group on LinkedIn Employment Research Group on Facebook Employment Research Group on Twitter @ergsearch A Well Done Professional Midlife Crisis: How To Bleed Passion & Energy Back Into Your Career, Amazon link People and Resources Mentioned Rich Rosen on LinkedIn Craig Picken on LinkedIn Pinnacle Society website link Inbound Marketing Roadmap for Recruiters, by Mark Whitby Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #6 Habits of a Million-Dollar Biller, with Rich Rosen TRR #22 Craig Picken’s Journey From Naval Aviator to Big Billing Solo Recruiter   Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

With the paradigm shift of working remotely in a distributed setting, how do recruitment businesses create a cohesive culture for their employees? In this episode of the Resilient Recruiter, my special guest Boris Epstein shares how he managed to build a company culture consistently aligned with their values while rapidly growing his business to 150 people in three and a half years.   In line with the 4th of July Independence Day celebration, hear how values and company culture, recruitment service differentiation, and value proposition development can give a sense of independence and self-sufficiency to your recruitment business. Boris is the Founder & CEO of Binc, the technology industry’s dedicated flexible recruiting team. Winning best workplace awards two years in a row, their clients include big names such as Paypal, Tesla, Airbnb, Pinterest, DropBox, just to name a few.   Episode Outline and Highlights [3:00] Binc’s service model and what makes it effective  [11:46] How to create a cohesive culture when your employees are distributed. [17:58] Values alignment - how to infuse your business values with different levels of accountability. [20:10] Shifting to a remote culture - how to train your people while promoting camaraderie in a distributed setting. [29:00] From startup to 150 people in three and a half years - how to manage a very fast level of growth [37:04] Boris shares their current challenges during the coronavirus pandemic economy [43:11] How to maintaining your culture in these challenging times [50:23] Boris shares best practices in recruitment differentiation    Building Your Business Culture with Values Boris strongly believes in building a cohesive culture despite his business model, on which employees are distributed in different locations. How do you create such a culture? Values development. For Boris, consistent alignment with your values creates a strong sense of unique business culture. As Boris puts it: “Values are really big. To define our values it took quite a bit of time, it took almost nine months to define our values. The right words, the right level of resonance. Then once you define your values, it’s ‘what are the ways we can make these values visible?’ How are our values visible in business development? How are our values visible in our review and promotion cycle? How are our values visible in our client engagement? Once you go through that exercise, you could very clearly see, oh this value is very visible here. This value is not very visible here.”   Recruitment Differentiation - How to Develop a Clear Value Proposition To stand out from competitors, it is important to have a unique value proposition. This is something that is not easy, otherwise all recruitment agencies would have a clear value proposition. So what advice would Boris give to leaders? “Our philosophy from day one, from 18 years ago, ... was to offer a differentiated alternative to growing technology companies. So we always wanted to offer something differentiated… We think the status quo is something to fight against in perpetuity.” He added, “In general, you have to acknowledge what it is that the market wants. You have to acknowledge what it is that other people in the market are already doing. You have to acknowledge what your assets are. And from those assets, you have to go through a very creative exercise to explore how you could position your assets. Through that, you can land on something distinguished.”   Boris Epstein Bio and Contact Info Boris is the Founder & CEO of Binc, the technology industry’s dedicated flexible recruiting team. He has personally made hundreds of hires in his 16-year recruiting career and is an expert in the development and management of the top recruiters in our industry. He serves on the Board of The Pinnacle Society, an organization consisting of the top-performing recruiters in the US. Boris on LinkedIn Binc website link Binc on LinkedIn Binc on Twitter @BINC Binc on Facebook People and Resources Mentioned Rich Rosen on LinkedIn Shaun McCambridge on LinkedIn Pinnacle Society website link Productivity Tool - Monday.com website link Looker Analytics Tool website link 5 Ways to Differentiate Your Recruiting Firm From the Competition - by Mark Whitby webinar link Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #6 Habits of a Million-Dollar Biller, with Rich Rosen TRR #11 Recruiting Recruiters: How to Attract, Hire, Develop and Retain Great Recruiters with Shaun McCambridge Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

Success in any field is found in knowing your worth, being generous in giving credit, and proactively seeking to bounce forward no matter what setbacks come your way. My special guest, David Perry, perfectly illustrates these ideas through some entertaining and inspiring personal stories. Known as the “Rogue Recruiter”, David is the Managing Director of Perry-Martel International, an Ottawa-based staffing and recruiting company that places executives in technology, real estate, and construction. Perry-Martel has been featured in Inc. Magazine, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, and Washington Post, to name just a few. Listen in and discover why David lives by the saying, “Why bother to think about what you can do when you can just go and do it?” Episode Outline and Highlights [03:01] How Perry-Martel worked its way to over $100 million in placement fees [10:10] The amazing story behind David and Jay Conrad Levinson’s book Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters [24:43] A primer on David’s online job hunting platform My New Job Hunt [46:25] How David was able to continue working while recovering from a stroke [52:34] Penning the second edition of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters [55:40] David’s philosophy on taking action [57:44] The impetus behind David’s next book Hiring Greatness [1:00:01] How to use “The Starbucks Coffee Cup Caper” job search tactic [1:05:48] Using Facebook Ads effectively Experiencing Greater Success with Grit and Humility Threats of lawsuits never slowed David down. Neither did a life-threatening stroke. The former situation led to his growing Perry-Martel to over $100 million in placement fees. The latter led to his adding 80% of new material to the second edition of his book Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters. In his own words, “Why bother to think about what you can do when you can just go and do it?” In addition, David eventually came to enjoy the freedom of doing things for the betterment of his stakeholders “just because I can”. By focusing primarily on what you get out of any big endeavor, you will end up falling short of doing the best that you would otherwise be capable of if you, instead, left your ego at the door. Says David, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t care who takes the credit.” The Starbucks Coffee Cup Caper David brings up the unique job search tactic known as “The Starbucks Coffee Cup Caper” (originally “Tim Hortons”). You, the recruiter, would walk into Starbucks and ask an employee for ten (clean) empty paper coffee cups. Go to Staples and buy ten mailer boxes. Put together your Guerrilla one-page resumé. Along with this, write your Guerrilla one-page cover letter, which will tell your prospective employer that you wish to discuss possible solutions to their company’s problems over coffee. Take both documents, put them in one of the coffee cups, which you then put inside the mailer box, and send it to the employer via FedEx 2Day®. Rinse and repeat for another nine individuals. Once you get the ping informing you that a box has arrived, wait 45 minutes before sending a text to give the recipient a heads-up. Enjoy how the rest of the interaction plays out. (This tactic also works for prospecting.) David Perry Bio and Contact Info David is a recruiter, the author of seven books, and a sought-after motivational speaker. He was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Community Service. He served as the Managing Partner of Perry-Martel International since its founding in 1988, and in that time has recruited executives that total $393+ million in salaries negotiated on 5 continents. Alongside all this, David co-founded MyNewJobHunt.com, “the first online Job Transition Platform written to help job hunters connect with employers in a whole new way.” David on LinkedIn David on Twitter David’s email: dperry@perrymartel.com Perry-Martel’s website People and Resources Mentioned Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0 – a book by David Perry and Jay Conrad Levinson Hiring Greatness – a book by David Perry and Mark Haluska My New Job Hunt – an online platform for job hunters My Stroke of Insight – a book by Jill Bolte Taylor Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

If you have ambitions to scale your staffing business, it’s important to understand both the opportunities and challenges involved. Even if you don’t plan to grow a huge recruitment business, I suspect you’ll learn a lot from my special guest, Gerard Koolen.  Gerard is the owner of Lugera, a multinational recruiting and staffing agency operating in 9 countries in 30 offices with 400 internal staff. In this interview, he shares the highs and lows of his entrepreneurial journey that lead to building a €130M Staffing Business. Gerard holds nothing back and Gerard reveals his strategies, mindset and philosophy of investing in both people and technology. Episode Outline and Highlights [2:56] Two key factors that lead to Lugera becoming the #1 agency in its area [4:44] How and why Gerard started a recruitment company [12:00] The benefits of doing business in Eastern Europe [15:17] The challenges and pitfalls of growing fast [20:50] When is the right time to expand your recruitment business? [25:40] How to inspire incredible staff loyalty [28:20] Growing through acquisition - hear strategies that worked [35:40] The value of investing in technology [44:04] Gerard shares the biggest lesson learned in his career Marrying Recruitment and Technology Gerard is a firm believer that innovation is key and sees the value of HR technology, especially with his own staff. Instead of focusing on repetitive tasks, technology helps his sales staff to focus on selling. As he puts it: “Technology helps us to do much more than without technology. We really learned the great lesson that when you are in recruitment, even if you have so many great people working for you, help them with great technology.” A great example that Gerard shared in our conversation is how he came about developing STAA, or Sales and Talent Acquisition Application. Nobody in Silicon Valley wanted to invent the technology to cater to the idea Gerard was presenting, and so he was forced to have it developed on their own. After spending more than €1.5M and 4 to 5 years of development, it finally went live. What was the result? In Ukraine alone, they were able to triple the number of placements.  Increasing Employee Loyalty  Back in 2009, Gerard was forced to let go of 100 employees in Romania due to the economic crisis. The next day, it was amazing 30 people came back, saying that they still want to help and they will work for free. They were eventually rehired, and because of their help, they were able to maintain their revenue. What created such loyalty in the team members that they were willing to work for free? This is what Gerard said: “We are not in it for the money. We are in it for helping people. We really like what we do. Although we are professionals and we need to get paid, but we are there for our people, for the candidates, for the clients. That is why people love to work with us.”  Gerard Koolen Bio and Contact Info Gerard is the owner of Lugera, a multinational recruiting and staffing agency. Gerard started Lugera in Slovakia in 1996 and is now operating in 9 countries in 30 offices with 400 internal staff. Lugera is focused on Permanent Staffing, Temporary Staffing, Payroll & Outsourcing generating revenue of €130M. Gerard is crazy about helping as many people as we possibly can with a better job. He is help driven, he thinks that innovation is key and is a front-runner in innovative HR technology. Gerard on LinkedIn Gerard on Facebook Gerard’s blog link Lugera website link Lugera on Youtube STAA website link If you are interested to be a partner in using STAA, get a 50% discount for listeners from the podcast by emailing gerard.koolen@lugera.com and mentioning Mark Whitby People and Resources Mentioned The Infinite Game - a book by Simon Sinek  Jordan Lawrence on LinkedIn Christy Brown on LinkedIn Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #18 How to Build Your Business During a Recession, with Christy Brown TRR #19 Building a Multinational, Micro-Niche Recruitment Group, with Jordan Lawrence Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

How does having a sense of honour help you build relationships at the highest level in your recruitment business? In this episode of the Resilient Recruiter, my guest Richard Hoon will share his perspective gained from a successful 25-year career in recruitment.  Richard is the founder and CEO of I Search Worldwide and has been a C-Suite search practitioner for over two decades. He is also co-founder and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Validus, a fintech company that is now worth more than $100m. Richard is also the Chairman of the Centre for Fathering & Dads-for-Life, a 20-year-old charity in Singapore. This is very timely for our parent listeners for the upcoming Father’s Day weekend. Although not related to recruiting, if you are a parent or planning to be a parent sometime in the future, I am sure you will find value in Richard’s wisdom on this topic.  Episode Outline and Highlights [3:16] Centre for Fathering & Dads-for-Life: two approaches to eradicate fatherlessness. [9:50]  Richard’s key achievements [13:11] How to manage a large business when you can’t be everywhere at once. [14:10] Bringing honour back to the recruitment industry [18:24] Why we need to shift from contingency to pure retained model [23:00] How to handle challenges when dealing with internal recruiters and HR [36:30] Never too late to start from zero - how Richard co-founded a fintech company  [39:42] Philosophies and strategies when building a larger business. [49:52] How art collecting it influences your thought and creativity Centre for Fathering & Dads-for-Life Richard is the current Chairman of the Centre for Fathering & Dads-for-Life, a 20-year-old charity in Singapore.  What is the charity about? In Richard’s words: “The goal is to eradicate fatherlessness. Every child born has a father, but the father is not present, is not engaged, not actively contributing to the family. So the child grows up fatherless. Our job is to encourage fathers to be more active and engaged with their children.”  In order for them to address fatherlessness and the negative impact on children, they take preventative and intervention approaches. “We do events, we do programs, we do training, we do father and child bonding camp, we encourage national events like eating with your family.” Bringing Honour Back to the Recruitment Agency Richard believes that having partners that you can trust with the same long-term philosophy is important when you are managing your business, and so is being honourable. For Richard, having those who value honour in the recruitment business is really a minority. “The recruitment business is high grounding... They say things they don’t mean, they say things they don’t know, and probably get a lot of untruths.” He added,  “I don’t want a recruiter’s name, one day, being associated with a second-hand car salesman.” This is how Richard puts it on how it should be addressed: “This is a very honourable business because when you put people together, you have got to really be responsible for their career, for their future, but you are also responsible for the company... Unfortunately, the lack of training in the recruitment industry probably gets a lot of just short term results.” He added, “If you always say good things, you are already propagating a lie. If there’s anything I would like to do, it’s to bring honour back to the recruiting industry. By making sure recruiters go back to a centered sense of morality.” Never too late to start  At the age of 60, Richard Co-founded a fintech company, Validus. For him, it is never too late to start from scratch. Starting from zero, the company today is worth over $100million dollars.  Richard Hoon Bio and Contact Info Richard Hoon is the founder and CEO of I Search Worldwide and has been a C-Suite search practitioner for over two decades. He was the Managing Director of Asia for an international executive search franchise and was the General Manager of International SOS. He has held senior and regional roles with companies such as American Express, Tourism Victoria, and Pall Corporation. Richard is the current Chairman of the Centre for Fathering & Dads-for-Life, a registered charity, and IPC in Singapore. He is a co-founder and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Validus, a fintech company that has received series A funding from a major financial institution. He is the President of the Circumnavigators’ Club and the President of the Palm Island Club. He is also a fellow of the Singapore Institute of Directors. Richard on LinkedIn I Search Worldwide website link People and Resources Mentioned Centre for Fathering website link Doug Bugie on LinkedIn James Caan on LinkedIn Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #3 The 4 Qualities of The World’s Top Recruitment Leaders, with Doug Bugie Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

As a recruiter, it is important to have a unique value proposition to be successful. In this episode of The Resilient Recruiter, my special guest Craig Watson is challenging the accepted paradigm of how recruitment services are sold and delivered. His business model is disruptive, either you are going to love it or hate it.  If you are a third-party staffing and recruiting agency, you may feel threatened by Craig’s business model. But setting emotions aside, listen to how his innovative thinking is reimagining the talent acquisition process. Craig Watson is Founder & Director of Recstra, which to his words, “a community of freelance recruiters who are changing the face of recruitment forever.”  Craig actually comes from a traditional agency background with over 20 years of recruitment & sales industry experience. Episode Outline and Highlights [5:22] Why Craig launched a weekly podcast (Tapod) and four key pointers on what makes it successful. [8:19] How hosting or listening to podcasts adds value for recruiters  [17:50] The Recstra business model and how it is challenging the norms of a recruitment agency model. [34:24] Will the traditional recruitment business model eventually lose its place in the market? [48:48] “Recruitment is Dead” - why Craig wrote a blog with this title and what it means for you as a recruiter. [56:21] Craig’s volunteer work as a Lifesaver “Hey, Can I Buy You a Coffee?” Craig and I believe in the value of learning and how being exposed to topnotch people with great ideas adds value. As Craig puts it, “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room... It is important to find people who are doing a really good idea or really good ways of doing it, ask to buy them a coffee, sit down and be honest and try to get some more information and learn something.” Relating his experience with Max Walker, a Cricket celebrity in Australia, and Max’s philosophy on why he always makes time for people. “You know what Craig? If anybody ever asks me for coffee, I would bite the handoff to take it. The worst thing I am ever going to get out of that is free coffee, and the best thing is I might learn something.” Getting Recstra from Concept to Reality Recstra is a platform with a community of experienced, freelance recruitment consultants. Clients receive high-quality recruitment services while achieving significant cost savings. How did he come up with that concept? Craig said that “Recstra was born out of a need to have a point of difference for me to be successful.” After doing a data study of why recruiters are leaving the industry, he found out that 28% of recruiters left because they either wanted more work-life balance and flexibility, or they didn’t want to sell. From there, he was able to come up with a business model of remote working and flexibility, instead of a traditional agency environment on which recruiters are traditionally working from 8-5.  Another way Craig is challenging the norms in the agency recruitment business is through his billing model -  an hourly rate, based on activity. In a general sense, it is pay per service not pay per outcome. How is that working for him? They’ve broken down the recruitment process and an average perm role has around 15 to 17 hours of dedicated activity. For an average role, they are able to complete a placement for about under AUD3000. In comparison, the average placement fee in Australia is within AUD12,000-15,000. This did not go down well with some of his competitors. “Straightaway, the recruitment agency industry which I was so immersed in got their hackles up and said, ‘You are undercutting us, you are diluting it, what are you doing?’ I’m not on here to upset people, all I can do is talk about my experience and the research that I have done which I am happy for it to be challenged in any way.” Lifesaving Work  Craig is President of Venus Bay Surf Lifesaving Club that achieved the Australian Lifesaving Club of the Year in 2019 in a field of over 370 Clubs. Running a small club of 600 volunteer members gives him the opportunity to learn a lot of leadership skills when it comes to inspiring and motivating people. This also enables him to have an active lifestyle and the opportunity to save lives.  Craig Watson Bio and Contact Info Craig Watson is Founder & Director of Recstra and Co-host of the Tapod podcast. He is extremely proud of the Recstra revolution - a community of freelance recruiters who are changing the face of recruitment forever. TaPod is ranked in the top 10 of Career Podcasts in ANZ and its informal and informative style has seen it become a staple amongst TA Leaders and professionals in the region. With over 20 years of recruitment & sales industry experience, he is a trainer and consultant to a number of Industries and Corporate groups - specializing in social media, building businesses, building your TA Tech Stack, managing process, leadership skills, business modeling, attraction, engagement, and retention. Craig has presented keynotes to Global Conferences and was recently named in the Top 50 Global HR & Recruitment influencers. Craig on LinkedIn Craig on Twitter @CraigWatsonRec Recstra website link Recstra on Facebook Recstra on Instagram Recstra on Youtube TaPod Link and LinkedIn  People and Resources Mentioned Robin Doenicke on LinkedIn Greg Savage on LinkedIn Ann Swain on LinkedIn The Movement Documentary link Why 98% of Recruiters Fail to Differentiate their Firm from the Competition, by Mark Whitby, video link Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #1 The Future of Recruitment: Strategies To Stay Relevant and Effective, with Greg Savage TRR #4 How Robin Doenicke Is Leading His Recruitment Agency to 10X Growth in Just 3 Years Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If the ability to perform under pressure is a pre-requisite for success in recruitment, then it’s no surprise that Craig Picken has reached the peak of our profession as one of the top-producing recruiters in the United States. Eight years’ experience as a decorated Naval Flight Officer – with more than 100 combat missions, 2,000 hours of flight time, and 325 aircraft carrier landings – was perhaps the ideal proving ground for Craig’s later career in recruitment.   Craig is the co-founder and the managing partner for the Northstar Group which is a boutique executive search firm based in Wilmington,  North Carolina. Since 2009 Craig has concluded several hundred executive-level searches in leadership, sales, and operations for some of the most prominent companies in the aviation and aerospace industries. Episode Outline and Highlights [1:36] Craig’s background: from being a naval pilot to being a recruiter. [6:06] Three main skills from Craig’s naval career that are transferable to the recruitment business. [14:50] Dealing with a very difficult client - hear how it was handled professionally.  [21:30] Long-term business perspectives that you can apply during this pandemic. [31:45] Craig speaks about the biggest challenges in his career. [34:40] The story of how he once got fired -  and how it led to a making a fortune in two different industries  [44:45] Craig’s strategy on how to handle recruitment business downtime due to an economic downturn. [53:50] Craig discusses the value of doing a podcast and other ways he is connecting with his audience. “ How to Fly When Your Airplane is on Fire” During the interview, Craig recalls several instances where sudden unexpected airplane system malfunctions endangered the lives of his co-pilots. He then added, “The one thing that the navy teaches you well is not how to fly. It is how to fly when your airplane is on fire. And all your systems are going to hell.” He strongly believes in keeping an open mind rather than being a control freak. When things are not going the way they should be, it should be about the ability to be flexible.  Translating it to recruitment, he says “That is where recruiters got to understand. What are you doing when everything is going to hell? It’s a very emotional business, you can’t control people. A lot of recruiters talk about control. I don’t try to control anybody.” Being a Value in these Difficult Times With the significant impact of the coronavirus to the aviation and aerospace industry, what is Craig currently doing to maintain his momentum? “Building my network, talking, and being a value.” Craig’s perspective is helping people get to where they need to be. And when their business comes back, he is the person they will be thinking about. Strategically, he looks at the long term rather than immediate results. “I take everybody’s call… And my only goal is to be a value.” Hear his philosophy on how the recruitment business is a business of helping people. Where there is Chaos, there is Opportunity Just when Craig and his wife are expecting the birth of their twins, something terrible happened - he got fired from his job. This caused them monumental stress, but as Craig puts it, “where there is chaos, there is an opportunity.” For him, getting fired taught him to be more entrepreneurial and to be more on moving forward.  Giving back to the Community Aside from rescuing dogs, Craig is also a big contributor to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Ltd (JDRF), a charity focused on eradicating juvenile type 1 Diabetes. If you wish to know more about this organization, you may refer to the link in the below section. Craig Picken Bio and Contact Info Co-founder and Managing Partner for Northstar Group, a boutique executive search firm based in Wilmington, NC, Craig is focused on recruiting senior-level leadership, sales, and operations executives for some of the most prominent companies in the aviation and aerospace industry. Clients include well-known aircraft OEM’s, aircraft operators, leasing / financial organizations, and Maintenance / Repair / Overhaul (MRO) providers. Since 2009 he has personally concluded several hundred executive-level searches in a variety of disciplines.   Craig on LinkedIn Craig on Twitter @craigpicken Craig on Facebook  Northstar Group website Aerospace Executive Podcast JDRF website People and Resources Mentioned  Paul Siker on LinkedIn Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #6  Habits of a Million-Dollar Biller, with Rich Rosen Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter