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The Resilient Recruiter

The Resilient Recruiter

By: 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.(c) Breakthrough Coaching Ltd T/A RecruitmentCoach.com. All rights reserved. Career Success Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Why AI Has Made Recruitment Harder, Not Easier, with Greg Savage

    Why AI Has Made Recruitment Harder, Not Easier, with Greg Savage
    Feb 18 2026
    Six years ago, Greg Savage was the very first guest on The Resilient Recruiter. For episode 300, he returns to discuss the biggest shift our industry has faced since the rise of the internet: artificial intelligence. And he doesn’t hold back. “The contingent, multi-listed perm market… I think that is over.” Greg has built four recruitment businesses. He’s the author of The Savage Truth (20,000+ copies sold). He’s spent five decades watching this industry evolve. His view? AI hasn’t made recruitment easier. In many ways, it’s made it harder. But this isn’t a doom-and-gloom conversation. It’s about where recruitment agencies win next. If you lead a recruitment agency or executive search firm, this episode will challenge how you think about AI, positioning, and long-term relevance. Episode Highlights [00:33] The biggest threat — and opportunity — Greg has seen in decades [02:14] Why the contingent, multi-listed perm model is under pressure [06:34] AI shortlisting chaos and the 14% overlap test [08:32] What “automating dysfunction” really means [26:20] The highest ROI AI opportunity right now [30:43] Four questions to ask before buying any AI tool [54:04] The rise of the “techno-empath” recruiter What You’ll Learn Why AI Is Making Recruitment Harder Why AI screening tools produced only 14% overlap in shortlists Research Greg referenced suggesting around 40% of tech candidates have inflated their resumes What “automating dysfunction” actually looks like in practice The four questions every recruitment leader should ask before investing in AI Which Recruitment Models Will Survive Why the contingent, multi-listed perm model is under pressure Why retained search and executive search are positioned to grow The business models most likely to thrive over the next five years Why you need to sell decision-making — not just placements What Recruiters Must Master Next The highest ROI AI opportunity: activating and cleaning your recruitment database Why “techno-empath” recruiters will win The moments of truth that must never be automated The skills that will define high-performing recruiters in an AI-driven market This episode speaks directly to recruitment agency growth, retained vs contingent recruitment, and how to scale a recruitment business as AI reshapes hiring. Why Episode 300 Matters When I launched this podcast in 2019, Greg was my first guest. Since then, we’ve lived through a pandemic, a hiring boom, a correction, and now the fastest wave of AI adoption our industry has ever seen. Bringing him back for episode 300 felt right. This conversation is less about tools — and more about leadership, positioning, and how to build a recruitment business that stays relevant. Our Sponsor This episode is proudly sponsored by Recruiterflow. Recruiterflow is an end-to-end, AI-first ecosystem built to run and scale your recruitment business. It combines ATS, CRM, sequencing, data enrichment, marketing automation, and AI agents in one platform. Many recruitment leaders — including members of our coaching cohorts — use Recruiterflow to streamline operations. Book a demo here: https://recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/ Connect with Mark on LinkedIn. If you’re a recruitment agency owner serious about scaling, retained search, and staying ahead of AI in recruitment, subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter so you don’t miss future conversations like this. If you want to future-proof your recruitment business without getting left behind, this episode is essential listening.
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • How to Win Retained Recruitment Work Without Pitching Harder, with James O'Brien

    How to Win Retained Recruitment Work Without Pitching Harder, with James O'Brien
    Feb 11 2026
    Why do some recruiters win retained work in a single meeting while others pitch for weeks and still lose to contingent competitors? My guest, James O’Brien, knows exactly why. And it has nothing to do with fee structure. James is the Managing Director and COO at i-intro. He’s been in recruitment since the late 1980s and has spent the last decade helping recruitment firms move from transactional, contingent work into retained and exclusive assignments. His clients consistently outperform the market, with 96% one-year retention and 93% of placements still in role after two years. In this episode, James delivers a practical masterclass on consultative selling. He explains why most recruiters lose retained work before they even walk into the meeting, how to reframe hiring conversations around risk and retention, and what it really means to position yourself as a management consultant who specializes in talent acquisition. This conversation is for recruiters who are tired of pitching, discounting, and competing with five other agencies for the same role. You’ll hear the exact questions James uses to expose hidden hiring failure, why “wow” should be the standard for every client meeting, and how preparation, not persuasion, is what wins retained work consistently. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why recruitment isn’t the real problem and retention is The three questions that reframe hiring failure for clients How to measure retention and use it to justify higher fees Why most recruiters lose retained work in the preparation, not the pitch How to show value instead of just describing your process What accountability really looks like beyond the placement Why retained fees feel fair when clients understand the true cost of hiring failure Episode Highlights: [03:56] Why transactional recruitment is dying [10:13] Recruitment’s not the problem. Retention is [13:34] How to measure retention and monetize better outcomes [18:00] The three questions that reveal a 20–30% hiring failure rate [32:23] Why “wow” should be your minimum standard in client meetings [36:35] The preparation process that wins retained work [45:00] Why proposals still matter and when to send them [59:03] Accountability beyond the placement and why 12-month guarantees work Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Recruiterflow — an end-to-end, AI-first recruitment platform designed to help recruiters run and scale their business more effectively. Recruiterflow combines ATS, CRM, sequencing, data enrichment, marketing automation, and AI agents in one streamlined system. Many top recruiting leaders and members of our coaching community rely on Recruiterflow to stay organised, consistent, and competitive. You can learn more or request a demo at https://recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow. Guest Bio James O’Brien is the Managing Director and COO at i-intro. Since the late 1980s, he has worked across every part of the recruitment industry and now helps recruitment firms transition from contingent to retained and exclusive search. His work focuses on retention, accountability, and elevating recruiters from job fillers to trusted talent advisors. Connect with James: LinkedIn: James O’Brien Website: i-intro Connect with Mark Whitby Get your free 30-minute strategy session: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Why Candidates Ignore Recruiters and What Actually Makes Them Respond, with Theresa Nordstrom

    Why Candidates Ignore Recruiters and What Actually Makes Them Respond, with Theresa Nordstrom
    Feb 5 2026
    Why do some recruiters get ignored while others hear, “I never respond to recruiters, but I had to respond to you”? Theresa Nordstrom has spent her career on both sides of the hiring table. Before launching her own search firm, she spent nearly 20 years as an HR leader. In one role, she cut agency spending by over $700,000 by building creative employee referral programs and filling roles in-house. Then she crossed to the agency side. In this episode of The Resilient Recruiter, Theresa explains why most recruiter outreach fails and what actually gets candidates to respond. Her answer isn’t more messages or better templates. It’s storytelling, relevance, and clarity. Theresa shares why job descriptions don’t recruit talent, how she uncovers the real story behind a role, and how video helps her cut through candidate noise without being pushy or salesy. She also breaks down why detailed submittals matter, how she uses AI to save time without sacrificing quality, and when it genuinely makes sense for companies to use external recruiters. Sponsor: Recruiterflow This episode is brought to you by Recruiterflow. Recruiterflow is an end-to-end, AI-first ATS and CRM built specifically for recruitment agencies and executive search firms. It brings together ATS, CRM, sequencing, data enrichment, marketing automation, and AI agents in one clean, intuitive platform. Several recruitment leaders in our coaching community use Recruiterflow to execute faster, onboard new hires more easily, and spend more time on what actually matters: conversations with clients and candidates. You can learn more or request a demo at recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow In this episode, you’ll learn: Why candidates respond to stories, not job descriptions How to get candidates to self-select early (and save time on both sides) Why progression examples outperform vague culture claims How video outreach cuts through noise without needing polish What most employee referral programs get wrong Why detailed submittals increase interview ratios How to use AI to elevate quality, not replace judgment Episode highlights: [3:01] Why Theresa left a 20-year HR career to start her own search firm [6:41] The Harley Davidson referral program that saved hundreds of thousands in agency fees [9:22] How to elicit the story behind a role candidates actually care about [12:32] Why proof of progression beats generic culture messaging [23:21] How to partner with HR without getting blocked [44:20] The video outreach approach that makes candidates stop and respond [55:03] Why Theresa spends so much time on submittals [58:34] Mixing retained, exclusive, and selective contingent work strategically Guest bio Theresa Nordstrom is the founder of Talent Company, an executive search firm specializing in accounting, finance, HR, and C-suite roles. Before launching her firm in 2015, Theresa spent nearly 20 years as an HR leader, where she became known for creative employee referral programs that dramatically reduced agency spend. Her approach today centres on storytelling, multi-channel video outreach, and presenting candidates in ways that make interview decisions easy. If you want to future-proof your recruitment business without burning out, this episode is a must-listen.
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    59 mins
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