Becoming a Hiring Machine

Thank you for tuning in for (gasp) 2.5 years! We can hardly believe it ourselves! Stay tuned for a better, bigger, stronger season 2. We'll be back soon, and you'll love it. Love, - Sam

The traditional headhunter is dying and if you’re still searching for talent based on job titles, you’re already being outpaced by the machines. In this episode, we break down why the old-school keyword match is now a liability and how to transform your sourcing strategy to find the hidden gems your competitors are completely missing. You will learn: The Title Obsession Trap: Why searching for can...

In this episode, Sam explains the playbook he's seen work a cross B2B SaaS, B2B hardware, services, and countless other models: Account Based Prospecting. In this episode, you'll learn: How to escape the feast or famine cycle so many firms find themselves in How to stop relying on the 5% of companies hiring right now for revenue growth How to build and nurture client relationships long before you...

In this episode, we'll discuss the critical yet often overlooked aspect of the interview process: the interview debrief. You will learn about: The "Politeness Paradox": Why your candidate thinks they nailed the interview (when they actually failed) and the one question you must ask to shatter this illusion before they lose interest. The 10-Minute Window: Why waiting until the next day to debrief i...

What do history's greatest entrepreneurs all have in common? Answer: they all know recruiting is their #1 job, and they're all excellent at it. In this episode, Sam breaks down: How Ernest Shackleton attracted over 5,000 applicants by telling them they could die How to build an organization full of A players Why inbound is not enough and why you must go hunt for talent Who should lead recruiting e...

Wow. Today’s a big day at Becoming a Hiring Machine — it’s our 250th episode. Crazy to say, and even crazier to look back and realize we’ve been doing this for over two years! Thank you for listening — and if you’ve been here since the very beginning, thanks for being along for the ride with us. Today, as we go into reflection mode at the end of the year and at this milestone episode, we’re pullin...

If you audited your recruiting technology stack the same way you audit your P&L, many would be shocked by the grade. We tend to look at software as a line item expense. But in 2025, your platform is your operating system. If it’s broken, your business is bleeding revenue, even if the subscription cost seems “manageable.”  To help you see whether your technology investment is helping or hurting...

No one likes getting ghosted. Not candidates, not recruiters. Luckily, there are easy ways, at least on the recruiter side, to minimize ghosting occurrences. In this episode, Vivien dives into the nuances of candidate motivation during the hiring process—particularly focusing on how responses to screening questions can indicate a candidate's level of commitment and genuine interest in job opportun...

In this solo episode, Sam ties a bow on our ratios series — walking us through how to go from a rookie to an expert.  Many recruiters are flying blind — not knowing what exactly is working, or why. Not knowing, definitively, what it takes to make a great placement. Sam breaks down the ratios of candidates needed for screening calls, interviews, and placements, contrasting the approaches of rookie...

In the finale of our Recruitment Ratios series, Sam and Vivien tackle the Interview to Placement metric, defining the efficiency gap between the rookie standard (10:1) and the expert target (5:1). The discussion moves beyond simple numbers into the tactical "control" variables of the closing process, including how to preempt scheduling bottlenecks by requesting block availability upfront and how t...

How they think. How they operate. What their archetype is.  In this solo episode, Sam discusses the common pyramid of the 5 Levels of Employee Agency — breaking down each of these levels and how to find Level 5 Simplifiers when you're seeking to make a hire or placement. In this conversation, Sam gives some examples of how Loxo is facing this challenges, emphasizing how, in his personal experience...

In the third installment of our Ratio series, Sam and Vivien break down the critical Screening Call to Interview metric , exploring how recruiters can bridge the gap between rookie stats (10:1) and advanced benchmarks (5:1). This episode focuses on diagnosing the "why" behind your drop-offs—whether it’s refining your initial sourcing strategy or understanding why interested candidates withdraw—to...

It started innocently enough: you adopted one "perfect" tool. ...But then you needed another for sourcing, another for contact data, and one more for outreach. Before you knew it, you weren't running a recruiting firm — you were Dr. Frankenstein to a ghastly Frankenstack monster. The scary reality is that operational chaos is the #1 silent killer of growth for modern recruiting firms.  Data silos...

In this Part 2 of our Ratios series, Sam and Vivien dive into the intricacies of job placement dynamics, focusing on the ratio of job orders to placements, the importance of managing these orders effectively, and strategies for overcoming challenges in recruitment. Don't worry—you don't have to remember middle-school math or statistics to follow along.  Chapters: 00:00 - Dive into job order to pla...

In this conversation, Amarbir is joined by Will Grashoff, Founder and Managing Partner of Will's Talent. Will covers a lot of ground, referencing his wealth of experience running a rec-to-rec firm. One thing he's seen time and time again? Great —not just good—billers follow a consistent routine. Their days don't look wildly different from one to the next. In making this point, he highlights that,...

We're talking about ratios today — but don't worry, you don't need to be a math whiz to follow along.  Sam and Vivien chat through the importance of understanding recruiting ratios, for both rookie and expert recruiters. They break down key metrics that can help recruiters optimize their hiring processes — including the ratios of job orders to placements, screening calls to interviews, and intervi...

Modernity has opened the door to a lot of new opportunities for recruiters — but it’s also introduced some brand new nightmares. Things R.L. Stein’s Goosebumps never could’ve prepared us for.  On this spooky edition of the pod, Sam and Lex break down some of these modern recruitment nightmares, including: The Frankenstack, the Accidental Ghost, and the risk of going Zombie Mode. And of course, the...

Nurture campaigns are how you stay top of mind with both clients and candidates in the in-between — so that you're always the first to come to mind when the time is right.  Listen to the audio from our recent webinar, The Fast and the Follow-Ups and learn how to build effective nurture campaigns that keep both clients and candidates engaged. This episode will focus more on the prospect side of thi...

Ah, a look ahead — and through the generational gap.  In this episode, Sam sits down with Amarbir to explore the evolving expectations of Gen Z in the workforce as we look ahead to 2026 (because it'll be here before you know it). They discuss: The importance of transparency in compensation The significance of work-life balance, and The need for meaningful career progression  At the end of the day,...

Nurture campaigns are how you stay top of mind with both clients and candidates in the in-between — so that you're always the first to come to mind when the time is right.  Listen to the audio from our recent webinar, The Fast and the Follow-Ups and learn how to build effective nurture campaigns that keep both clients and candidates engaged. You’ll hear all about how to set up nurture stages in Lo...

In this conversation, we're joined by Greg Fischer, founder of Well Oiled Machine — a direct hire recruitment firm specializing in recruiting "internal" offshore employees from every corner of the globe. Greg shares his journey from being a recruiter to becoming a successful agency owner, discussing the challenges and triumphs he faced along the way. Throughout, he emphasizes the importance of fin...

In this Tactical Tuesday episode, Sam and Vivien discuss five essential tips for successfully adopting new recruitment tools and platforms. Onboarding can make or break your team's experience using a new tool — and can be the biggest deciding factor between stellar user adoption and a tool no one actually uses. Throughout the conversation, Sam and Vivien emphasize the importance of conducting a di...

Welcome back to Sam's VERY tactical series on Account Based Prospecting for recruiters! This conversation dives deeper into the intricacies of ABP, focusing on building a sustainable business model through strategic engagement with prospects over a 12-month period. In it, Sam outlines a framework for nurturing relationships — one that includes providing valuable market insights, effectively respon...

Loxo's Founder & CEO, Matt Chambers, hosted a recent webinar on Natural Language Search — and it was so good, we had to share it on the pod. So...What is Natural Language Search (NLS)?  Basically: Instead of writing complex Boolean queries, you can type exactly what you need in plain English, e.g “senior software engineer with Python and AWS experience in Austin.” From there, Loxo’s AI interpr...

It's part 2 of our expert-level playbook on Account Based Prospecting, where Sam outlines a tactical approach based on a structured four-week sprint. This framework is designed to establish credibility and earn recruiters conversations with cold prospects. In this episode, Sam details specific actions for each week to build trust, identify challenges, and ultimately secure meetings with potential...