1% Better Recruitment Podcast

Is your recruitment agency’s marketing actually generating business, or is it just keeping your LinkedIn feed busy? In this episode, I'm joined by George Bristow, co-founder of Bristow & Hardy, a recruitment marketing agency specialising in helping recruitment businesses generate more leads and create more commercial opportunities through marketing. We discuss how recruitment agencies can...

Why does recruitment have a reputation problem, and what can we do to fix it? In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I'm joined by Kadeem Housen, CEO of Kia Consultants, an executive search business specialising in the investment market. Kadeem has spent over a decade growing with the business, which now operates across Europe, the US and the Middle East. He's also the autho...

How do you win more retained recruitment business, overcome objections to upfront fees, and build a more profitable recruitment model? In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I'm joined by Louise Archer, CEO and founder of Retrained Search. Louise helps recruitment businesses move beyond contingent recruitment by improving how they sell, structure, and deliver retained search. We...

How Can Recruiters Overcome Their Fear of Business Development? Why do so many recruiters avoid BD, and what can leaders do about it? In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I’m joined by Kate O’Neill, a coach, trainer and fractional BD leader who goes into recruitment businesses, picks up the phones and wins business for them. We discuss the state of BD in recruitment today, why con...

How Can Recruiters Build Better Relationships With CEOs and Senior Leaders? What if the best business conversations don't start with business at all? In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I'm joined by Chris Morrison, Group Managing Director at Cedar, to discuss how recruiters can build stronger relationships, have better conversations and stand out in an increasingly compe...

What can recruiters learn from a tech founder about building better BD? In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I'm joined by Cam Briggs, co-founder of Venti AI and former recruiter turned tech sales leader and entrepreneur. Cam started his career in recruitment before moving into tech sales and eventually co-founding Venti AI, a business built around solving one of the biggest p...

What makes a recruitment BD strategy actually work? In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I'm joined by Roheel Ahmad, founder, entrepreneur and recruitment business advisor. Roheel co-founded FB in 2016 and helped grow the business globally across London, Nottingham, New York and Dubai before transitioning out in 2024. Today, he works across recruitment consultancy, advisory an...

What separates a great recruiter from a great leader? In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I'm joined by Lily Savage, Managing Director for Europe Perm Recruitment at Discover International. Lily has spent the last 10 years at Discover, joining as employee number six and starting her recruitment career as a trainee before progressing through the ranks to become MD of the Europ...

What does it take to become the go-to recruiter in your market? In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I'm joined by Rich Westhead, Managing Director of AJ Group. Having spent 25 years in recruitment across Manpower, Search Consultancy and now AJ Group, Rich has experienced everything from large corporate recruitment businesses to rapidly growing boutiques. We discuss how AJ Gro...

Why are recruiters becoming afraid to pick up the phone? In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I'm joined by Adam Turner, founder of Global Veterinary Careers (GVC). Having worked in veterinary recruitment since 2007, Adam has built GVC into an international recruitment business operating across the UK, US and Australia. We discuss why recruitment needs to get back on the phone, wh...

How do the best recruitment leaders consistently raise the average across their teams? In this episode, I'm joined by Sachin Ruparelia , CEO of Camino Partners and Camino Search. Having spent more than 14 years building one of the recruitment industry's most respected businesses, Sachin shares the leadership lessons he's learned through rapid growth, losing key people, and rebuilding a...

What separates a good recruiter from a consistently great one? Ryan shares the lessons he's learned over 16 years at SThree, from joining as a trainee after initially failing the recruitment process, to becoming a Sales Director responsible for building high-performing teams. We explore why consistency beats intensity, how the best recruiters build trust through genuine relationships, and why...

What does it actually mean to play the long game in recruitment? Luke shares the reality of building a recruitment technology business from the ground up, from living in a shed to fund the business, overcoming failed partnerships, and learning why playing the long game always wins. We also explore why authentic relationships outperform transactional networking, how personal branding creates opport...

What happens when you combine nearly 40 years of recruitment experience with a genuine passion for AI? In this episode, I'm joined by Elkie Holland , recruitment entrepreneur, tech recruitment specialist, and founder of Prospectus Recruitment. Having been in the industry since the mid-1980s, Elkie has witnessed every major shift in recruitment and is now leading from the front by building her...

What does it actually take to build a recruitment business that people never want to leave? In this episode of The 1% Better Recruitment Podcast, I’m joined by Ash Knight, Founder at AJ Group, and an investor. Having built and scaled multiple specialist recruitment brands, Ash has created one of the UK's highest-performing recruitment businesses, with a relentless focus on leadership, culture,...

What does it actually take to build a high-performance recruitment business that scales? In this episode, I’m joined by Dale Williams, CEO of The Recolution Group, a multi-brand recruitment business operating across professional services, SAP, aerospace, defence, space, and executive search. With over 18 years in recruitment and more than 15 years as a business owner, Dale shares the lessons he&#3...

What happens when recruitment founders know they need to embrace AI, but have no idea where to start? In this episode, I’m joined by Rob Saltrese, AI strategist, recruitment technology specialist, and founder of Lyra Labs. Rob has spent years helping businesses understand, adopt, and implement AI properly. Rather than focusing on the fearmongering headlines, we discuss what recruitment founders an...

What does it really take to build a recruitment business that someone actually wants to buy? In this episode, I'm joined by Tara Ricks, a highly respected advisor, chair, non-executive director, and former recruitment business owner who successfully built and sold her own company before going on to advise recruitment businesses across EMEA on growth, scale, acquisitions, investment, and exits....

What if burnout, ADHD symptoms, energy crashes, and poor performance weren’t just mindset problems… but biological ones? Debbie Bosworth is a strategic genomist with 30 years of experience, and founder of Ideal Edge, where she works with founders, CEOs, leaders, and recruiters to understand what is really going on beneath the surface by testing and interpreting genetics, DNA, bloods, cells, energy...

What happens when a naturally introverted recruiter, who struggles with confidence, rejects traditional recruitment stereotypes and still becomes a top performer? In this episode, I’m joined by Craig Lewis, a recruiter with over a decade of experience who has built a highly successful desk by doing things differently. Craig opens up about confidence struggles, ADHD, personality profiling, niche sp...

What does it take to build a recruitment business that survives 20 years, thrives in a saturated UK market, and still wins through relationships in an AI-driven world? In this episode, I’m joined by Adam Wagster, CEO of Uniting Ambition, a technology recruitment business approaching its 20th anniversary. Adam has spent over two decades in recruitment, scaling teams, navigating private equity backi...

What does it really take to become a top biller in recruitment and stay there? In this episode, I’m joined by Michael Christodoulides, a recruiter I’ve known my entire life, who shares his journey from starting in recruitment admin to becoming a multi-award-winning consultant billing huge numbers across the US construction market. Michael opens up about the mindset shifts that changed his career,...

What does it actually take to go from trainee recruiter to business owner? In this episode, I’m joined by Ross McQuarrie, co-owner at Wilkinson & Associates, who shares his journey from falling into recruitment to leading and owning the business nearly 20 years later. Ross breaks down the real story behind stepping into ownership through a management buyout, the mindset shifts required to move...

What’s the real reason most recruitment agencies struggle to perform… lack of activity, or a broken process? In this episode, I’m joined by Steve Carter for a raw and insightful conversation about recruitment performance, efficiency, and why so many agencies are built backwards. With over 40 years in recruitment, from the desk to leading global businesses, Steve brings a no-BS perspective on what...

What’s the real reason most recruiters don’t perform… lack of knowledge, or lack of action? In this episode, I’m joined by Chris Hart for a raw and honest conversation about recruitment performance, mindset, and why so many consultants stay stuck despite knowing exactly what they need to do. Chris brings a no-BS perspective shaped by years in recruitment, leadership, and personal experience, inclu...