The Lone Recruiter

Easy. Lucrative. Fun. I'd never heard of ELF Mode until a casual conversation at the gym with a mate who has successfully built and sold multiple businesses. The more he explained it, the more I realised it's one of the simplest and most powerful ways to think about building a successful recruitment desk. In this ep, I unpack the idea behind ELF Mode—doing work that's Easy, Lucrative and Fun—and c...

Most recruiters never check one of the most valuable reports inside LinkedIn Recruiter. Should you? Absolutely. In this episode, I break down LinkedIn's average InMail response rate (27.5%) and show you exactly how to improve yours. Better response rates don't just mean more conversations with candidates. They also help you retain InMail credits, improve your reach and ultimately make more placeme...

How do you know if you're actually on track... or if you're quietly falling behind without realising it? In this ep, I share one of the simplest but most effective tools every recruiter should be using: a visible pipeline tracker. No fancy tech. No AI. No complicated dashboards. Just a straightforward way to keep your deals moving and ensure you're always focused on the right activity. If your pip...

Ever sit down to write a LinkedIn post and have absolutely no idea what to say? In this episode, I share why most recruiters are making LinkedIn far harder than it needs to be. The days of posting generic insights, AI-generated content, and recycled advice are quickly disappearing. If your content sounds like everyone else's, you're going to struggle to stand out. The good news? You're already cre...

Can recruiters still build a million-dollar desk without the endless grind, cold calls and hustle culture? In this ep I sat down with Christine Foggiato from Riverside Recruitment, who is challenging many of the traditional recruitment beliefs we've all grown up with. Christine is closing in on a seven-figure billing desk while generating almost all of her business through inbound marketing. No Li...

How do I actually scale a recruitment desk or business without becoming the bottleneck? In this ep, I break down a simple but powerful operating philosophy: I do, we do, you do - a progression that shows how to move from doing everything yourself, to building with others, to ultimately stepping back so the business can run without you. When I started out, I was doing everything: clients, candidate...

The best recruiters I have ever worked with, interviewed or talked to - the real multi-million dollar billers - all share one habit. It's something I do compulsively as well.    They know what worked today, what didn't, and what they're doing differently tomorrow.   In this episode I break down the simple but honestly powerful practice of diarising your recruitment desk. No complicated system need...

Why do we always seem to get sick the moment we finally slow down? Today I dive into the science behind stress, burnout, cortisol, and why so many high performers crash physically after big work pushes. My grandfather worked as a GP with only one day off every fortnight, and he would consistently get migraines the moment he finally stopped working. I unpack what’s actually happening inside the bod...

What state are you showing up in every day? In this ep, I dive into the idea of “showing up in state",  a concept popularised by Tony Robbins that’s all about deliberately shifting your mindset, energy, and focus before stepping into important moments. I actually recorded this episode after having a pretty rough day myself. I got plenty done, but mentally it felt like I was pushing uphill all day....

I’m walking you through something I use every single day on my desk… my closing playbook. Closing isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every candidate, every deal and every situation is different, and the mistake I see recruiters make is trying to use the same close every time. So I break it down into three distinct closing plays that I rely on depending on the scenario. You’ll hear how I think about timing,...

The 2026 Australian Budget has triggered a lot of emotion, uncertainty and fear across the market and recruiters are hearing it directly from clients. Here's what I'm seeing, hearing and doing right now as businesses react to major legislative and economic changes. This isn’t so much about politics. It’s about mindset, market psychology and how recruiters can avoid getting dragged into fear-based...

At some point, almost every recruiter thinks about going out on their own. More freedom. More money. No boss. But what I’ve seen over the years is that a lot of recruiters underestimate the financial pressure that comes with actually running a business. In this ep, I break down the biggest pitfalls I see with solo recruiters and agency founders: cashflow, tax, and the hidden stress that catches pe...

Most people stop at level two. They make good money… Then coast. But what if wealth was actually a 4-level game? In today's ep I break down the “Game of Millions”, a framework that completely changed how I think about success, leadership and purpose. Level 1: Make $1M in revenue. Level 2: Make $1M in your pocket. Level 3: Help the people around you make $1M too. Level 4: Give $1M away. The real tr...

Most recruiters completely change their success rate with passive candidates once they understand one thing: A headhunted candidate is psychologically very different to an applicant. Applicants are already in the market. Passive candidates are not. That means the language you use throughout a process matters more than most recruiters realise. Tune in for: 👉 Why passive candidates trigger “fight o...

When markets get tough, most business owners default to the same move: Cut costs. Cut staff. Cut spending. Cut everything. But there’s a problem with that strategy… It’s a finite game. Today I unpack a simple mindset shift that completely reframed how I think about business growth, recruitment and opportunity during hard times. Because while cost cutting has a limit… revenue growth doesn’t. You ca...

Do you feel like you’re performing at a high level… but running on empty underneath? In this ep, I sit down with Luke Maslin to unpack the hidden cost of high performance  and why so many ambitious recruiters are unknowingly burning themselves out. Luke shares his journey from semi-pro athlete to struggling with anxiety and health challenges, and how that led him into the world of functional healt...

Ever feel like every new brief means starting from scratch? Today I break down the difference between generalist chaos and specialist control and why constantly reinventing the wheel is slowing you down more than you think. I share how I’d approach a messy, wide desk, and the simple shift that can turn repeat work into repeatable success. If you’re tired of doing a full search every single time, t...

Ever felt like you're holding back who you really are at work? In this ep, I sit down with Eva Bantin (formerly Eva Wilson), recruiter, business owner, and self-proclaimed “people alchemist”, who’s done something most won’t: she’s completely leaned into her authentic self and built a thriving business around it. From nearly 30 years in recruitment to rebranding her life, career, and even her name,...

What happens when you bring hundreds of recruiters together in one place? In this ep, I sit down with Pete Watson to unpack the growth of Recruitment United and why community, training, and real-time collaboration are becoming game changers in the industry. From a scrappy WhatsApp group to the largest recruitment community in Australia, this is a look at what’s working, what’s evolving, and where...

The people around you either drag you down or lift you up. In this ep, I share a CrossFit analogy that shows how being surrounded by high performers naturally raises your standards, your effort, and your results without you even realising it. Who you surround yourself with is everything. Tune in for: 👉 How high performers raise your baseline 👉 Why success is contagious in the right environment...

You don’t have unlimited time and energy… so where you spend it will either make you money or quietly cost you. In today's ep, I dive into a real story. A signed candidate, a pulled offer, a scramble to recover, and then a fee dispute that could’ve gone all the way to court. The question we had to ask was simple. Is this worth our time and energy? Because every day, whether you realise it or not,...

Ever caught yourself saying… “that doesn’t work”? Cold calls don’t work. Ads don’t work. That client will never use us. That candidate will never respond. Or is that just learned helplessness talking? In today’s ep, I break down one of the most dangerous (and common) patterns I see in recruitment — giving up on things that didn’t work before, instead of adjusting and going again. Because the truth...

Are you leaving money on the table without even realising it? In this ep, I share a simple but powerful strategy to turn one candidate on multiple interviews into multiple placements. Too many recruiters celebrate a placement and move on, missing the bigger opportunities right in front of them. But there’s a smarter way to work your desk, increase your fees, and create more opportunities for both...

Ever had a candidate who looks incredible on paper… but the market just doesn’t respond? Today I talk about a conversation I had on the launch tour that really highlights a mistake a lot of recruiters make — especially those still chasing their first placement. It’s easy to get excited about a candidate with 30+ years of experience, a great CV, and a strong track record. But the real question isn’...

Ever feel like you’re doing everything right when pitching a retainer… but still getting knocked back? In this ep, I break down the real reason most recruiters struggle to win retainers. It’s not your pricing. It’s not your process. It’s the way you position it in the conversation. I'll walk you through the mindset shift that’s helped me win retainers consistently for years, plus the simple phrase...