How To Become The Recruiter Everyone Refers
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Audible Key Takeaways
- April Ben-Sabat built her entire recruiting business to rely on 90% referrals without ever making a cold call, sending a cold email, or pitching herself at a networking event.
- Attending networking events alone and approaching people who are standing by themselves helps you become much more approachable and memorable.
- Instead of sending a forgettable 'great meeting you' follow-up message, reference a specific topic from your conversation to stand out.
- Curating your own networking events with engaging icebreakers can create a room engineered specifically for people who typically dislike networking.
- Leveraging modern AI tools like Claude Code allows non-developer recruiters to build custom sourcing agents that can surface hard-to-find talent efficiently.
90% of her business comes from referrals. She has never made a cold call, never sent a cold email, and never pitched herself at a networking event. And she built the whole thing in four years, starting with zero recruiting background.
April Ben-Sabat became a recruiter by accident. She spent six years as the right hand at a transport company, told them in her first interview she would own a business within five years, and when they could not find a transport recruiter to backfill her, her own boss said the words that changed everything: why don't you start a recruiting agency? A year later the company went bankrupt and she was all in, whether she was ready or not.
What she built next is the playbook this episode unpacks. April went from searching "business networking" on Eventbrite and showing up to anything free, to becoming the recruiter an entire city refers. She walks through exactly how she works a room she has never been in: standing at the door, finding the person who is alone, opening with "what brings you here," and shimmying into conversations without an ounce of pitch. She explains why she goes to every event alone, why bringing a wingman makes you less approachable, and the solo restaurant challenge she gave herself, one Friday night, no phone allowed, that trained her to be comfortable in any room.
Then she goes deeper: why following up with "great meeting you last night" is the same as handing out a business card, what to reference instead, and how posting on LinkedIn keeps her in the feed of everyone she has ever met so the referral arrives eight months later. When the events around her felt empty, she built her own, with a curated guest list, a word-match game on the back of every name tag, and a room engineered for people who are scared of networking.
And because standing still was never the plan, April is now tearing up her own playbook, taking her agency into the US market and a brand new niche while building her own AI sourcing agent with Claude Code. Job order in, vetted shortlist out, outreach in her voice, and an ATS she never opens anymore. As April tells it, the shortlists are finding people a human sourcer could not surface in two weeks of full-time searching. She also draws her hard line: the first message can be automated, but the moment a real conversation starts, the human takes over.
Whether you are grinding without direction, sitting behind the screen wondering why BD feels broken, or curious what one non-developer recruiter can build in a weekend, this conversation is the push to get in the room.
What You'll Learn:
- The exact first 90 seconds of walking into a room where you know nobody
- Why April never sells at networking events and how referrals arrive months later anyway
- The follow-up message that actually gets remembered, and the one that gets ignored
- How to host your own networking event that people beg to return to
- How she built an AI sourcing agent on Claude Code that searches her ATS and beyond
- The one thing she refuses to automate, and why candidates thank her for it
Finish The Year Strong 2026 (Sept 28 - Oct 5). April is speaking, and her session currently has the most RSVPs of the entire summit. All live sessions are free: https://recruiters-finish-the-year-strong.heysummit.com/
Atlas, the CRM that actually understands context: https://recruitwithatlas.com/
Firm Leaders Summit (Nov 16-18): https://firm-leaders-and-owners-recruiting-summit-2026.heysummit.com
🚀 Elite Recruiter Community: https://elite-recruiters.circle.so/checkout/elite-recruiter-community 📩 Newsletter: https://eliterecruiterpodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe
🔗 Connect with April: https://www.linkedin.com/in/april-ben-sabat/
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is April Ben-Sabat?
April Ben-Sabat is a highly successful recruiter who built her agency entirely on referrals, achieving massive success within four years starting with zero background in recruiting.
How do you network effectively without cold pitching?
You can network effectively by attending events alone, approaching individuals who are standing by themselves, starting conversations with open-ended questions like 'what brings you here,' and focusing on building genuine connections rather than selling.
How can recruiters use AI for candidate sourcing?
Recruiters can build custom AI sourcing agents using tools like Claude Code to search their ATS and beyond, generating vetted shortlists while keeping human touchpoints for real conversations.