Episodes

A hiring manager types "accounting recruiter near me" into ChatGPT. Somebody comes up. Steve Gipson's argument is that it is almost never the best recruiter. It is the most visible one. Steve is Director of Sales and Operations at Recruiters Websites, now in its fourteenth year and used by over a thousand recruiting firms. One of those clients is a two person firm that had closed $404,000 of inbound business as of the day this was recorded, pulling twenty to thirty leads a month from people who had never heard of them. Steve is direct about the caveat. They started this work seven or eight years ago. Inside the episode: what Google actually changed and why SEO did not die, how topical authority works on a recruiting site, whether Wix and Squarespace can rank, the listicle and directory play for getting cited by AI, and the one on page fix to make this week. Figures are self reported and not independently verified. Recruiters Websites: https://recruiterswebsites.com/ Finis…

Across more than 5,000 recruiters, Michelle Flynn has run the same values exercise, and money has never once come up as a core value. Part 2 starts tactical and goes somewhere most recruiting podcasts never touch. The top biller's morning. The pre call ritual before dialing a Fortune 500 C suite. What flow state actually looks like on a recruiting desk, and a live breathwork session you can follow along with in real time. Then the payoff: how to find your real driver, why money never survives to the final list, what shows up instead, and what that means for how you build your desk or your firm. Michelle walks through pieces of the Life Audit live, shares the most dramatic client transformations she has watched, and gets honest about the two fears that quietly trap founders, the loneliness of going solo, whether AI is actually costing recruiters money, and the question she wishes recruiters would ask her but never do. If Part 1 was the collapse and the foundations, this is what all the…

Michelle Flynn was living the recruitment dream: 20 placements a month as a solo recruiter, working 9:30 to 4:30, every client on exclusive, no cold calls. Then, three months after her wedding, a suspected heart attack at 39 put her on the hospital floor. From her hospital bed, she asked for her phone because an interview was still running. In Part 1 of this two part conversation, the health and performance coach recruiters call the Wendy Rhoades of the industry takes us inside the dream desk, the collapse, the second warning at 42 that finally forced the wake up call, and the foundations she now coaches into top billers and staffing firm owners. Why you cannot outwork burnout. The fact versus excuse test. The four factors of sleep quality. The breathwork reset elite athletes use before a penalty kick. And the time audit that found one recruiter 36 hours a week hiding on Instagram. Essential listening for agency recruiters, executive search professionals, and recruitment founders runn…

Welcome to another episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast! Today, host Benjamin Mena sits down with Dougie Loan, a recruitment tech leader who has analyzed billions of recruiting messages and has his finger on the pulse of what’s truly effective — and what’s no longer working — in modern recruiting. In this data-driven conversation, Dougie Loan shares candid insights from behind the scenes, busts outdated outreach myths, and reveals strategies that are winning business in 2026. Tune in as we talk AI's impact, wasted workdays, assembling high-growth playbooks, and actionable advice for recruiters who want to move from average to elite. Whether you’re struggling with low reply rates or searching for a competitive edge, this episode is packed with practical tips and forward-looking strategies to help you thrive in the rapidly evolving world of recruitment.

The AI Recruiting Summit 2026 is happening now through July 20th, and registration is free for every live session. Recruiting engineers, operators, and recruiters actually running AI on their desks are showing what is working behind the scenes. Do not miss it. Register here: https://ai-recruiting-summit-2026.heysummit.com/ This episode is brought to you by Atlas. The resume never tells the full story, and most of what candidates share ends up buried in notes and forgotten. Atlas is the AI first ...

Gary Stauble started his firm in 1998 and almost immediately lost control of his mornings. Circumstances at home meant he could not rely on being at his desk on any given day. He had less time than his competition, and he was not hitting his goals. So he stopped measuring hours and started measuring what the hours produced. He compressed his workday, front-loaded everything that mattered into the morning, and produced more, not less. This episode is brought to you by Atlas, the AI-first recrui...

Welcome to The Elite Recruiter Podcast! In this episode, "How To Build A $1.3 Million AI Recruiting Desk," we dive deep into the strategies that are revolutionizing the recruiting industry. This episode serves as a preview for the upcoming AI Recruiting Summit 2026, running from July 13th to July 20th. Join us for free live sessions to gain actionable insights or opt for the VIP package or Elite Recruiter Community membership for permanent access to replays. This episode is proudly sponsored ...

In part two, Danny Cahill takes Benjamin Mena behind the scenes of how he actually builds million dollar billers. He draws a sharp line between where AI genuinely helps and where it makes every recruiter sound the same, and argues that as everyone outsources their voice to a bot, the ability to write and think originally becomes the last real competitive advantage. He dismantles the myth that you need no life to be great at this, then opens up on mentorship. Why top billers become a protected class no one will push, the hidden wound behind most high achievers, and why you do not luck into a 22 year career. He closes with a challenge to rethink the pricing and sales DNA of the entire industry

Danny Cahill is one of the biggest names in recruiting history. In part one of this two part conversation with Benjamin Mena, he unpacks how he survived four recessions and a pandemic across a 40 year career, why leaning on AI for your sales conversations is quietly making recruiters passive, and how he built a firm of recruiters who last entire careers instead of burning out in year one. He gets into what really motivates top performers, why he spends more time with his veterans than his rookies, the fundamentals even 20 year veterans still get wrong, and a hard truth about your pipeline. When you think you have four job orders, you really have one.

Half the year is gone. This episode is the reset. Pulled from a live session inside the Elite Recruiter Community, this talk from Brent Orsuga is a mid-year line in the sand for any recruiter who looked up and realized the clock is running. Brent has spent 23 years in recruiting and 11 years running his own firm, Pinnacle Growth Advisors, and he lays out the ten habits, behaviors, and identity shifts he says separate million dollar billers from everyone else. The power of it is how he shrinks the number. A million dollar desk stops feeling impossible once you break it into quarters, into deals, into your average fee. From there it becomes a decision and a 90 day sprint rather than a fantasy. And as Brent points out, the framework holds no matter what your actual goal is, whether that's your first six figure quarter or your best year yet. What you'll learn: Why belief is the first habit, and why the math of a million is smaller than you think How to claim a niche and become a pa…

Picking up where Part 1 left off, Allie gets into the money and the machinery. She explains pipelining projects — building a talent bench for a client — and why she keeps at least 20% of her business there for cash flow. Then the math: why a recruiter running five to eight retained searches can out-earn one juggling fifteen contingent reqs. The centerpiece is her contrarian thesis that "great delivery is your business development" — she tried being a salesperson, failed, and found that doing the work exceptionally well is what actually generates referrals and repeat clients. From there she walks her full kickoff-to-close process: scoping, building team alignment, writing job descriptions that captivate passive candidates, presenting offers herself, and where she does and doesn't trust AI. She closes with the hardest search of her career, the most common mistake recruiters make going retained, and three things a listener can do this week — starting with leveraging the network they alre…

Allie Milbrath, founder of the Quinn Roberts Company, returns to make the case that the biggest shift recruiting needs is the move from contingent to retained — and that AI is forcing the issue. Her opening frame: stop panicking about AI and ask the harder question of what part of your service was ever actually valuable. If it was speed, you're in trouble; if it's judgment, trust, and honest market feedback, that's what clients will keep paying for. Allie shares that she's run her firm 100% retained for a decade with zero cold business development, then unpacks the real barrier holding recruiters back — what she calls "emotional exits," the contingent habit of bailing when a search gets hard. The episode covers who retained is and isn't for, how to separate fear from a market that genuinely can't bear retained, a full live role-play of pitching a contingent-only client, and the mechanics: fee structure, holding your price, and the contract terms that protect you.

Your best biller is the person bringing in the most money. So how could promoting them be the most expensive mistake your firm ever makes? Duncan Taylor has spent more than 30 years on the executive side of recruiting, with one unusual specialty: recruiting for recruiting companies. In this conversation he lays out the producer-manager trap in brutal math — how a single promotion that looks like a reward can send five million in gross profit out the door — then maps where recruiting leadership is actually heading. Why dialing for dollars is fading. What the future leader looks like when AI eats the entry-level grind. The business-model shift from billing hours to guaranteeing outcomes. And the one Friday habit that turned candidates he never placed into his biggest clients. If you want to grow into a leader as the ground shifts under this industry, this is the blueprint.

Rebecca Stewart serves the LA Rams, Chargers, and Forbes 400 households with a 3-person team and zero outbound. Twenty years in, every deal is referred or inbound. How she built it — and the niche thesis every recruiter needs to hear.

Tom Kelly hands over the two frameworks that explain how EVONA runs a 30-person team at the revenue of an 80-person team. The first is a sales segmentation that exposes the bracket quietly sinking most agencies — the middle 60% who measure themselves against the bottom 10% instead of the top. The second is the 25-interview rolling 4-week benchmark that defines elite at EVONA, reverse-engineered from a 12-to-1 interview-to-placement ratio. Tom also unpacks why he'd hate to be running a big recruitment firm right now, the AI governance problem coming for scaled agencies, the LinkedIn spam wave about to wash through, and why recruitment is now IQ over EQ. He closes with the stutter that built his career, the books that shaped him, and the one piece of advice for every recruiter facing the next 18 months.

Welcome to another episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast! In this powerful two-part interview, Benjamin Mena sits down with Tom Kelly, a founder who took his recruitment firm from four founders all the way up to 80 team members—only to make the bold decision to cut back to 30, resulting in net revenue per head doubling while overall revenue remained steady. Tom Kelly shares hard-won lessons about scaling too fast, the pitfalls of chasing headcount over profitability, and why authentic relationships—not cold emailing—are the true intellectual property in recruitment today. You’ll get an inside look at the cultural, operational, and financial realities of going through explosive growth, the painful choices of downsizing, and how focusing on brand, marketing, and people-first values helped Tom Kelly build a resilient, purpose-driven business. Whether you’re running your own desk or leading an agency, this is an unmissable episode packed with actionable insights and stories you won’t hea…

Welcome to another episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast! Today’s guest is Riece Keck, a recruiter and agency owner who built an astonishing $800k in billings in a single year—after nearly losing his business twice. In this episode, Benjamin Mena sits down with Riece Keck to unpack a rollercoaster journey: from the heights of the recruiting boom, through financial pitfalls and a massive market downturn, to an inspiring rebuild fueled by AI-driven business development. Benjamin Mena and Riece Keck dive into the frameworks and low-to-no-code tech stacks Riece Keck used to automate outreach and scale his recruiting practice far beyond what’s possible with traditional tools. You’ll hear actionable insights about systematizing business development, building strategic partnerships, and crafting messaging that actually gets responses. Plus, Riece Keck shares his candid advice for recruiters facing lean times—and his predictions for how AI will reshape the industry by 2028. Whether you…

Episode Introduction Welcome back to The Elite Recruiter Podcast! In this episode, host Benjamin Mena sits down with Dawson Henis, the founder of Hennis Group, a search and staffing firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. At just 24, Dawson Henis made the bold leap into entrepreneurship, launching his own firm after cutting his teeth in the high-pressure world of staffing at a major player. Now, three years later, he's expanded Hennis Group from a one-person search desk to a thriving business with a newly launched staffing division and a team to support that vision. Together, they dig into the gritty realities of starting and scaling a recruiting company as a young entrepreneur—from cold-calling and walking into factories unannounced, to building a "lead gen machine" fueled by automated outreach and business development smarts. Dawson Henis gets real about the lonely moments, the adrenaline of first wins, the mindset shifts required to grow, and why understanding your personal “why” is …

In this episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast, host Benjamin Mena sits down with Steve Anderson, CEO of Optigy, to unpack an extraordinary journey from milkman to leading a $19 million healthcare staffing company. After being laid off with a mortgage, five daughters, and no plan B, Steve Anderson shares how he leveraged resilience, relationship-building, and relentless optimism to create a recruiting powerhouse in just three years. Together, they discuss the critical distinction between vendors and partners, the lessons learned from early setbacks, and the mindset required to not only survive but thrive in the recruiting industry. Whether you're just starting out or looking to elevate your agency, this episode offers tactical advice, real-world stories, and the kind of motivation that comes from someone who has truly set himself—and his business—on fire to find out what's possible.

Welcome back to The Elite Recruiter Podcast! In this episode, host Benjamin Mena sits down with Lauren Lehman, a dynamic recruiter who skyrocketed her solo firm from zero to $120,000 in billings within just six weeks—armed with nothing more than relentless determination, a well-organized spreadsheet, and a passion for building real relationships. Tune in as Lauren Lehman shares her unique journey, from her beginnings in healthcare recruiting to mastering accounting and finance placements, and ultimately taking the leap to launch her own firm. We’ll dig into the practical strategies that fueled her explosive start: the power of disciplined time blocking, business development every single day, mushrooming accounts, and why trust, human connection, and personal branding are more critical than ever in today’s recruiting landscape. Whether you’re thinking about starting your own desk or want to become a more trusted partner in recruiting, this conversation is packed with actionable a…

Episode Introduction Welcome to another standout episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast! In this episode, host Benjamin Mena sits down with industry legend scott love for a deep dive into why 99% of recruiters fail at business development—and what sets the top 1% apart. Drawing from decades of experience, hard-won lessons, and thousands of conversations with recruiters worldwide, scott love shares insights on the crucial mindsets, habits, and strategies that drive high performance in recruiting. From mastering self-discipline and niching deep, to building true authority and embracing the power of creative business development, scott love doesn’t hold back. You’ll learn why most recruiters default to the same old tactics, how to stand out by becoming truly distinct in your niche, and why building a thought leadership platform is essential for long-term success. Whether you’re struggling with call reluctance, facing distractions, or just looking for ways to scale your billing i…

What does it take to design a life and a recruiting business truly on your own terms? In this episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast, host Benjamin Mena sits down with Tony O'Neill—an executive search founder who traded Midwest winters for surfing in Costa Rica, defined his own metrics of success, and built a thriving brand in the outdoor sporting goods niche. Tony O'Neill shares how he reverse-engineered his career and lifestyle, the pivotal moments and sacrifices along the way, and why discipline, specialization, and relentless focus on client value are the real keys to long-term freedom in recruitment. Whether you’re struggling to define your own success or want to take your search business to the next level, this episode is packed with personal stories, practical strategies, and mindset shifts to help you build the life—and business—you actually want.

Welcome to The Elite Recruiter Podcast! In today's episode, host Benjamin Mena sits down with Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte, CEO and brand manager of Peoplelift, to share an incredible journey of resilience, leadership, and breaking barriers. From being repeatedly told "no"—whether by family, professors, or employers—Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte transformed obstacles into fuel for growth, ultimately rising to lead a thriving HR staffing and AI consultancy. Listen as Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte recounts how overcoming cultural expectations, a devastating hurricane, and pandemic layoffs shaped her perspective on leadership, perseverance, and building a business that changes lives—not just fills jobs. This is a must-hear story for anyone seeking inspiration to turn rejection into triumph and to master their craft in the world of recruiting.

Welcome to The Elite Recruiter Podcast! In this episode, host Benjamin Mena sits down with powerhouse recruiter Nick Pelloni for an unfiltered and eye-opening conversation about redefining success in the world of recruiting. Nick Pelloni has already surpassed $720k in billings for the quarter—without making a single cold call and using only three tools—PIN, an ATS, and a note taker. Growing up in a recruiting family and carrying a passion for both old-school grit and new-school tech, Nick Pelloni reveals how he’s merged classic recruitment fundamentals with AI-driven efficiency to become one of the industry’s top performers. From working his way up in the family business (insisting on no handouts) to building a reputation where word-of-mouth drives inbound business, Nick Pelloni shares the systems, mindset, and hard-earned lessons that transformed him from a reluctant high school data entry temp to a leader at the helm of a thriving agency. Whether you want insights on leveraging A…