Most recruiting firms measure success by offers accepted. Jake Frazer watched that metric send unqualified people into a war zone. That was the moment he knew the industry was broken — and spent the next decade building something different.

Jake Frazer is the founder of Precision Talent Solutions, one of the most respected executive search firms in the government contracting space. He spent nearly three decades inside govcon — Army veteran, Brown & Root in the Balkans, LogCap at KBR moving 2,000 people a month into theater, then running and selling a $200 million prime contractor. When he launched PTS ten years ago, he refused to run it like a traditional recruiting firm.

In this episode Jake breaks down exactly how he built a 25-person exec search firm across 12 countries, why 70% of his team has zero traditional recruiting background, how he replaced the resume with a full psychometric assessment platform, and what he believes separates the search firms that will survive AI from the ones that won't.

In government contracting, a bad hire doesn't just cost you a fee. Sometimes it costs something else entirely.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Intro
03:21 — Jake's 30-second intro and how he thinks about recruiting
07:19 — What Jake saw at KBR that broke his faith in traditional recruiting
10:03 — Why he started PTS as a SaaS company before pivoting to search
14:10 — Making hiring a P&L responsibility, not an HR function
23:05 — Why he doesn't hire traditional recruiters
27:00 — The psychometric assessment platform replacing resumes
29:20 — Placing 50+ transitioning generals
39:31 — Fractional and consulting opportunities for senior military
42:00 — How the PTS podcast became a business development weapon
43:39 — European defense and NATO 3.0 as the next big market
48:59 — Stepping away from delivery and scaling through people
51:26 — What he would do differently building PTS from scratch
52:41 — How PTS is using AI ahead of most search firms
56:42 — Going from average to elite: Jake's advice
59:37 — Why EOS/Traction changed how he runs the company
1:00:11 — The question every recruiter should be asking right now
1:01:18 — What executive search looks like in 3 years

🎙️ SPONSOR: Atlas — The AI-first recruitment platform built to eliminate admin. Captures every conversation automatically, surfaces candidates with MagicSearch, and drives real results. Atlas clients report 40%+ EBITDA growth and 80%+ increase in monthly billings.
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🎯 This Is Your Year — Recruiter Summit (April 27th, live sessions are FREE)
https://this-is-your-year-recruiter-summit.heysummit.com/

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🔧 TOOLS & LINKS
🆓 PeopleGPT Free Trial → https://juicebox.ai/?via=b6912d
🆓 Talin AI Free Trial → https://app.talin.ai/signup?via=recruiter
🆓 PIN Free Trial → https://www.pin.com/book-a-demo?via=recruiter
Use the Pin Link above and this code for a discount: JRS02DRI
📬 Newsletter → https://eliterecruiterpodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe
🔗 Jake Frazer on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakefrazer/
🌐 Precision Talent Solutions → https://www.precisiontalentsolutions.com
🌐 Benjamin Mena → http://www.selectsourcesolutions.com/
🔗 Benjamin on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminmena/
📸 Benjamin on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/benlmena/

#recruiting #executivesearch #governmentcontracting #govcon #talentacquisition #recruiter #eliterecruiter