The Resilient Recruiter

AI is accelerating at a rate faster than at any point in recruitment history. New tools are emerging monthly. Employers are experimenting without clear guardrails. And agency owners are left wondering which developments will matter - and which are just noise.

In this episode, I sit down with Matt Alder, talent acquisition futurist and host of Recruiting Future, to cut through the hype and focus on the realities of AI in recruitment today. With more than 25 years tracking technology's impact on talent acquisition, Matt brings a long-term perspective few others can match.

We explore the shift from experimentation to adoption, including real examples of employers using AI to conduct live voice interviews with candidates. Matt breaks down where AI is already delivering value, where it's still falling short, and why trust has become the most important currency in recruitment.

He explains the three human skills that will keep recruiters indispensable - networks, relationships, and influence - and why agencies who double down on these strengths will rise above the noise. We also discuss the two competing futures unfolding right now: Recruiting Utopia vs Recruiting Dystopia.

Matt closes with a prediction about agentic AI - a future where candidate agents and employer agents negotiate autonomously. It sounds futuristic, but Matt believes it's entirely feasible and may reshape the industry faster than people expect.

If you're a recruitment leader looking to stay ahead of technological change, this episode offers clarity, direction, and a practical roadmap for the years ahead.

TAKEAWAYS

- Why the pace of AI innovation is unlike anything the recruitment industry has seen

- How employers are already using AI to conduct voice interviews

- Why trust is eroding - and how recruiters can rebuild it

- The three human skills that keep recruiters relevant

- Why outreach automation isn't effective yet

- How candidate-facing AI may disrupt faster than employer tech

- The two competing futures: Recruiting Utopia vs Dystopia

- What agentic AI could mean for hiring and recruiter influence

TIMESTAMPS

4:23 Matt's background and the evolution of TA tech

7:19 What HR/IT convergence reveals about the future

10:29 AI hype vs practical reality

14:18 Where AI is already improving recruitment processes

21:14 Why AI interviews may enhance candidate experience

26:24 Categories of AI tools shaping workflows

32:45 Why automation isn't fixing outreach

40:20 Networks, relationships, influence - the future skillset

47:02 The erosion of trust and how recruiters can differentiate

52:16 Recruiting Utopia vs Recruiting Dystopia

55:04 The agentic AI future

57:48 What agency owners must pay attention to now

GUEST BIO

Matt Alder is a talent acquisition futurist, international speaker, author, and host of Recruiting Future, the number one podcast in the recruitment industry. Over the past 11 years, he has interviewed hundreds of leaders and innovators across the global TA landscape. Matt advises employers on innovation and technology strategy and has been studying recruitment technology since the late 1990s.

GUEST LINKS

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattalder/

What does it take to raise your fees, win better clients, and rebuild your recruiting business from the ground up?

In this episode, I speak with Randee Staats, founder of S4 Search Partners, who went from losing everything — $250K in debt and $500 left — to rebuilding a seven-figure desk within the following year.

Randee explains the decisions that nearly destroyed his business, the turning point that pushed him to rebuild, and the systems that rebuilt his confidence, his pipeline, and his profitability.

He also breaks down the daily discipline, fee structure changes, and point-based productivity system that helped him win better clients and finally charge what he is worth.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• How Randee launched his firm from his parents' basement

• The moment he landed a billion-dollar client

• The scaling mistake that cost him $250K

• Why he walked away from a $600K account

• How he raised his fees to 20 to 25 percent

• The script he uses to convert email replies into meetings

• The daily BD rhythm that rebuilt his pipeline

• The point system that keeps him consistent

• How he broke seven figures the year after rebuilding

Episode Highlights

02:49 Discovering recruiting
05:04 Launching from the basement
09:35 The Jim Carrey check
13:15 Early success and hidden risks
14:18 The scaling mistake
17:16 The turning point
23:10 The weekly client call script
42:00 The wake-up call
44:14 New rules for pricing
46:47 The $30K placement
50:21 Daily planner
51:22 BD rhythm
1:03:09 The point system
1:07:33 Breaking seven figures

Guest Bio

Randee Staats is the founder of S4 Search Partners, based in New Jersey. He launched the firm in 2015, scaled a major national account to $600K, and later rebuilt his business from $500 and $250K in debt to seven-figure billings using a disciplined daily system and a new fee structure.

Why do some recruiters struggle for traction while others build demand engines that bring clients to them? My guest, Tom Froggatt, made that shift after three days of calling 600 people with no results.

Tom is the founder of Singular, a biotech search firm and one of Europe's leading specialists. Six months after launching the business, he hit a breaking point that changed everything. Instead of doubling down on cold calls, Tom built a system that creates predictable client demand. Today, a £4,000 campaign can generate £55,000 in revenue, and his business runs on consistent inbound opportunities.

In this conversation, Tom explains how he replaced cold outreach with a system, how he uses content and insight reports to convert strangers into six figure clients, and why the volume required for effective marketing is far higher than most recruiters expect.

In this episode, you'll discover

• Why Tom realised he did not have a BD problem but a systems problem

• How three days of rejection created a turning point

• How podcasting connected him with senior biotech leaders

• Why each client is worth £55,000 in 12 months

• How his insight report converts inbound retained work

• Why most recruiters underestimate the required volume

• How thinking like a tech founder beats thinking like a traditional recruiter

Episode Highlights

[6:44] Starting Singular in a windowless office and the six-month reality check
[19:16] Three days, 600 calls, zero results. The moment everything changed
[21:22] Launching "Careers in Discovery" and building relationships with senior biotech leaders
[22:05] The podcast guest who walked Tom straight to HR and introduced him on the spot
[36:44] The mindset shift from "winning clients" to building revenue-generating systems
[42:16] Why each client is worth £55,000 in 12 months and what that means for ad spend
[49:30] The exact funnel. Free insight reports that convert strangers into six-figure partnerships
[54:14] Why Tom gives away £2,500 worth of market data for free and why it works
[58:47] How to identify real client pain points without guessing
[1:03:09] Why reverse engineering problems to fit your service always fails
[1:10:27] The volume truth. Why 200 outreach attempts are not nearly enough

If you want to build predictable client demand without relying on cold outreach, this episode will show you how.

Guest Bio

Tom Froggatt is the founder of Singular, a biotech search and talent company specialising in early drug discovery roles across Europe. Before Singular, Tom spent ten years at S3, where he opened their New York office at age 25. He is also the host of the Careers in Discovery podcast with more than 300 episodes.

Connect with Tom

Why do some recruitment founders build seven-figure businesses while others plateau despite working just as hard? My guest, Ollie Scott, discovered growth doesn't come from hustle alone. It comes from strategic bets.

Ollie is the founder of Unknown, a talent growth consultancy that's worked with over 500 brands including Nike, Apple, and Disney. Six years ago, he started with £13,000 on a credit card and one mission: build the opposite of every recruitment company he'd ever seen.

In this episode, Ollie shares his journey from rebellion to revenue. You'll hear why differentiation always beats trying to be the best, how scaling from 8 to 18 people nearly destroyed his business, and the three strategic bets he used to rebuild.

You’ll Learn:
• Why trying to be the “best” agency is a losing strategy
• How Unknown defined a point of view clients cared about
• What went wrong scaling from 8 to 18 people
• Why profit is the safety net that enables innovation
• How to build a productized recruitment offering
• Why freelance talent pools are the future of recurring revenue
• How recruiters can monetise M&A intelligence
• How to price buy-side advisory at six-figure fees

Episode Timestamps:
[4:05] Selling suits to James Caan’s recruitment firm
[10:23] Launching Unknown with £13,000 on a credit card
[15:36] Naming strategy and brand distinctiveness
[18:26] Writing a breakup letter to recruitment companies
[21:44] Why rebellion works early but can’t scale
[36:36] Productizing around three ICPs
[44:03] Scaling to 18 people destroyed profit margins
[48:34] Profit as psychological safety
[53:20] Building recurring revenue through freelance talent pools
[58:25] Why recruiters have more M&A intelligence than M&A firms

Guest Bio:
Ollie Scott is the founder of Unknown, a £3 million talent growth consultancy specialising in the global creative industry. Before launching Unknown, Ollie spent six years at Gemini People, joining the board in his early twenties. Unknown now operates across executive search, freelance talent pools, and M&A advisory for creative agencies.