The Big Questions Recruiters Are Asking in 2025 Part II

Before we dive into answering more of the best questions we received this year at all of our live podcast events.

I wanted to make sure you have seen our latest Hector Masterclass, which you can attend entirely for FREE.

It’s on a topic that is at the forefront of many recruiters' minds every year.

How can I transform my contingent pipeline, which currently fills at 20% to 50%, into a pipeline that is 90%+ filled by working on a committed or retained basis?

Our last masterclass course of the year will help you achieve it.

You can sign up for the three-part course here.

John transitioned from the contingent rollercoaster after one low was too much, with multiple deals falling through one quarter, all at the very last stage (We have all been there)

John had enough of that lifestyle and made the decision that he was only going to work on committed searches moving forward.

This was back in 2015, and it has transformed his entire recruitment career and, quite frankly, his life.

Everything he has learned the hard way, we have put into this course for you all.

Sign up for all the sessions here, with our first session happening tomorrow at lunchtime.

See some of you there - let’s get into this week’s edition!

With market conditions constantly shifting, what key habits or strategies have you seen top billers adopt in 2025 to stay ahead of the competition?

Recruitment in 2025 has been a test of consistency.

Markets have changed fast. Job flow has become unpredictable. 

Clients are more selective about who they partner with.

The recruiters who are still performing aren’t relying on luck or timing. 

They have built structure into their week and created habits that protect their performance regardless of market swings.

The first habit is clarity. They know their numbers and focus on the activities that drive them.

The second is visibility. Even with fewer roles, they continue to offer valuable insights, case studies, and commentary, maintaining an active and credible presence for clients and candidates.

The third is focus. They are disciplined with time and energy, only committing to roles they can fill and clients who value their expertise.

This combination keeps their desks stable when everyone else is reacting to short-term trends.

👉 Practical habits to stay ahead:

• Plan your week with intent. Have fixed blocks for BD, candidate delivery, and client development. Treat them like meetings with yourself that cannot be moved.

• Know your inputs. Track the actions that directly affect results, such as quality calls, interviews arranged, and client conversations. Review them weekly.

• Show up where your market is. Post once or twice a week with something useful, not promotional. It keeps your name front of mind when hiring decisions restart.

• Stay consistent through quiet periods. Keep your pipeline moving even when roles slow down. The activity you do in slow months pays off when the market turns again.

Top billers aren’t reinventing their process every month. They are refining the same foundations until they become impossible to beat.

When having tough months in recruitment, how are you managing internal stakeholders to ensure they can see that what you’re doing will lead to positive outcomes?

Everyone hits slow months, even the best recruiters.

The difference is how you communicate through them.

When you are underperforming, your manager or director doesn’t want excuses; they want visibility. 

They want to know that you're in control, have a plan, and are learning from what isn't working.

The worst thing you can do is go quiet. When people can’t see activity, they assume inactivity.

The recruiters who navigate quiet periods effectively share data, pipeline updates, and next steps. They manage expectations with facts, not feelings.

They also take ownership. They acknowledge what isn’t working and share what they are changing. 

That mindset turns pressure into partnership because it shows maturity and accountability.

👉 How to manage tough months:

• Share numbers regularly. Bring updates on interviews arranged, client meetings booked, and roles qualified. It proves momentum, even if results are delayed.

• Be transparent about what is changing. Inform your manager about the specific parts of your process that you are adjusting or testing.

• Use data to drive discussion. Show where the bottlenecks are in your pipeline. This helps your manager support you with specific solutions rather than general pressure.

• Keep visible energy. Even small wins, such as a new client conversation or a candidate shortlist, should be shared. Energy creates confidence.

When results dip, communication is your safety net. Keep people informed, maintain a clear plan, and make progress visible.

What separates a recruiter who consistently grows year-on-year from one who peaks early and plateaus?

Every recruiter starts with the same drive. What separates the ones who grow long-term is their ability to review, refine, and rebuild how they work each year.

The people who plateau tend to stop evaluating themselves. They become comfortable, continue doing what has always worked, and eventually, the market outpaces them.

The recruiters who keep climbing view each quarter as a fresh start. They audit their desks, eliminate low-value activities, and focus on what works. 

They take feedback well and ask questions about how to improve, rather than defending their current operations.

They also understand that career growth requires personal growth. 

They focus on self-awareness, communication, and leadership, not just billings. 

They track their time, identify weak points in their workflow, and work with mentors or managers to close those gaps.

👉 How to keep progressing:

• Review performance beyond billings. Look at your ratios: CVs sent to interviews, interviews to offers, calls to meetings. This shows where small improvements can make a big difference.

• Run a quarterly desk audit. Remove roles or clients that drain energy or produce low margins. Replace them with opportunities that compound over time.

• Learn from the next level. Speak with someone billing more than you or managing a bigger team. Find one process they do better and implement it.

• Keep testing your approach. Whether it is call openers, email outreach, or job briefs, experiment and track what gets better engagement.

Long-term growth comes from reflection, not repetition. The best recruiters are never finished products.

How can recruitment leaders strike the right balance between freedom and accountability in their teams?

Finding the balance between freedom and accountability is one of the hardest parts of leading a team.

Too much control kills ownership. Too much freedom creates inconsistency.

The best leaders build clear frameworks that give people room to perform but still hold them accountable to specific standards.

They set the rules of the game, then let their consultants find their own way to win within those boundaries. 

That means clarity on inputs, expectations, and behaviours, without constant micro-management.

A good culture of accountability comes from visibility, not pressure. 

When people can see how the whole team is performing, it creates natural self-regulation.

The focus shifts from “my manager is watching” to “I want to contribute.”

👉 How to find the balance:

• Set clear non-negotiables. These might include daily BD activity, candidate follow-ups, or weekly one-to-ones. Beyond that, trust people to plan their own time.

• Coach through questions. Ask “what’s getting in the way?” or “how could we approach this differently?” It helps people problem-solve rather than feel criticised.

• Share visibility, not surveillance. Utilise dashboards or shared trackers to make progress visible. It removes the need for constant chasing.

• Reward initiative. Highlight team members who demonstrate ownership, introduce innovative ideas, or share effective solutions. This reinforces the behaviour you want.

Accountability should never feel like control. It should feel like a commitment to a shared standard everyone buys into.

When scaling a recruitment business, what’s the most challenging role to hire for and why?

When a recruitment business starts to scale, the most challenging role to hire is not the next recruiter. It is the first true leader.

Founders often promote their top-performing biller, but leadership requires a distinct skill set. 

A good manager must deliver results through others while protecting culture, process, and performance standards.

The transition from top individual contributor to leader is where most businesses slow down. 

It takes a shift in mindset from “what can I bill?” to “how do I make my team bill more?”

The best businesses build this layer deliberately. 

They invest time in developing potential leaders early, pairing them with mentors and giving them management exposure before a title is ever offered.

They recognise that a good leader will amplify growth, but the wrong one will create turnover and inconsistency.

👉 How to get it right:

• Hire or promote based on leadership ability, not billing history. Look for examples of coaching, conflict management, and supporting others under pressure.

• Provide structure from day one. New managers need clear frameworks for 1:1s, forecasting, and coaching conversations, not just targets.

• Keep them connected to the desk. The best player-coaches still spend part of their week billing or supporting delivery so they stay credible and grounded.

• Invest in leadership development. External training, shadowing, and feedback sessions should be treated as seriously as sales training.

Scaling becomes sustainable when your first layer of leaders can replicate performance standards and culture without relying on you to do it for them.

P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

#1: Do you listen to my podcast? I release a weekly episode with either a top-performing recruiter or recruitment entrepreneur to find out how they achieved their success so you can learn directly from their journey Check out my latest episode and subscribe to the show.

#2 Take the recruitment High-Performance Team Scorecard
Get instant clarity on where your team is strong, where they’re falling short, and what to focus on next. 👉🏻 Take the Scorecard

#3: Want to win more business, book more meetings, and level up your billings? Our Hector-certified courses are built by top billers who’ve been where you are and cracked it. No fluff. Just real, proven strategies you can use immediately >>>> Browse Courses – Start Closing More Deals Today (Use code Limitless_Learning at checkout for 15% off: exclusive to newsletter readers)