Reverse Recruiting, Real Results

Feeling stuck sending applications into a black hole? We unpack a smarter path: reverse recruiting. Instead of competing with hundreds of thousands of applicants, you build a visible reputation that brings the right roles to you. We talk through why job boards stall careers, how recruiters actually search on LinkedIn, and the mindset shift that turns your profile into a living portfolio that proves how you think.

We walk step by step through a practical system you can start today: create a focused Dream 25 list of companies, follow their leaders, and add thoughtful comments that show judgment, not just enthusiasm. Then publish content that speaks to your industry’s problems, not your daily task list. When a VP sees a short video where you break down a product launch or a go-to-market tradeoff, they feel your voice, not just your credentials. That familiarity compounds so that when an opening appears, you are already known.

We also tackle the biggest blockers: fear of posting under a current employer, uncertainty about what to say, and the myth that consistency alone wins. The real edge now is saying something that matters to the right people. Share bold, well-reasoned opinions that challenge stale playbooks, avoid plagiarism, and let the algorithm route your perspective to decision-makers in your niche. To make it concrete, we close with five hard-hitting actions: treat your feed like a portfolio, talk about your industry not your job, build relationships before you need them, pick a Dream 25 and engage weekly, and stop optimizing your resume while you start optimizing your reputation.

If you want support, we’re opening access to Content Crib RX for free, including prompts and a co-pilot to help you publish faster. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a career reboot, and leave a review telling us the one opinion you’ll post this week. Your next role starts with your next post.

Transcript

Reverse Recruiting Basics

SPEAKER_02 0:00

But yeah, I mean comment on post to people at companies you want to work for, engage with their cont you know, engage with them for however long you you know need to, a few months, when a role opens, you're not a stranger anymore. Like people know who you are. You know, and that's and that starts with you know a dream ten or dream twenty-five list of companies you want to work for, you know, follow it follow their lead leaders, engage with them and their content, create content that would resonate with them. That's reverse recruiting in action. So, you know, you could pay someone like us to do it for you, you know, or you could do it yourself. I think we just hit episode 26, or at least it said 25 was our last one. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Yeah, no, I think actually I think this is uh 27.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

27, all right. Even better.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Yeah. Yeah, we're on a roll here.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

And we're gonna be nice and not we're not gonna be too morbid and talk about how all of your careers are going to die, but we no, we we're definitely gonna do that.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

I'll tell you what, the uh the old Moltbook got a uh got a got a got a lot of reactions for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Yeah, not only are you going to die from AI, your career is gonna die first. So we'll we'll talk about how we can help you save it.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Yeah, you know, it's funny, it's I see all these articles coming out about how many jobs are gonna be eliminated and who's gonna be this and who's gonna be that, and you know, I don't know. I th I I I agree that there is there is going to be some change, but it segues right into why don't you get in front of change and be on the offense if you're looking for another position or looking to do something different than what you're doing now, and um we talk about it a lot, but you know, I I sent out a doctor a uh video about reverse recruiting last week and got a lot of traffic that came my way, a lot of messages. So yeah, it's uh reverse recruiting. I think it's the future of what recruiting is gonna look like. I think a lot of recruiters are gonna start engaging in providing that service.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Yeah, and there's definitely opportunity because very few com uh excuse me, very few recruiters understand what it takes to do to be a good reverse recruiter. Because like most of us, we get stuck in our old ways and we don't break bad habits and we think what we do is gonna work forever. And that's where reverse recruiting is coming up, is because you need to differentiate yourself. Because the best candidates they're not applying anymore, and the job boards are where careers go to die. So, what does that mean? That means personal branding is now applying to your career.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Yeah. I I put out that that that video and I literally had like six people message me, you know, say, hey, you know, can you uh you tell me more about this, or can you tell me what's what this is all about? And uh I was pretty surprised.

SPEAKER_02 2:56

Yeah, I mean people aren't getting you know, the people that getting are getting recruited, they're not more qualified, they're more visible. So, you know, your LinkedIn profile isn't a resume anymore, it's really a landing page and kind of like your soapbox to explain how you can help companies, and I think we've talked about this before. You know, if your ultimate job is to, you know, craft your voice in the industry and continue along in a career, and that's nothing wrong with that, do that. But you know, so few are actually doing it that way. You're gonna stand out definitely with what you do in the you know, in the niche that you're in. Um use that use that voice to to be to be that brand and people start hunting you that way.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Yeah, I mean, you know, it this all came, I think, it really started in tech, is where it really started, and where these recruiters were starting to coach and and teach these teach executives how to uh be obviously thought leadership forward. And it's just really taken off. I see it happen. And and now there are these reverse recruiters that are you know on LinkedIn talking about their services. And but you don't need to get a reverse recruiter to do it. You just can do it yourself. I mean, there's ways to do it. I mean, we talk about all kinds of different ways on this podcast. And I think that people see it as you know, I I talked to somebody this week and I won't divulge their name, of course, but they were like, you know, kind of hemming and hawing and in and wondering if they should be doing it and sharing thought leadership and um, you know, for reverse recruiting purposes. And I just said, hey, you're okay sending your resume and getting on a phone call with some person you never have ever met in your life, and you're relying on them wholeheartedly to hold your career and a lot of your livelihood in their in their possession and go and do something, whereas you can be on the offense and try and get those recruiters to talk to you or opportunities to talk to you. And wouldn't you rather be in charge of that? Kind of it's your it's your destiny type thing, not to be that corny, but you know what I mean. And so it's yeah, yeah, they gotta do it.

Personal Brand As Your Portfolio

SPEAKER_02 5:09

Yeah, I mean the reality is if you're still sending cold applications, you're competing with five hundred thousand other people, but if you're creating content, you're competing with maybe five. And recruiters aren't searching job boards for candidates, they're searching for LinkedIn for leaders in the category who happen to be content creators and also have the skills they need for the position they're hiring for.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Yeah. And and you'll see, you know, uh, I I and I kind of did a little bit of an impromptu analysis or an impromptu study on you know, people looking for new positions and and you know, yeah, you got on your LinkedIn profile open for work or whatever the case may be, but somebody who can send a video out that says, Hey, this is what I think business-wise when it comes to the launch of a new product, and this is why, and you know, and somebody, uh VP of something comes across that and goes, Wow, that's exactly the type of person we're looking for. It's a heck of a lot better than a recruiter who's never ever spent one time with you, one I'm sorry, one minute with you or any time with you face to face, that trust, you know, you're building no like and trust, and you're not relying on another person to do it.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

Yeah, you treat your feed like a portfolio, right? So every single post that you do, it should really demonstrate you know how you think, not just what you know. And they can see how your brain works. Um I think that it's hard to find people that can communicate that way without posting it online, and you combine the two, uh, it's it's a deadly combination. And I know that some of you might be thinking, well, you know, I work for a company, they don't like me sharing uh sharing stuff. Well, A, you're with the wrong company, and B uh the right company wants you to, and they're probably gonna pay you a lot more money to have a voice to attract the type of people. And then you're not that doesn't mean you have to be in sales. I mean, everybody's selling something, we know that, but you know, sharing content doesn't, you know, it's not just a business development aspect. I mean it is, but it isn't. You can just be a leader in the category and help the brand of the company and help your brand at the same time. You know, you talk about your industry, not just your job. Nobody wants to hear about what you did today. It's like here's what I'm seeing in the market. That's valuable, you know.

Offense Over Applications

SPEAKER_00 7:26

Huge. Yeah, no, it's really well said. And you know, it's when you you you look at you know those that are sharing value and they're they're there's videos out there and people can see how you interact. I mean it it accelerates the process tremendously. And to me, it and it you can start today, and you know, that whole thing about it drives me up a wall. This, you know, well, my company doesn't want me to post. Okay, let's be honest. That's an excuse. I'm sorry. You're making an excuse, you don't want to do it, you don't feel comfortable doing it, that's your excuse. Because you could post every day a picture of a cat and your your job your company won't won't it won't matter to them. Now, obviously you have a picture of a cat, but you know, you can share business principles that have nothing to do with your company or how you attack certain things and things like that, and your company won't have one issue with that whatsoever.

SPEAKER_02 8:26

The ultimate goal is you're gonna build those relationships before you need them. And you know, comment on it's what we've talked about all along, right? You want to engage thoughtfully with your ideal audience. We have Content Crib RX, which now is available free, right? So you can message us and we'll give you access, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Yes, yep, yep. Message us, DM us, and then we'll give you a code and you're in for free.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

So you can learn how to do all this, and essentially it's the same thing as having a reverse recruiter help you do what we're teaching you anyway. It's seven, yeah, seven hundred dollar value.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

Yeah, no, it's it's that's a hundred percent, and and you know, at a seven hundred dollar value, and you like you said, and you know, you're you've got access to the content crib co-pilot, which is a cool GPT, and uh through chat GPT, and before you go, yeah, but I don't use chat GPT, you don't have to use it, it's just part of what it is.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

But yeah, I mean comment on posts from people at companies you want to work for, engage with their content, you know, engage with them for however long you you know need to, a few months, when a roll opens, you're not a stranger anymore. Like people know who you are. You know, and that's and that starts with you know a dream 10 or dream 25 list of companies you want to work for. You know, follow follow their lead leaders, engage with them in their content, create content that would resonate with them. That's reverse recruiting in action. So, you know, you could pay someone like us to do it for you, you know, or you could do it yourself.

Content That Attracts Recruiters

SPEAKER_00 9:56

And uh either which way, do it, because we're in a time right now, you know, here we go with it. We uh I thought we were gonna get away with not talking about AI, but here we go. Oh no, you know, you know, AI is going to, you know, replace all these different people. And there's this you feel in the marketplace this unsettled feeling of what's what's really next. But um I can tell you you can figure out what's next if you're controlling the next steps.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

You know, you you don't have to worry about, well, I need to meet you at the airport on Friday, you know, one of those calls. Everybody's had that call, they understand what that is. Or get on a zoom at three o'clock with me and the head of HR. Everybody knows what that call's about.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

Yeah, I mean, I think that's probably a reason why uh we connected and and wanted to get involved in doing podcasts and different projects we do because we want to control the life that we have and the outcomes we have. You know, 2026, it's not really the world we live in anymore. I'm sure you most of you know that by now. So take the reins on your own and you have this opportunity to to share with the world. And you know, it's as I'm seeing, you know, the content that resonates, it's you know, it's becoming more about challenging people's, you know, the status quo in your industry, and start really giving like the the hard-hitting opinions you have that are really you know really performing well with the target audience. You know, I'm not saying like vi going viral, I'm talking about going viral within your you know, in your circle, which is ultimately the goal, and that could be 20 likes of your ideal clients or your ideal audience, right? But it's really about hard-hitting opinions that are performing well. So if you have those and they're thoughtful, share them. And it's not, you know, it's I think the days of just like sharing value are kind of dying. You know, you certainly can miss mix that in, but it's you know what I'm really seeing is um you know, thoughtfully share some challenging opinions of what's happening in your industry, and that's a really great place to start. Um, you know, I think that there's some you know the consistency thing is kind of going to die too. I think it's not the differentiator anymore. I think people, you know, you're not losing to people who post more, you're losing to people who say something. And it's kind of you know in a line with what I'm trying to explain how the internet's, you know. Your be your business rewards your opinion, and if it really if it hits hard with someone that you're it's gonna it's gonna get the likes, it's gonna get the views, it's gonna get the DMs, just like what happened with you posting about reverse recruiting. That hit that struck a chord with people because they're realizing that they're sending out you know, whether they're uh employed and just casually applying, which is not helping anybody, but they they're people do that, you know. I've done that and realize that it's not, you know, it's kind of hurts you in the long run. It hurts the whole job search in the long run. They're realizing they're not getting, they're not even hearing back for interviews. They're understanding they need to do something different. And that's why that post resonated so so much. And that's kind of what I'm saying, is what you need to do if you want to be, you know, your voice to be heard in the market that you're you know that you live in.

Overcoming Company Posting Fears

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Well, and the algorithm will find the people that you're trying to share with. Right. And if you're in cardiology looking for a VP of sales position, the algorithm will find the thought leaders in cardiology and or the executives in cardiology, and it will take your message and they will see it. And so now it's just time to stand out. That's a whole other piece of the puzzle.

SPEAKER_02 13:45

And I think it, you know, it that we had this conversation with one of our clients. It's like, you know, confidence isn't arrogance anymore. You know, it's not apologizing for having something to say. You know you notice how the best creators never ask if their content's good, they just do more of it. So I don't think that you know yeah, maybe tone maybe sounds a little narcissistic than maybe you think you sound, but actually maybe that's exactly how you sound and what resonates with people that are wanting to listen to hear what you have to say. You know, nobody built a personal brand by being polite about it.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

No, that's very true. And you know, it's it's the ones that are edgy and memorable, and they have the reader or person watching walk away going, Man, I've got to remember that next time, or that was something that I really needed to hear today, or whatever the case may be. Um I will tell everybody this though. We we had fun with this over the weekend, or maybe it was a few days ago. It's like don't blatantly rip off other people. Yeah, exactly. You know, don't word for word rip off what other people are doing or saying. Yes, it's all very similar. I get it. And and really nothing's original anymore. Yes, I get it. But please, please, please, if you're listening, don't take somebody's post word for word and make it yours. It's um it's not a good look. So anyway, I had I had I had to say that after some of the stuff that we shared over the last few days, which I thought was interesting.

SPEAKER_02 15:21

Yeah, definitely not. I mean, uh you know, everyone who waited to build their brand is now competing with people who've been at it for three years, and ripping someone off is not the way to go. So, you know, your content is your reputation on autopilot, so make sure it's at something, you know, make sure it's saying what you'd actually say and definitely not ripped off from someone else.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

Because if you rip it off, people like us will share it with each other and go, Yeah, can you believe this is word for word? And we all start laughing and then we send it to other people. It's it's just not it's not good because it's uh you can do better. How about that?

SPEAKER_02 16:02

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Well, on that note, I think we've tackled reverse recruiting, AI won't take your job, and you're gonna build a personal brand and life is gonna be great.

Build Relationships Before You Need Them

SPEAKER_02 16:17

Yeah, I mean I got five like hard five hard-hitting tips on what I went over, and I think is a really good start in what I was saying. Treat your feed like a portfolio. Yep, talk about your industry, talk about your industry, not your job. That think about that one, and your brain starts to spin. It's like, oh man. Okay, there's a lot of things I can say. Build relationships before you need them. Pick your dream. I like to, you know, when I train my salespeople and marketers, I'm like, guys, you need to come up with a dream 100. Like these are your clients over the next year that if you land them, they're gonna change your life. All right, you're not gonna get them right away, and they're they they're meaningful clients. You don't have to do 100. Pick your dream 25. Maybe that's 25 clients, maybe that's 25 job companies, maybe that's 25 whatever. Uh, you know, if you're a physician and you want to, you know, be a digital opinion leader or key opinion leader for them, maybe that's 25 medical device companies. Pick those 25 companies, 25 people, whatever it is, follow them, engage with their content. And number five, stop optimizing your resume, start optimizing what you have to say with your it in within your reputation. So reputations is what gets remembered.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

So that's I love your profile is your portfolio. Yeah. That's that's huge. Because the minute they start looking at your profile and they scroll down, and there you go, there's you with a video talking about business principles.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 17:53

That's better than any resume than I've ever seen.

SPEAKER_02 17:55

And you start basic, it doesn't have to be crazy. I know I fell in this trap when I started sharing content. I'm like, I don't everyone's doing real, you know, people are doing reels, they're doing what you know, videos, they're doing long form, they're short form, they're doing selfies, like, all right, just pick something you really like to do and do it like two or three days a week and try it out. I mean, I took a writing class because I just needed to be more trained, I need to be enabled, I need to feel a little bit more inspiration. You know, maybe you need to do that, maybe you need to get a little help from us. Whatever it is, if you need a little inspiration, send us a DM, whatever it is. But just pick a couple little you know steps forward and make it happen.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

Yeah, I think that's perfect advice.

Free Content Crib RX Access

SPEAKER_02 18:40

All right. Well, you go ahead uh slap those uh white golf balls around the Florida golf course.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

I'm gonna if that's the plan of attack. I'll be in the woods quite a bit, but yeah, that's the plan.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Well, you have your ISG hat on, I hope.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Uh I will have that, yeah, so people can find me. Okay. If they're out on the golf course and they see a guy in the woods with this hat on, you know it's me.

SPEAKER_02 19:00

Perfect. Have fun. Enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

I'll see ya.

SPEAKER_02 19:03

See ya.