The Linkus Group Inc.

Linkus Group is proud to support a select group of small and medium-sized businesses, and high-growth tech start-ups across Canada. 

We are known for our highly personalized and dedicated approach to partnering with our
clients. Our customer retention has been instrumental in our growth and we provide support
across an array of positions, including executive, tech, sales, marketing, finance, and operations.

We take the pain out of recruiting so you can focus on what you do best – running your
business and building customer relationships. 

Clients:
-KOHO (started working with when under 10 people)
-Coinsquare (started working with when under 10 people)
-Sonnet Insurance (started working with when under 10 people in Stealth Mode)
-Jumbleberry (started working with when under 20 people) (Exit)
-Moo Media (started working with when under 20 people) (Exit)
-Mundo Media (started working with when under 20 people) (Exit)
-GreenTank Technologies (Started working with when under 20 people)
-Altrio (started working with when under 10 people in Stealth Mode)
-Notch (started working with when under 40 people)
-Tacit Innovations (started working with when under 10 people in Stealth Mode)
-Klick Health 
-The Score (started working with when under 100 people)
-Cobmex 
-IOF Business Furniture
-Umbra
-Vitaly Design (started working with when under 30 people)
-Clean My Space (started working with when under 30 people)
-Bioconnect (started working with when under 50 people)

Founder & CEO + Recruitment Advisor

5 to 9 Society

5 to 9 Society is an invite-only network for the bold, the brilliant, and the builders. We connect high-performing operators, visionary founders, and sharp-eyed investors who aren’t just working 9 to 5, they’re creating their legacy from 5 to 9.

Born from a deeply curated network, the Society is part secret society, part talent marketplace, built to foster meaningful introductions, powerful collaborations, and rare opportunities. No fluff, no noise, no LinkedIn mass pitches. Just real access to people who move the needle.

We believe the most valuable rooms are the ones no one knows about, and we’re building one of them.

If you move fast, think big, and like to play in rare air, you're in the right place.

Membership is by invitation or referral only.

Reach out to me if you’d like to learn more.

Founding Member

Hipo | High Potential Hires (formerly HiredHippo)

We are on a mission to redefine how teams hire for startups and attract the best off-market talent.

Today's strategy to find top talent is completely broken. If we think about where our best employees come from, they are almost always found via referrals and our own network. However, the challenge is that referrals are never enough to fill our entire hiring pipeline. So we end up needing to leverage job boards to fill out the rest of our candidate pool.

The downside? The best candidates don't apply online. Top candidates are usually employed, and even have people coming to THEM proactively with job offers. There's no reason for them to be handing out their resumes. Because of that, the candidates we get are often hit-or-miss, it takes forever to screen them, and sometimes, we just hire the wrong person.

Enter HiredHippo.

We built a network and platform that consists of only the top startup talent. These are the folks that are stars at what they do, are not findable on typical job boards, and usually only talk to companies if they are referred in. We then utilize smart matching of that top talent with you based on work environment, compensation, the business problem the job solves and experience, so you can bring on not just a high performer, but someone who actually meshes with your team. And we do this all while reducing how long it takes for you to screen, and cost spent hiring.

Current HiredHippo clients in Toronto:
- League
- LevelJump
- FormHero
- Identos
- Black and Decker 
- ThinkResearch
- Coinsquare
- Telus
- GreenTank

Reach out directly adam@hiredhippo.ai if you are interested in learning more!

Founder

Stack & Sprout

Angel Investor

DisruptHR Vaughan

DisruptHR is a global brand and community that makes connecting with all the latest and greatest things in HR a whole lot of fun. 

Myself, along with Giorogio Follegati (Benchmark Benefits), Christine Song (HR Consultant + ChefHero) and Stephanie Chen (Marsh Canada) saw there was a gap in HR events in mega community of Vaughan, north of Toronto. We created our first ever event at McMichael Canadian Art Collection in 2019. 

Speakers have included executives from McDonalds, CIBC, Opencare, Worktango and more.

Once in a while an event series is born that shakes things up, it makes you think differently, it leaves you inspired. That event is DisruptHR.

14 speakers, 5 minutes each, and slides rotate every 15 seconds. Teach us something, but make it quick.

If you’re an HR professional, a CEO, a technologist, a community leader – and you’ve got something to say about talent, culture or technology – Disrupt is the place.

Co-Founder & Organizer

Lionshield

Advisory for Corporate Talent Acquisition for all invested companies under Lionshield's portfolio. 

Acting as HR and Talent support for Investors, Advisors, Acquisitions, and Portfolio companies.

Align talent strategies with business objectives across all portfolio companies, ensuring process consistency while catering to individual company needs.

Head of Talent (Advisory Role)

The Help List

When COVID19 hit Canada, the first thought that crossed our minds was: "There are going to be a lot of professionals who's job will be affected by the lockdown." Together with Marianne Bulger (Prospect.fyi) and Adam Bercovici (Luminari) we knew we needed to do something to help.

Taking a page from start-ups who had done this before internally, we thought "What if there was a list for all Canadian tech workers who got let go because of the COVID pandemic?"

2 days later, and we had a hacky G-sheet up and running. Within one month, we had thousands of Canadian tech workers signing up to the service. Fast forward a few more months, with over 5,000 professionals signed up, and hundreds of candidates getting interviews and jobs through The Help List, we realized it was getting way bigger than we ever thought possible.

In coordination with Prospect.fyi - a non-for-profit start-up career hub, we decided to move The Help List under the Prospect.fyi umbrella.

To date, countless people around the world reached out to leverage our playbook to start a Help List in their own country, helping countless professionals find new roles during the COVID19 pandemic.

Co-Founder

WeMovePeople

WeMovePeople (formerly Perreault International)

Recruitment agency specializing in Engineering and Technology positions within the Automotive Manufacturing, IT, and Energy Industries.

Generated 1M+ Revenue creating relationships from scratch with Magna, Johnson Controls, Multimatic, AMEC, Jacobs Engineering, CH2M Hill and more.

In charge of the overall growth and function of the office including; hiring, training, managing, administration and payroll for all staff. 

Responsible for new business development, marketing, process and technology improvements.

Accomplished the creation of an energy recruitment division through my own initiative and vision. The success of the department led to additional revenue streams and hiring of key personnel. 

Dealt with Health and Safety Standards for WSIB (Ontario) and WCB (Alberta).

Assisted with the development of alternative recruitment strategies and a custom applicant tracking system (ATS).

Director of Recruitment

WeMovePeople (formerly Perreault International)

Recruitment agency specializing in Engineering and Technology positions within the Automotive Manufacturing, IT, and Energy Industries.

Trusted to provide both permanent and contract full-cycle recruitment services for management, technical and non-technical positions in high demand.

Spearheaded long-term relationships with clients that included: Magna, Johnson Controls, Multimatic, AMEC, Jacobs Engineering, CH2M Hill and more.

Engineering Recruitment Specialist

Building the greatest marketplace of pre-vetted high-potential candidates and companies 🚀 | Founder @HiredHippo 🦛 | Founder @Linkus 🎯 | Co-Founder @HelpList ⚡️ | Named the Peak's 2023 Emerging Leader

I help startups and SMBs hire top performers for niche, hard-to-fill roles.

15+ years ago, I discovered that most companies were hiring all wrong. Since then, I've been obsessed with cracking the code on recruitment – building a process that actually works for both sides of the table.

In 2009, I founded Linkus Group. What began as a mission to support startups and SMBs as they scale has now evolved into a high-touch, well-connected recruitment partnership that recognizes people as a company's most valuable asset.

Here's what we learned along the way: exceptional hiring isn't about posting jobs and hoping. It's about strategically attracting talent across Executive, Operations, Revenue & Marketing, Engineering & Product, Finance, and HR roles. We handle the complete talent lifecycle from attraction and discovery to culture building and long-term retention.

The results speak for themselves. Over 500+ companies have trusted us with their growth. We've placed 1,000+ hires with a 95% retention rate. Our #1 KPI is repeat business. Companies keep coming back because we find the best person for the job in the shortest amount of time, for the lowest cost.

We're selective about our partnerships. We typically only accept referrals and work with companies from early stage through their growth journey – 1 to 250+ employees, bootstrapped to Series B and beyond. We focus on Senior to Executive roles because that's where the right hire makes or breaks momentum.

Ready to skip the hiring headaches and land your ideal candidate quickly? Let's talk.

Founder & CEO | Linkus Group Recruitment Redefined
Tech Founder | Hipo (HiredHippo)
Host | Offer Accepted Podcast
Founding Member | 5-9 Society
Co-Founder | TalentHelp List
Co-Founder | DisruptHR Vaughn
Former Chair | HRPA PD Dinner Committee
2023 Emerging Leader | Peak

www.recruiteradam.com

"Being cheap with talent is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make." - Alex Hormozi

Adam Gellert

We hired the best person for our client in 5 days (again). Beep beep.

Speed does not compromise quality. Poor execution does. Hire slow is BS. 

This candidate had multiple offers and still chose our client because the process was clear, fast, and respectful. When you know exactly what you want and everyone is aligned, the right people move toward you.

It gets better. The company we recruited them from called us after to help replace them because the candidate was that good. That is what happens when you prioritize clarity, speed, and candidate care.

Hiring becomes simple when you stay aligned, move quickly, and put people first. That is how you win.

Founder & CEO Linkus Group + Hipo | Startup & SMB Hiring Expert | Hiring High-Potential Talent 9× Faster | Top LinkedIn Recruiting & Retention Voice

Give me just 90 seconds, and I’ll make you great at hiring top performers.

Here are 3 non-negotiables you need to close more hires with less friction and fewer surprises.

1. Transparency

If the job changes mid-process or the role gets re-scoped and you hide that, you lose trust. A candidate will forgive almost anything except feeling misled. The number one reason we hear from talent for leaving their current employer is that the job wasn't as represented in the interview. They need to know what they are walking into. Candidates will always choose the offer with clarity.

2. Alignment

When the skills, experience, interests, and motivation are not aligned on both sides, the candidate's and the company's visions of what the next step looks like for both of them, it will not work. Period. The best hires want to solve the problems you actually have, not the ones you think you have. If the person wants growth and your role is stagnant, I'll put my money on them leaving.

3. Candidate Experience

If your process is slow, vague, inconsistent, or disrespectful of time, the offer stage becomes 10x harder. There are only a select few high performers, and you will burn that bridge fast. Top talent judges your company by how you treat them while they are not yet hired. Plus, don't forget, referrals are the easiest way to hire well, and a tight candidate experience will improve referrals exponentially. 

Remember, transparency, alignment, and candidate experience will improve your hiring by 10x, but it will be all for nothing if, during the recruiting phase, you don't know the core business problem this hire will be solving, what good looks like, and how to attract and identify fit. That part takes 10K+ hours of at-bats plus great process and instincts.

But for the hiring phase, once you have identified a real contender, these 3 are everything.

Hiring is not magic or hard. It is clarity, alignment, and respect executed quickly.

Most recruiters won’t say this.

Hiring more people is almost never the answer.

Hiring better people is.

15+ years building teams taught me one thing
The biggest unlock isn’t headcount.
It’s quality per seat.

Here’s what I mean

-> The right person moves faster
-> They build trust quicker
-> They take ownership without being pushed

That creates more output
More accountability
And WAY less friction

And this is where most companies get stuck
They think they're “filling the role.”
Instead of raising the bar and always looking to level up their teams.

My advice
Hire less
Hire better
Protect your standards.

Curious if this resonates.

You don’t need a bigger candidate pool. You need a better filter.

Hiring doesn’t have to take months.

The slow part isn’t finding candidates, it’s sifting through the wrong ones.

We pre-vet every single person before you even meet them.
References, alignment, fit. Done.

That’s how you go from a 90-day hiring cycle… to a 7-day one.

Takeaways (Better Filter = Faster Hire):
-> Define must-haves, not nice-to-haves. Clarity upfront avoids wasted interviews.
-> Check references early. Don’t wait until the end to find red flags.
-> Match for alignment + intent, skills matter, but so does wanting this role at this stage.
-> Cut interview bloat. Every round should have a purpose, not just “one more convo.”

When you put the right filter in place, speed isn’t the tradeoff for quality; it’s the result of it.

We are working on a Lead Engineering role for a post Series A software startup. Solid team and product. Strong backers. This hire matters.

We’ve got a candidate that we had to push back on because they were originally a “no” on paper. They would certainly have been have been a no if they had applied. 

“I was not excited when I saw his resume at all, but met him today and he was great, moving him on to the next stage.”

Then they not only made it past the first round, the technical, and now in finals.  

This is exactly why resumes suck.

If you rely on resumes you miss people. If you treat hiring like checking boxes you screen out the good ones. When you eat, breathe and sleep recruiting, hiring and retention, you don’t get fooled by polish.

You look deeper. You look for real signal.

What I care about:

-> Ownership and grit
-> Curiosity and problem solving
-> Builder mentality
-> Intent and alignment
-> The ability to grow with the business
-> Someone who actually cares about the mission

This is what happens when you have someone who truly knows recruiting in your corner. Someone who understands your business problem and who screens for fit and performance, not just keywords.

We don’t present resumes. We present people.

We don’t chase candidates. We attract the right ones.

We don’t fill roles. We solve hiring problems.

Transparency. Alignment. Fit.

That is the difference.

graphical user interface, text, application

If you’re still using the same interview questions from 10 years ago… you’re doing it wrong.

Interviews aren’t about ticking boxes.

They’re about predicting performance.

Think of it like a podcast.

You’re not grilling someone. You’re having a real conversation.

Go deep. Act like you’re already working together.

The flow should feel balanced. Questions on both sides.

What to ask?

1. Proof: past examples of wins and misses.
2. Pressure: how they adapt when things break.
3. Perspective: how their experience stacks up against others.
4. Expectations: what’s missing, and what they need to succeed.

Hiring for the past is easy.

Hiring for the future? That’s where you win.

If your interviews don’t feel like this, you might be missing out. 

What’s your go-to question that always reveals the truth?

Incredible night, extremely well executed, with an ambitious room of classy people doing really big things in startup. Very exciting to be a part of it. Ripple Ventures is at the top of the game.

WHAT A NIGHT! 🎄 

Huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out to our Annual Holiday Party last week — wow, did we have fun or what!

Hanging out with the best crew of early-stage founders and operators was the fantastic way to kick off the holiday season. You all spent the year sprinting, shipping, breaking things, and proving that magic really does happen at pre-seed. Your energy, grit, and wild creativity make the whole Ripple community so powerful.

For one evening, we actually slowed down, grabbed drinks, swapped war stories, laughed, and celebrated our founders. Special shoutout to all our award winners, congratulations again! ✨ 

Most Active Tank Slack Member: Mike Kim - Mycroft
Fastest Growing Company: Matt Espinoza ✦ & Ryan Kaufman ✦ - Clover Labs
Most Punctual Monthly Updates: Braden Ream - Voiceflow
Most Intro Requests: Nauman Hafeez & Eli Costea - NetNow Inc.
Night Owl Texter: Jenna Earnshaw - Wisedocs
Most Tenacious Founder: Moe Katib - Pica
Most Valuable Venture Partner: Rahul Parmar 
Most Co-op Jobs Created: Shiva Bhardwaj - Pitstop

We're grateful to collaborate with amazing co-hosts to bring the evening to life:
Fasken, Kraft Berger LLP Chartered Professional Accountants, Singer Steinberg Professional Corp., Linkus Group, Caylent, and DoiT. 

Here’s to finishing the year on the highest of highs, and to all the ridiculous, world-changing things we’re going to build together next year.

Cheers to you, cheers to us, and cheers to the best community in startups! 

We'll see you in 2026 — let's make even a bigger splash 🌊 

cc: Matt Cohen Dominic Lau Katie Ko Jay Lee Kate Grant Will Shaw Marc Shewchun Justin Abrams, CPA, CA Adam Singer Adam Gellert Andry Tanusdjaja, CPA, CFA Jake Teufel Ganan Gajendran

Someone asked me this:

“I’d love to work with you, but the market’s not great, and recruiters are taking less.”

I’ve heard variations of this every week for years.

If you’re not recruiting 24/7, you don’t actually see the market. You’re looking at lagging signals.

We’re seeing real movement again.
Confidence is returning.
Top people are getting scooped up fast.

And every role now has a deeper requirement. Companies are investing to maximize every seat with the right hire, not the cheapest one.

You don’t need a recruiter if none of this is your pain:

❌  you think AI can replace real recruiting judgment
❌  you believe posting jobs counts as proactive outreach
❌  you assume referrals will magically deliver the right candidates
❌  you’re okay losing people to faster companies
❌  you want your team spending time recruiting instead of doing their actual jobs

But if you want something different, here’s what actually matters:

✅  someone who understands your business and your hiring needs
✅  someone aligned with your brand and your standards
✅  someone who finds long-term fits, not warm bodies
✅  someone who reduces months of hiring delays into weeks
✅  someone who filters out the noise and only shows you real contenders
✅  someone who screens for alignment, intent, and performance before they ever hit your calendar

It’s not about choosing the cheapest option.

It’s about choosing the one that protects your time, your momentum, and your future team.

Hiring isn’t a cost. It’s a strategic lever.

Your business will become the people you hire. Choose wisely.

Benjamin Mena

Select Source Solutions

We work with companies that are changing the world and protecting the world and bring them the Data Science, Cyber Security, and Recruitment talent that they need to enable that change. Recognizing that the single biggest driver towards results is people, we help our clients empower themselves with the right talent, in the right place, at the right time. 

➨ For Our Clients, we help find the best Cyber and Data Science talent allowing you to do what you do best, support your business growth and your own career.

➨ For Our Candidates, we put your unique Cyber and Data Science Talent in front of the decision-makers of the most cutting-edge companies in the world, and position you to blow your competition away, allowing you to take back control of your career trajectory.

Our area of specialization:
✓ Executive Retained Search (C-Level, VP, Director)
✓ Cyber and Data Science Direct Hire Search
✓ Recruiters 
✓ Contract Recruiters 

http://www.selectsourcesolutions.com/
Benjamin@selectsourcesolutions.com

Managing Partner

Pin.com - AI Recruiting

I’m partnering with the Pin.com team to bring real-world recruiting insights, help guide product development, and support adoption across industries beyond tech.

As host of The Elite Recruiter Podcast and organizer of recruiter summits, I’ve seen a lot of tools come and go. Very few truly move the needle—Pin is one of them. Its advanced search, smart messaging workflows, and clean ATS integration are built the way recruiters actually work, not how software vendors think we work.

My focus is on helping Pin shape the future of recruiting—making sourcing faster, smarter, and more human.

💡 Want to check it out? Use my code: BenjaminPin for a discount when you demo.

Strategic Advisor

The Elite Recruiter Podcast

The Elite Recruiter Podcast is the number one podcast for recruiting professionals.

This is where the top recruiters share: How they got there. What kind of work did it take. Tips, Tools, and Tricks. The Mindset needed to get them to where they are. What they are doing with their success. Goals and visions for the future. So please join me on this journey as I interview some of the best in our industry

https://www.eliterecruiterpodcast.com/

The Elite Recruiter Podcast Host

Decentralized Careers Podcast

Decentralized Careers is the number one podcast for learning how to land top talent for your Web3, Blockchain, Crypto company.

Learn from other leaders on how they were able to hire the right talent to build the products and help change the world.

https://pod.co/decentralized-careers

Decentralized Careers Podcast Host

DynCorp International

DynCorp International is a leading global services provider offering unique, tailored solutions for an ever-changing world. Built on more than six decades of experience as a trusted partner to commercial, government and military customers, DI provides sophisticated aviation, logistics, training, intelligence and operational solutions wherever we are needed. DynCorp International is headquartered in McLean, Va. For more information, visit www.dyn-intl.com.

The intelligence professionals of DynCorp International (DI) work daily, protecting the United States and its allies, enabling decision-making through agile, integrated intelligence solutions:
•Educating, Training and Certifying tomorrow’s intelligence professionals
•Enhancing Collection and Analysis to deliver decision-enabling intelligence
•Assisting the Intelligence Mission Globally through service in all locations and conditions

DI proudly serves in all locations, environments and conditions to support optimal decision-making and effective national security action by delivering balanced and ever-improving cross-discipline capabilities as a part of a single integrated team.

Sr Contract Intel and IT Recruiter

Vencore Inc.

Inspired by combining the word core with Latin words denoting respect, the name Vencore emphasizes that our high quality, high value services and solutions are at the core of our customers’ missions. 

Vencore has over 40 years of proven experience providing information solutions, engineering and analysis to the U.S. Intelligence Community, Department of Defense and Federal/Civilian Agencies. We support our customers’ missions by helping them solve their complex challenges while maintaining the highest level of integrity and accountability. 

Our people design, develop and deliver critical solutions as our customers’ trusted partner. Our innovations in cyber security, data analysis and technology, combined with our focus on research, ensure Vencore remains ahead of the ever changing demands in the market.

Vencore and its Applied Communication Sciences subsidiary employ 4,800 dedicated employees located throughout the Nation with a presence in 17 states and in select foreign countries. For more information on Vencore, please see our company overview data sheet.

Sr. Technical Contract Recruiter

United States Postal Service

Manage, develop and execute recruitment strategies in partnership with hiring managers to identify and cultivate a pipeline of top executive level candidates to fill positions across all business units within the US Postal Service.
Identify, recruit, and assess top senior, executive, and officer level talent for active and open positions across all business units within the Postal Service.
Responsible for developing long and short term recruitment strategies in order to attract and create an active applicant pool
Develop industry appropriate requirements for executive vacancies based on meeting with the hiring manager and external research to ensure candidates are best matched with the needs of the position.
Research, implement, and maintain leading edge, creative and cost effective sourcing tools and resources that improve applicant relationship development.
Develops candidate recommendations for hiring manager review and consideration.
Interview candidates during the final interviewing process to evaluate and provide recommendations to the hiring manager.
Network with potential candidates to build a rapport, turn passive into active candidates, maintain a viable talent pool and to engage them in the opportunity of working at the Postal Service.
Coordinate with and oversee the work of external recruitment agencies to recruit for officer level positions, ensuring agency personnel are informed of job content and requirements. 
Review proposals, develop statements of work, create task orders, verify invoices and monitor contract-related expenses.
Stay current with the Postal environment, industry changes and market trends related to the executive level talent pools.
Partner with leadership and talent management groups on the strategy and preparation for succession planning and current management needs.

Executive Sourcing Recruiter

BAE Systems

BAE Systems is the premier global defense and aerospace company, delivering a full range of products and services for air, land, and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions, and customer support services. With 105,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems had 2008 sales of $34.4 billion.

Information Solutions is among the 10 largest IT providers to the U.S. government, serving most of the federal defense and civilian marketplace. It provides network-centric command, control, computing, and intelligence (C3I) solutions; wideband networking radio systems; information systems for the U.S. intelligence community; geospatial information services; and information technology services. Leveraging its knowledge of signals and data derived from signals, Information Solutions has attained a market-leading position in advanced information technology research, intelligence analysis and production, and geospatial exploitation software.

People are the greatest asset in any Company ... 

BAE Systems is committed to a high performance culture and provides an environment that challenges our employees to be remarkable and obtain their full potential.

Sourcing Recruiter - Talent Acquisition

L-3 National Security Solutions

* Responsible for full life-cycle hiring supporting the Executive Office of the President (EOP) along with various IT and Cyber Security programs based around DC Metro and various parts of the globe.
* Experience working with Cleared Professionals supporting various agencies and Department of Defense contracts and programs. 
* Responsible for full life-cycle hiring supporting the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Dagger II contract, recruiting Imagery and Geospatial Analysts for a large program based out of Ft. Bragg, NC
* Also Responsible for surge efforts in support of Intelligence personnel on OCONUS programs supporting USF-I, ISS-A, to include: Intelligence Analyst, SIGINT Specialist, Collection Managers, MEDEX/DOMEX Specialist, Counterintelligence Support Specialist, Strategic Debriefer,, Screeners, and Database Managers, SharePoint SME, and Information Management Specialist
* Assisted with recruiting efforts, on the ISS-A contract win resulting in 95% fill-ratio within 3 months.
* Assisted in proposal efforts for ISS-A, AFSOC, ITA/CND, and various other  programs and task orders.  
* Proactively networked with other companies and contacts for new program leads.

Sr. Recruiting Consultant

Lockheed Martin

*Maintain the full-cycle recruitment process and pipeline of an average of 300+ requisitions 
*Maintained the pipeline for Entry Level Professionals/Interns/ and Co-ops for the Missiles and Fire Control Business Unit of Lockheed Martin
*Interface with all levels of management, Human Resource Business Partners, and Business Unit Managers for the hiring process for 7 Lockheed Martin sites within Missiles and Fire Control
*Sourced candidates, set up, and facilitated large scale recruiting events for the Lockheed Martin’s Leadership Development Programs
*Created strategies with each manager to source and hire top talent from our corporate and key schools.
*Worked as a Kaizen Team Lead in an office restructuring project to cut down wasted time and increase team inclusiveness. 
*Lead the Talent Acquisition Facility Rebranding Team in facility operations
*Helped set best practices in the communication standards that are set within local team

Corporate Talent Acquisition Recruiter

Need to hire? We can help! - Headhunter - Managing Partner

🎯 Having a tough time hiring for your Government Contracting Executive Team or GovCon AI teams?  There are way more openings than there are people to fill.  The top level talent your team needs are not even looking at your jobs ads. 🎯
** CLICK BELOW TO SEE MORE **

We understand how competitive the market is for top talent and how your career as a leader is impacted by the ability to attract and retain top talent.  

My name is Benjamin Mena, and for 15 years, I've built Data Science and Cyber Security teams for global Top Secret National Security programs.

Finding and attracting top-level people for our commercial sector is mission-critical. I know how right hire at the right time is vital for your team's growth and success.

SERVICES FOR CLIENTS AND CANIDATES 
💥 Executive Retained Search (C-Level, VP, Director)
💥 Direct Hire Search
💥 Employer/Candidate Value Proposition Development

Myself and my team are ready to help you 

🎯 To book a no-obligation, 15-minute Client Strategy or Candidate Career Call: https://calendly.com/benjaminmena
🎯 Email: Benjamin@selectsourcesolutions.com 
🎯 Phone: 703-297-8574

The Elite Recruiter Podcast is the number one podcast for recruiting professionals.

This is where the top recruiters share: How they got there. What kind of work did it take. Tips, Tools, and Tricks. The Mindset needed to get them to where they are. What they are doing with their success. Goals and visions for the future. So please join me on this journey as I interview some of the best in our industry

https://pod.co/the-elite-recruiter-podcast

Ever wondered how a recruiter becomes the first call for top venture capitalists, and carves a niche no one else can touch?

That’s the story of Norman Volsky🎙️, The Pinnacle Society Member.

He didn’t just want to fill a role. He wanted to dominate his market—and did it by playing a different game.

Norman’s path wasn’t linear. He started as an intern, failed gloriously at his first “dream” job (spoiler: watching a lot of basketball tape does not make you happy), learned from every mentor and moment of rejection, and found himself at the crossroad every ambitious recruiter faces: stick to what everyone else is doing, or think bigger.
He chose bigger.

✅ He became the recruiter attached to billion-dollar IPOs, riding alongside the fastest-growing startups in healthcare tech. 

✅ He turned a handful of key placements into a snowball of reputation and referrals—eventually leading to investors asking him to sit at the table, not just as a recruiter, but as a deal-maker. 

✅ He turned his unique market knowledge into investment opportunities, assembling groups of powerful insiders to help rocket companies forward (and benefit together).

But here's the twist: Norman’s secret isn’t just hustle. It’s radical transparency, relentless curiosity, and ALWAYS asking: 

“How can I help you?”  Even when it doesn’t seem directly tied to his bottom line.

That’s how he became the market. 

That’s why the best VCs call him first.

If you want to hear how someone built a true niche monopoly—and went from recruiter to influential investor—this is your episode.

Links below to the Pinnacle Take Podcast: Why Top VCs Call This Recruiter First: The Power of Niche Mastery with Norman Volsky

What’s one move you made in your niche that changed everything?

Make sure to also check out the episodes that dropped last week with with the following Pinnacle Society Members:

Rich Rosen
Pree Sarkar
Rob Bowerman
Justis Pederson

Most recruiters would have quit.
Imagine going six straight months without making a single placement.

New industry. New desk. New pressure.

Every day, picking up the phone… and nothing landing.

That was Emily Audibert at the start of her recruiting career.

But instead of walking away, she doubled down.

Listened to every training tape she could get her hands on.

Made twice the dials.

Took every bit of feedback—even the uncomfortable stuff.

And she kept showing up.

Then something unexpected happened:
She stopped trying to sound like every “hard-charging, script-driven” recruiter in the bullpen…
 and started leaning into her way of doing the job.

A softer approach.
More curiosity.
More intuition.
Less pressure.
More trust.

And everything changed.

She went from struggling to survive…
to becoming a million-dollar biller, landing multiple RPO contracts, and building a thriving agency rooted in authenticity—not aggression.

Here are a few of my favorite takeaways from the conversation:
🔹 Your energy matters more than your script:   Once Emily stopped forcing a style that wasn’t hers, deals started moving.

🔹 RPOs are a game-changer:    She breaks down exactly how she sold them, structured them, and turned them into predictable revenue.

🔹 Mindset is the real differentiator.
 Visualization, consistency, and refusing to quit—even when it felt hopeless—became her superpower.

If you’ve ever felt stuck… or wondered if there’s a “right” way to be successful in this business… Emily’s story is the reminder that you can build a wildly successful career by being fully yourself.

This is one of the most inspiring episodes we’ve done.

Thank you Atlas - the Recruitment Platform and Recruiters Websites for sponsoring this episode! 

Make sure to also sign up for the Recruiter Sales and BD Summit kicking off in Jan 2026!

Ohh and make sure to join The Elite Recruiter Community!

Remote for $120K vs. Office for $240K.  

That’s the latest debate blowing up on TikTok and honestly, there’s no wrong answer.

Some people thrive on office energy. 

Others value freedom more than a paycheck.

So… which side are you on?

I want to publically thanks Jay Veniard!
5 years ago he was the first guest on The Elite Recruiter Podcast.

It was a dumb/random idea to start the podcast.  

But it’s been an amazing journey that I don’t regret. 

As many of you guys know.  

Starting anything is hard.  

But he said yes.

And The Elite Recruiter Podcast was started. 

Now we are almost at 500,000 downloads between Apple and Spotify and over 10,000 people have registered for the summits, and a rocking Elite Community. 

But it’s the first few guest like Jay that got the ball rolling for the impact it’s now become.  

I got a lot of Nos early on.

But the people that said Yes.   

That made all the difference.

But I also wanted to say thank you to these guest that also helped kick off this now 5 year journey.  

Adam Meekhof 
Henna Pryor, CSP 
Michael G. Cox 
Trent Cotton 
Joel Lalgee 
Aaron Opalewski 
Kelli Schutrop 
Gavin Johnston 
Emilie ORNON

Just imagine if college football coaches had to deal with non-competes like the rest of us.
Coach leaves one university for another?

Sorry, you’ll need to sit out for a year.

Can’t work for a rival school.

And please don’t you dare call your old players or staff.

Sounds absurd, right?

Yet that’s exactly what happens every day in the corporate world.

Talented people blocked from opportunities by restrictive contracts.

Even as the game keeps moving, they’re benched.

Maybe it’s time we treated all professionals with the same fairness and mobility we give our coaches on Saturday.

If someone has a good reason to leave...  

Let them leave.

Most recruiters don’t lose deals because of sourcing.

They lose them because of what happens after the first interview.

A lot of recruiters don’t want to hear that.

But Steve Finkel said something on this week’s episode that stopped me in my tracks:

“Your worth to the client isn’t at the beginning.

It’s at the end.”
And he’s right.

We obsess over AI tools, outreach hacks, Boolean strings…
But we don’t obsess over the skill that actually gets us paid:

Closing.
Follow-up.
Debriefing.
Moving a candidate from a first interview to a second.

That’s where recruiters win.
That’s where recruiters lose.
And that’s where most of us leave the most money on the table.

Steve broke down EXACTLY why offers fall apart, how to fix it, and how elite recruiters use closing to add 30–50% more billing without working more hours.

This episode punched me in the gut in the best way possible.
If you’ve ever lost a deal you should have landed… or wondered how some recruiters have “insane” consistency year after year…

You need this one.

Listen to Part 1: The Art of Closing with Steve Finkel

Thank you Atlas - the Recruitment Platform and Recruiters Websites for helping make this episode possible!

The best recruiters in this industry rarely shout about themselves.
But they’re the ones who changed how you think about this job.

They took your late-night calls.
They gave you honest feedback when it stung.
They made you believe you could actually be great at this.

And most of them will never get recognized for it.

That didn’t sit right with me.

So we opened voting for the first-ever Elite Recruiter Awards.

No popularity contest.
No billing numbers.
No “vote for me” campaigns.

Every category is 100% write-in.

It’s about:
- The recruiter who influenced how you think
- The mentor you’d want in your corner
- The coach who helped you level up
- The leader who builds people, not just numbers
- The team, tool, or episode that actually made a difference

If someone in recruiting has genuinely made you better, this is your chance to acknowledge them.

Comment “VOTED” below ⬇️

I’ll DM you the link and would love to hear who you chose.

Because recognition hits harder when it’s intentional, not performative.

🔥 Recruiter Wrapped 2025 is HERE.

This year, recruiters showed up.
 You sourced, you closed, you negotiated, you fought off counteroffers…
 and you changed lives.

So I put together something special:

The first-ever “Recruiter Wrapped”  a Spotify Wrapped–style year-in-review built just for agency & staffing recruiters.

Inside the template:
 ✨ Your Top 5 Searches
 ✨ Your Recruiting Personality
 ✨ Your Chaos Moments of 2025
 ✨ Metrics, milestones & the lives you changed
 ✨ Your 2026 Recruiting Forecast

If you want to celebrate your wins this year — and show your network the impact you made, download the Canva template and make it your own.

This is your year.
Your growth.
Your impact.
Your story.

👉 Comment "Wrapped" and I will DM you the Canva Template that you can customize.

Tag me when you share yours, I want to celebrate with you.

Recruiters!  Who are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Tag who and why! 

I have some of mine down below.

This recruiter flew across the country for a meeting most people would’ve taken on Zoom.

And that decision explains everything about why he’s elite.

When I sat down with Craig Picken, one story kept coming up:

He doesn’t hide behind screens.
He gets on planes.

Not for show.
Not for “content.”
But because he understands something most recruiters forget:

Big searches are built on trust.
Trust is built in person.

Craig runs a one-man executive search firm.
No team.
No layers.
No fluff.

This year alone, he’s closed 22 executive searches.

How?

• He refuses to go through HR
• He maps every org like a dartboard
• He says no to the wrong searches
• He flies out to see clients when it matters
• He does the work most people talk about but avoid

One line from the episode stuck with me:

“It’s a simple business. It’s not easy.”

Most recruiters are busy adding complexity.
Craig is busy adding relationships.

If you’re trying to build a desk (or firm) that lasts…
If you want clients who trust you with critical hires…
If you’re tired of chasing transactions instead of building leverage…

This episode is worth your time.

🎧 Full episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast is live.
👉 Links below.

Curious — what’s the one thing you know you should be doing…
but haven’t committed to yet?

Thank you Atlas - the Recruitment Platform for brining this episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast together!

Traveling this weekend and need a podcast to listen to.   5 episodes dropped in the last 24 hours! 

Jared Watts - The Pro Athlete Mindset That Creates World-Class Recruiters on The Elite Recruiter Podcast

Rich Rosen - Record-Breaking Recruiting: How Rich Rosen Had His Best Month Ever (Mindset, Tech & Tactics for Crushing It in Any Market) - Pinnacle Take Podcast 

Rob Bowerman - Why Niching Down Makes Recruiters Elite: Lessons from Luxury & the Pinnacle Society - Pinnacle Take Podcast 

Pree Sarkar - From Survival to Seven Figures: The Step-by-Step Playbook to Building a Million Dollar Recruiting Desk - Pinnacle Take Podcast 

Justis Pederson - Breaking the Recruiting Plateau: How Justis Pederson Went from Burnout to $1.5M with Digital Transformation and Sobriety - Pinnacle Take Podcast 

Check them out! All the links are below.

Who you surround yourself with has a bigger impact than you realize. 

I signed up for a 10K without really training. 

I run.  But have not trained and most of my runs are with a stroller.  

So my expectations were low.  

Goal was to finish and see where I might be at.  

But as I got to the start line.  

I realized I was about 50 runners deep from a 40 minute pacer.  

I tried to get closer but it was to crowded. 

I thought.  If I could just hang on for a little bit it just might be a good run.  

After the gun went off.  It took me a good half mile to catch up with the pacer.   

I could feel the lactic acid already filling up my legs.  

But I had to catch him.  At least for a while.

But when I caught him.  I didn’t just catch him.  I caught the pack.   A pack of about 40 runners.  

Sitting in the pack the miles started to fly by. 

I was able to hang to the group for about 4.5 miles.

Ended up finishing with a 40:26.

If I didn’t catch up with the pacer.  I still would have had a respectable time.  

But because I surrounded myself with the pack of other runners.  

I did even better.   

But this is the same thing with recruiters.  

We are all running the race for ourselves.  

But if you get the chance to run with others. 

You can go faster and further than if you were alone.  

I really don’t talk about it as much as I should.  But it’s been awesome to see everyone running together in The Elite Recruiter Community that recently launched.  

Having access to every summit replay is cool.   

But finding running buddies.  Is even better.  

Excited where it’s going to go over the next year.  

And I can’t wait to look back in Dec of 2026 and realize how fast the pack of recruiters running. 

Was able to accomplish.   

If you want to join us.  Hit me up.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝘂𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱?

Recruiting never slows down. If you want to build a bigger book and stronger relationships, you need fresh tactics and the right network.

That’s why I’m thrilled to announce that Sarah Englade  will be sharing her expertise at our Sales & BD Summit this January. This summit will show you:

How to fill your pipeline with high‑quality leads and bill more
Proven outreach and negotiation strategies that convert
Ways to use AI tools and automation to save time without losing the human touch
The mindset shifts needed to create repeat business and referrals
 
The summit is packed with actionable playbooks from 30+ industry leaders who will help you hit the ground running in Q1. Live sessions are FREE, with options to upgrade for replays and deeper learning.

Building strong professional networks and relationships is one of the most effective ways to find new opportunities and accelerate your career. 

Don’t miss the chance to learn from the best and connect with other driven recruiters.

Join us and set yourself up for success in 2025!
Link in the comments!

No alternative text description for this image

You know what would be Awesome!
TEDXRecruiting 

To bad they won’t let me do it.  

It has to be wrapped around a “city”.

It was worth exploring.   

Back to focusing on the Recruiter Summits!

Confession: I didn’t run the LinkedIn gender experiment.
Rosie Taylor did.

She flipped her gender setting from “female” to “male” for a week.
Nothing else changed – same profile, same bio, same posting cadence.

Her “people reached” went up 220%. Profile views up 174%. Impressions up 195%.

Her top posts as “Rosie” were doing 11–13K views.
As “Rosie the man”? 21K and 52K views.

Same person. Same thoughts. New gender. Wildly different reach.

Fortune’s Emma Hinchliffe has already covered this, along with other women who saw their content take off the moment the platform read them as men.
LinkedIn’s line is that gender is not a ranking signal and the feed is driven by things like network, activity and role.

But here’s where my recruiter brain kicks in:

In recruiting, this hits differently.

There are a ton of women actually doing the work in this industry, yet when you scroll “recruiter” content on here, it’s still mostly men who get seen, shared, and treated as the voices of the profession.

If the system is learning from years of men posting more, engaging more with each other, and being overrepresented in “power user” buckets…
…then any ranking model trained on that history is going to treat male-coded behaviour as the default “signal” and everyone else as the edge case.

So when we say “the best content rises”, are we really measuring quality?
Or are we measuring who the machine has already decided looks like a “leader” because of past behaviour?

I don’t think the answer is “women need to be more confident on LinkedIn”.
I think the answer starts with questions like:
- Whose posts do you comment on without thinking?
- Whose content do you reshare?
- Who do you tag for opportunities and intros?

Because that’s the data the algorithm is drinking every day.

What do your last 30 comments say about whose voices you’re helping the algorithm learn to love?

Things that suck but are true!

You can be the best in the world about something.  

But if no one knows who you are.  

The person with the higher “reach” so often in today’s world gets ahead faster.

Thanks Brent Orsuga for recommending this book!

Most of us learned sales by osmosis.
Sit next to someone.
Copy their script.
Pray it works.
Repeat.

That’s how an entire industry learned “sales.”
No structure.
No real training.
Just survival.

And that’s exactly why so many recruiters are stuck.

Because when you peel back the layers, it’s not sourcing that holds most recruiters back…
It’s not pricing…
It’s not the market…

It’s the lack of a real sales process.

This week on The Elite Recruiter Podcast, I sat down with someone who understands sales at a level few people do:
Conor Kline — Head of Revenue at PIN, former founding member at Interseller, and a guy who has spent YEARS selling into the toughest buyers on the planet: recruiters.

If you can sell to us…
you can sell to anyone.

We unpacked the stuff nobody teaches recruiters:
• Why 90% of outbound fails before the first email is even sent
 • The targeting structure elite sellers use (and recruiters ignore)
 • The 12–15 touch sequence Conor recommends
 • The discovery question that reveals a client’s REAL pain
 • How MEDIC changes everything about your BD workflow
 • Why closing becomes effortless when you stop winging it

My favorite moment?
Conor said:
 “You don’t get to even sniff a closed deal unless you do great discovery.”
That line alone can transform someone’s billings this year.

If you’ve ever felt like BD was chaotic…

If you’re tired of winging sales calls…

Or if you want to build a business that doesn’t rely on luck…

This episode is the blueprint.
👉 Full conversation in the comments:

Curious — what’s ONE thing you wish someone had taught you about sales earlier in your recruiting career?

Clark Willcox got highlighted by his peers in The Elite Recruiter Awards!

I will be sharing the finalists when voting is over.

But during the week I will be sharing some shoutouts from your peers! 

If you also want to vote: https://lnkd.in/eakUxkkD

There’s a moment in this interview where Steve Finkel said something that hit me like a freight train:

“Recruiters don’t lose deals because they can’t find candidates.
 They lose them because they can’t CLOSE them.”

And he’s right.

AI can source.
Internal teams can source.
Junior recruiters can source.

But closing?

Real closing?

The kind that rewires fear, dissolves hesitation, and guides someone through one of the biggest career decisions of their life?

That’s rare.

That’s a craft.

And that’s the skill the best recruiters in the world have mastered.
In this new episode and in his new book Closing for Recruiters, Steve breaks down:
- The “College Professor Close”
- The Fear-of-Change Close
- Why major closes require combinations
- How to structure a closing call like a pro
- How to blend logic and emotion the right way
- Why top billers review every call like elite athletes
- And how these strategies increase billing 30–50%

This isn’t theory.

This is the real playbook used by the recruiters who consistently dominate their markets year after year.

If you’ve ever lost a deal you should have won…

or wondered why some recruiters just seem unstoppable…

This episode is the missing piece.

🎧 Part 2 is live. If Part 1 changed how you think, this one will change how you CLOSE.

 (Link in comments)

Thank you Atlas - the Recruitment Platform and Recruiters Websites for helping this episode possible!

taplio

The Battle

Adam Gellert

Benjamin Mena

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreAdam Gellert's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreBenjamin Mena's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Adam Gellert

Benjamin Mena

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Adam Gellert's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreBenjamin Mena's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreAdam Gellert's LinkedIn Performance