Benjamin Mena

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 Host

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

Been in this game for 2 decades... 

Alot has changed...  But at the same time, the fundamentals have not.

Feel free to follow Benjamin Mena

I wonder how many recruiting companies have been started because of a bad manager.

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20 years ago.  I got hired as a recruiter...  What a WILD ride its been.  

Here was the comp plan!   What was yours when first started?

I had to join the trend…

Go to ChatGPT and use this prompt:

"Create a caricature of me and my job based on everything you know about me."

(I added my LinkedIn profile url for reference).

Totally copied Stephanie Holman, M.Ed 🦄on this trend! 

Add yours in the comments.

Most recruiting firms never break $10M.

Not because of the market.
Not because of candidates.
Not because of AI.

But because the leader becomes the bottleneck.

I’ve spent the last few years interviewing top billers, firm owners, and operators who’ve actually scaled past $10M.

And there’s a pattern no one wants to talk about:
• The firm relies on 1–2 rainmakers
• Sales “training” doesn’t change behavior
  Everything runs through the owner
• Growth feels chaotic instead of repeatable

In my latest podcast episode, we break down the 4-part framework elite recruiting firms use to scale without burning out or blowing up culture:

→ Strategy
→ Structure
→ Staff
→ Skills

This isn’t theory.
It’s what firms crossing $10M and $25M are actually doing differently.

If your firm feels stuck at $5–10M…
or you’re tired of being the hub for every decision…
This episode will hit uncomfortably close to home.

🎧 Listen here: [link in comments]
Honest question:

What do you think is the real reason most recruiting firms stall?

Thank you to Atlas - the Recruitment Platform for helping this episode with Shad Tidler come together! 

Also 30 Day BD Challenge kicks off Feb 9th... Hit me up for more details.

AI is quietly turning honest job seekers into liars.

Use AI in your job search.

But be very careful with tools that auto‑create a new resume and auto‑apply for you.

Last week, I had multiple conversations in a row with candidates who had no idea what certifications were listed on their own resumes.

The AI had invented credentials and experience that didn’t match their background at all, and they only found out when I asked them about it.

I’m not auto-rejecting people for using AI.  

I encourage it! 

But I do understand why some companies are starting to use tools to filter out obviously AI‑generated, auto‑applied resumes so they can focus on real applications. 

If you’re using AI:
 - Read every line before you send it
 - Delete anything you can’t explain in an interview
 - Make sure your resume still sounds like you

Have you already caught AI adding skills or certifications you don’t actually have to your resume?

Thanks for sharing this Shanique J. and Kevin Appiah for sharing this with me.

Co-Founder of Zamari AI | UGC Creator | Career & Hiring Insight Writer | Mental Wellness Advocate | Future of Work Voice

This is the state of hiring in 2026.

I just came across a job posting where, buried at the very bottom, the employer added a line instructing applicants to include specific random words (like “parrot handling” and “hippopotamus”) in their application.

Why?
To catch anyone using AI tools and automatically filter them out.

And honestly… that says everything.

Hiring has turned into a quiet arms race.
On one side, candidates using AI to get through hundreds of applications.
On the other, companies using AI to detect, flag, and discard them.

It’s no longer just about qualifications or experience.
It’s about whose AI is better at navigating the system.

The result?
Talented people getting lost in the noise, and a hiring process that feels more like a game of cat and mouse than an actual search for the right person.

I think one of the biggest debates EVERY recruiter has at least once in thier life.


For many recruiters.   

The debate happens many times across the career for some.  

Can’t I just do this on my own?
Should I quit and go solo?

It’s a philosophical question.
An economic question.
A self identity question. 

The question.  

Could I actually do it.   
Could I do it on my own?

But here is the thing. 

It’s NOT right for everyone. 

And not everyone should jump out on thier own. 

I know tons of recruiters that actually bill more and take home more money because they are working at a firm.  

But then there are others. 

Going solo is best for them. 

Have you ever had this debate?

Thanks to Atlas - the Recruitment Platform I went back and for with Mike Anderson.

If you want to check it out our deep conversation.  

Go it below and let me know your thoughts.

Get ready.... Mike Anderson is dropping tomorrow.

Round 2 with him.

He walked away from millions in billings.

On purpose.

Just a decision.

Mike Anderson was billing at a high level inside a big agency.

President’s Club.
Big accounts.
Brand name behind him.

And still…

He couldn’t shake the question:

“Could I do this on my own?”

Not for ego.

Not for Instagram.

But for control.
For time.
For identity.

Here’s the part most recruiters don’t talk about:

Going lone wolf isn’t about making more money.

It’s about finding out if your success is actually yours.

Or if it’s propped up by:
• The agency logo
• The delivery team
• The inbound leads
• The corporate infrastructure

That’s the uncomfortable question.

Because if you pull that away…

What’s left?

In this episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast, we break down:
– The lie recruiters tell themselves before going solo
– How to know if your desk would survive without the agency
– The financial runway you actually need
– Why most people burn the ships too fast
– And when staying at your firm is actually the smarter move

This isn’t a hype episode.

It’s a reality check.

If you’ve ever quietly thought,
“I could build this myself…”

You need to listen to this one.
Part 1:
Burn the Ships: When Recruiters Should Go Lone Wolf (And When They Shouldn’t) 

Part 2 is dropping tomorrow.

Link in comments and thanks to Atlas - the Recruitment Platform for helping this episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast come together. 

And I’m genuinely curious…

Have you ever thought about going solo?

Who are all the best recruiters that help hire the best recruiters?

Your brain is being A/B tested every time you open LinkedIn/IG/TikTok/FB.

And if you’re not intentional, the algorithm is running your career more than you are.

We like to think we choose what we see.

But the reality: algorithms are quietly choosing what we read, who we follow, and what we believe about our industry, our company, and even ourselves.

They don’t optimize for truth or growth.

They optimize for “what keeps you scrolling” even if that’s outrage, doomscrolling, or low-value content that never makes you better at your career.

Here’s the good news:
We’ve never had more high-quality content available for free, world-class operators on podcasts, deep-dive YouTube breakdowns, newsletters from serious professionals and journalists, and LLMs that can act like a personal tutor for almost any skill.

Same algorithms. Same platforms.
Two totally different outcomes:

- Passive addiction → manipulated mush.
- Intentional curation → a “bionic” brain and unfair advantage at work.

If you’re serious about your career in 2026, treat your feed like your diet:
- Unfollow accounts that make you angry but not smarter.
- Follow people and outlets that challenge how you think, not just how you feel.
- Pick one “anchor” news source you actually trust and read it deeply.
- Use AI tools as a thinking partner, not a replacement for thinking.

Most people will keep letting algorithms decide what goes into their head.

The outliers will build a cleaner “information stack” and quietly lap everyone else over the next few years.

Some people are much more bold in sending cold emails than I think I will ever be.

graphical user interface, text, application

Its the LAST DAY - The Bonus Day of the Sales and BD Summit!!!

Kicking off with Laurie Guillodo with a predictable Client Acuisition System 

Fan favorite Julian D'Angelo is back! 

Steve Gipson and Emily Blattel with the subtle shifts that can change results

Rebekah Brown Sharing the playbook for top recruiters

CJ Tufano with live BD walkthroughs 

and Tom Rauch showing you how to build your own AI tools that actually close deals.

Dont miss out on this last day!

On paper,
most recruiters sound exactly the same.

• Same resumes
• Same client pitches
• Same “relationship-driven” language

Different logos.
Same message.

And AI is about to expose that.

That hit me hard during this conversation.

Because most recruiters aren’t bad at what they do.
They’re just invisible.

Not because they don’t care.
Not because they don’t work hard.

But because the way they describe their value
sounds exactly like everyone else.

And AI doesn’t care who said it first.

In this episode sponsored by Atlas - the Recruitment Platform, Jacob Stripling helped me put words to something I’ve felt for a while:

Speed used to be the advantage.
Now it’s the baseline.

Anyone can move fast.
Anyone can source.
Anyone can automate.

The only real advantage left is depth.

We talked about a simple framework that explains why:

Some recruiters talk about relationships.
Others prove them.

Some say culture matters.
Others make decisions that cost them something.

When you move past what you say…
past what you claim to value…

and into what you’re willing to sacrifice —

That’s where differentiation actually lives.

That’s the tier AI can’t touch.

This episode isn’t about tools.

It’s about why transactional recruiting is breaking — and what replaces it.
🎧 How Elite Recruiters Win in the Age of AI (The 4-Tier Differentiation Framework)

If you’ve ever felt like:

“I’m doing the right things… but still blending in”

This conversation will hit home.

Curious — what do you think actually separates great recruiters right now?

Also don't forget to sign up for the 30 Day BD Challenge in The Elite Recruiter Community.  Kicks off Feb 9th.

Mike Anderson shares a bold, human-first LinkedIn strategy, using voice notes to cut through AI, spam, and cold outreach to win new clients.

Tune in to the latest episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast, sponsored by Atlas - the Recruitment Platform!
Now streaming on all podcast platforms! Links are in the comments!

There are recruiter trainers.
And then there’s the Godfather.

Before LinkedIn.
Before AI sourcing tools.
Before “growth hacks.”

There was Steve Finkel

The man who trained the trainers.
The frameworks behind thousands of top billers.
The closing psychology most recruiters think they know… but don’t.

For decades, his systems have quietly powered search firms doing millions in revenue.

And now…

Both full YouTube episodes are live.

Part 1: Why most recruiters lose offers (and don’t even realize it).
Part 2: The advanced closing frameworks from his latest book Closing For Recruiters.

If you’ve ever:
• Lost a deal at the finish line
• Stalled at a 70–75% acceptance rate
• Felt like you’re “doing everything right” but something is missing

This is the missing piece.

AI can source.
Internal teams can screen.

But closing?

That’s still the moat.

And Steve breaks down:
 – The College Professor Close
 – Fear-of-Change psychology
 – How elite recruiters add 30–50% more billing
 – Why most recruiters train on the wrong parts of the job

I’ve interviewed a lot of heavy hitters on The Elite Recruiter Podcast.
This one is foundational.

If you’re serious about becoming a rainmaker instead of a resume pusher…

The episodes are finally live on YouTube.

Drop “CLOSE” below and I’ll send you the link.
(Or you can find the links below)

Let’s make this your biggest billing year yet.

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

Claude Code or Loveable will be to replace all your SaaS tools… says every single post right now. 

Anyone else go down the rabbit hole?

Not going lie.  

This stuff is insane.   

But it’s good for simple stuff at the moment.  

You’ll spend more time and money (time is money) fighting it right now than buying a SaaS product.

It’s still fun though. 

Back to my late nights telling Claude it’s broke and I don’t have a clue how to fix it.

AI agents have now built a platform to hire humans in the real world to do the things the AI agents can't do...  

This Claudbot/Moltbot/ Whateverbot story just keeps getting crazier... 

The AI Agents have created an actual recruiting company...

We start at 3pm ET today.

The 30-Day BD Challenge inside the Elite Recruiter Community is officially kicking off — and if you’ve been meaning to level up your business development, this is your moment.

👉 2 tracks (build or scale)
👉 Daily structure and weekly check-ins
👉 A private community that keeps you moving
👉Focused on the habits of the work that you need to win

If you’ve been letting BD slide...

Or if the summit got your wheels turning and you’re ready to execute...
This is for you.

It’s free for community members.

You can cancel anytime, just DM me in the group.

We go live at 3pm ET.

Let’s get to work. 👊

[Link to join the Elite Recruiter Community below]

Jacob Stripling explains that the real value of great recruiters lies in genuine care, helping candidates recognize the “gold mine” of value they already have but can’t yet see.

Tune in to the latest episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast, sponsored by Atlas - the Recruitment Platform!
Now streaming on all podcast platforms! Links are in the comments!

Tired of the long timelines and high costs of hiring? 

As the Founder/CEO of Think Evolutionary, I provide on-demand access to top-tier talent leadership, giving your business the expertise it needs, without the wait or expense.

From leading talent teams in high-stakes environments like government contracting, consulting firms, and competitive tech companies, I’ve seen firsthand how the right leadership and strategy can transform a company’s trajectory. After 25 years in talent acquisition, I realized many businesses need an alternative to traditional executive hires—something flexible, efficient, and tailored to their unique challenges.

At Think Evolutionary, we provide access to top-tier talent flexible pricing options built for each company. Our approach is centered on understanding your organization’s unique needs and challenges, offering:

Fractional Executives Placements
Executive Search 
Contractor and Direct Hiring Placements
Embedded Recruitment Services 

Ready to transform your talent strategy? Let’s discuss how Think Evolutionary can give your company the agility and expertise it needs to succeed.

* Connect with me here on LinkedIn

Together, let's elevate your talent game and position your business for sustainable growth.

James Jr

Reflecting on January: The Cost of the Climb

January 2026 is done, and it’s been a masterclass in what it actually takes to grow. We often talk about the "hustle," but we don't always talk about the grit, or the price tag that comes with it.

Here are the truths I'm carrying into February:

You Pay Either Way

This is a mantra I’ve come to live by. Too many people try to find the "cheapest" route or a shortcut. They skip the tools, look for the cheapest labor, and avoid the deep work, then wonder why success hasn't found them yet.

The reality? You get what you pay for. Whether it’s your money, your time, or your focus, your level of investment determines your level of growth. There are no free rides; you pay for success with your resources or your time. You pay either way.

Be Decisive! 

A true visionary needs more than a desire for quick cash; they need the ability to make decisions decidedly and decisively. If you want to build a business but don't want to learn the details of how it functions, you aren't building, you’re just hoping. Real growth requires a clear approach to the market and the courage to make the hard calls that differentiate you from the noise.

Find Your "Unpolished Gold"

Not every smiling face is a helping hand. I’ve learned that real gold is rarely shiny when you find it; it’s usually rough, unpolished, and covered in the dirt of the journey.

You have to be willing to dig, find, and polish it yourself. When you find that raw potential, or the people willing to get in the trenches with you…don’t trade them for someone else’s "pre-polished" version. Invest in the people who help you dig.

The Bottom Line:

• Cherish the "Check-ins": The people who pick up the phone and text to check on you are the most valuable parts of your life. Cherish them and be there for them always.

• Keep Moving: You will lose more battles than you win. That’s the game. But if you stop fighting, you’ll never know how sweet that win will be.

• Ignore the Noise: Never let someone else’s insecurities stop your progress or shake your confidence.

January was the lesson. February is the execution.

James Dyson Jr

CEO/Managing Partner of Think Evolutionary | Human Capital & Talent Strategist | Executive Growth Partner

So many employers miss amazing employees because they are judging the book by its cover.  Sometimes you have to read a little bit to understand better who the person is and why their career took the course it did.

Sometimes, just an email to ask about someone's path can change someone's life.

CEO & Founder @ Aligned Recruitment | Top Tech Recruiter

Average employers: You're job hoppy. We can't hire you.

Amazing employers: You're job hoppy. Tell us more. 

Job hoppiness doesn't mean people are flaky.

It means the world has fallen apart several times since 2020. 

Give people a shot!

I see it all the time: companies spend time and money on "employer branding." Talking about their amazing culture, people-first values, and supposedly incredible environment.

But then, the hiring process starts. And that’s where the mask slips.

If you’re a leader, at any level, you need to realize that your interview process is your culture. It’s the first real look a candidate gets at how you actually function. You can say have the best culture in the world, but if your process is a series of long gaps, delayed feedback, and "one more round" because no one can pull the trigger, you’ve already told the candidate everything they need to know.

A sluggish TA process is a symptom of indecisive leadership and a fractured culture. It tells a candidate that you’re bogged down in inefficiencies, that your team isn't aligned, and that making a simple decision is a monumental task.

We often tell ourselves that being "slow" means we're being "thorough and deliberate". It’s actually the opposite. Being decisive means you’ve done the work. It means your managers are on the same page and you trust your own judgment.

Good candidates don't drop out because of the salary; they leave because they got tired of waiting for a company that couldn't make up its mind.

Stop telling people about your great culture. Show them you have one by being a company that knows how to make a decision.

Right now, some of our clients are drowning in resumes and missing the top 1% in the noise. Others face a talent drought and are panic-hiring just to fill the seat.

Same market dynamics, opposite hiring breakdowns. One common cause: a talent process that was never built to handle either storm.

I wrote about this at length, the two opposing pressures hitting IT, Engineering/AEC, and GovCon firms, what the data says it's actually costing you, and what it looks like to build a hiring infrastructure that holds its quality bar, whether talent is scarce or abundant.

As you're developing your workforce plans and hiring for Q2/Q3, this one's worth five minutes of your time.

Click below and let me know your thoughts!

#TalentStrategy #GovCon #EngineeringHiring #ThinkEvolutionary #WorkforceDevelopment #TheEvolutionaryWay

In the current market, "finding people" isn't the problem—orchestration is. We are living through a strange paradox in talent acquisition, and nowhere

Open article: Market Volatility Is a Stress Test for Your Talent Infrastructure by James Dyson Jr • 6 min read

Market Volatility Is a Stress Test for Your Talent Infrastructure

50 Years of Experience. Zero Interest in "Traditional" Consulting

When John Redmond and I created the "Evolutionary Workforce Framework", we didn't do it to write 60-page reports that sit on a shelf. We did it because we saw a systemic failure in how high-stakes firms manage their most important asset: People!

We operate under a simple, non-negotiable mandate:

1.  Stabilize Hiring: Move from reactive "panic-buying" to predictive capacity.

2.  Cost Control & Predictability: Turn the variable, high-cost "headhunter fee" into a predictable, high-ROI operational line item.

3.  Modernize Infrastructure: Harmonize your tech stack so your team spends more time on relationships and less on data entry.

4.  Reduce Dependency: Our ultimate goal is to work ourselves out of a job by increasing your internal team's expertise and capacity.

Our work is collaborative and intense. We typically define projects to be delivered in 90-120 days. Because we embed ourselves so deeply into your leadership team, we intentionally limit our engagements to 2-3 active projects per quarter.

As we consider Q2 and Q3 engagements, we are currently talking to select IT, Engineering/AEC, GovCon, and growth-stage organizations where talent strategy is the primary driver of the P&L, not a future agenda item.

Engagements are confirmed on a first-fit basis following a qualification conversation. If your decision timeline is ready to move from "discussion" to "delivery," let’s talk.

Put "WORKFORCE" in the Chat or message us here, Think Evolutionary, LLC to learn more!!

#FractionalLeadership #WorkforceArchitecture #CEOAdvisory #ThinkEvolutionary #ModernWorkforce

I read in a post where Ben Browning said, “Recruitment is the world’s most valuable professional service.”

And I couldn't agree more!!!

Most companies nod at that idea… and then budget for hiring like its printer paper.

We say talent is our competitive advantage.
Then we hand the decision process to whoever has a free calendar, assume AI can replace judgment, and negotiate down the very function that determines who represents our brand to clients.

Here’s the disconnect:

If your business sells expertise, execution, advice, or service…
your product is people.

Yet organizations routinely try to acquire that product at the lowest possible cost and with the least intentional process. Then they’re surprised when performance stalls, managers spend their time fixing mistakes, and growth plateaus.

Recruiting isn’t a resume collection.
It’s risk management.

Great recruiting answers:

-> What capability do we actually need?
-> Who succeeds specifically here, not just anywhere?
-> Why would that person choose us?
-> What future problems does this hire prevent?

AI can accelerate information.
It cannot replace judgment.

When hiring is treated as transactional, companies fill seats.
When it’s treated as strategic, companies build capacity.

The firms that scale the easiest aren’t lucky.
They simply make better decisions earlier in the lifecycle.

You don’t fix business problems later with management effort.
You prevent them upfront with disciplined talent decisions.

That’s why recruitment isn’t an HR activity.

It’s an economic one.

I used to train humans to be better recruiters. Now I train AI to make recruiters unstoppable.

I'm looking for 4 recruiters/owners who hate spending more than 15 minutes a day on linkedin and want to focus on building relationships...

I have built the recruiutment agent hub and will offer you 

2 months. Full membership. Free of charge.

Including the £2k database setup that makes the whole thing actually work.

But first, let me show you why I built this:

Sourcing a job right now:

Job comes in.
Create a Boolean search on LinkedIn. Scroll through results 25 at a time. Click into each profile. Add to project. Add to InMail sequence. Add to CRM. Manually tag them.
Repeat until your eyes bleed or you run out of time. Usually both.

Sourcing a job on the hub:

Upload the job.
Your database gets searched automatically - shortlist lands in front of you.
Switch to LinkedIn. Type what you want in plain English. Check a few results look right. Batch the whole lot - up to 2,000 profiles.

Here's where it gets interesting:

Your assistant already knows your market. So when it assesses each profile against the job, it's also thinking "not right for this role, but definitely in your market."

Those people? Flagged for tomorrow's jobs. Automatically.

Finding prospects at a target company right now:

Type company name into LinkedIn. Click People. Add keywords. Scroll. Click into each profile one by one. Add to outreach. Add to CRM. Enrich manually.
10 profiles takes 15 minutes if you're quick.

Finding prospects on the hub:

Click "find." Select the relevant ones. Enrich. Add to campaign.
Done.
They're in your database, enriched, and ready 4 tomorrows jobs.

What's coming:
Build your own agents using natural language, connect your Gpts, mix BD and resourcing, proactive intent leads + about 100 other features.

One input. Multiple outputs. The way it should work.

The point of all this?

Give you back control over your time.

We all hate how much of our day LinkedIn eats. 
The hub gives you that back so you can focus on what actually makes money: building relationships.

Why am I doing this?

I've already got a group of founding users helping me shape this. 
We meet bi-weekly. We've got a LinkedIn group. 

I want **4** more of the <right people> in that room.

Not passengers. Contributors.

People who'll use it properly and tell me what's shit, what's confusing, and what's missing.

In return? You're first in line for everything I build.

How to enter:

Comment "BUILD" below = 1 entry

Reshare this post + "Build" = your name goes in 3x 

Quick details:

UK, EU, or US-based recruiters only (time zones matter if I'm actually supporting you)

1 user per win

After 2 months? Continue for a fraction of the normal cost - just enough to cover mine. No pressure.

Drawing next wednesday 11th at 12pm GMT. 

x
P.S. I reply personally. No automation. Might take a day or two but I'll get to everyone.

P.P.S if you are in AI automation feel free to comment / reshare but you wont be in the draw 🫣

#recruitment #recruiters #recruitmentdirectors #recruitmentfounders

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