The Resilient Recruiter

Emily Audibert billed $1.29 million in 2025. She did it while eight and a half months pregnant with her third child, living in a 750-square-foot cottage for six months during a home renovation with her husband, two young boys, and a 70-pound dog.
Emily is the founder of EA Associates, a search firm specializing in go-to-market roles. The year before, she'd billed $800K. She knew she was capable of billing seven figures, but a bad RPO client was quietly eating the difference. She came home from a conference determined to make some changes, fired the client, worked with her sister, Amanda, to overhaul her processes and technology, and by spring had landed a major new contract.
In this episode, Emily walks through that whole sequence, along with the early years of her career, including five failed attempts at the same CPA exam before she ever considered recruiting, and the moment she stopped copying her trainer's script and started sounding like herself on the phone. Today, she's off the phone by 4:30 most afternoons to be with her kids, and she explains exactly how her business is built to make that possible.
In this episode, you'll discover:
How to tell a good RPO from one that's quietly draining your business
Why the type of contract you sign never fixes a role that's hard to fill
What changed when Emily brought her sister on as her operations partner
Why she spend nearly her whole day on the phone and almost nothing else
The three things that took her from $80K to $390K in her second year
Why a softer, more personal approach outperformed a memorized script
The daily habits she leans on to stay calm during a demanding week
How half her breakthrough year came from work she was already doing
Episode highlights:
02:26 Life with three kids under five
08:13 How 2025 became her breakthrough year
09:01 The RPO client she fired
14:41 Failing the CPA exam five times before finding recruitment
21:54 From $80K to $390K in year two
26:46 Finding her own voice on the phone
46:04 Why hiring her sister as integrator changed everything
52:43 A great RPO versus one you should fire
Podcast Partner: This episode is brought to you by Recruiterflow, the AI-first ATS and CRM built for recruitment agencies and search firms. recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow
Free Resources:
7-Figure Freedom Scorecard: https://mark-rf1pexbm.scoreapp.com/
Book a Strategy Session: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/
About Emily: Emily Audibert is the founder of EA Associates, a search firm specializing in go-to-market roles across marketing and sales. She began her career at Hobson Associates, trained under Danny Cahill, and has spent nearly 10 years in recruiting. She was inducted into the Pinnacle Society in 2025. That same year, she billed $1.29 million, up from $800K the year before.
Connect with Emily:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyaudibert/
https://ea.associates/
Connect with Mark:
Free 30-minute strategy call: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mwhitby
Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach
Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter so you never miss an episode.

How many search assignments have you turned down because they were outside your niche, outside your geography, or you simply didn't have the capacity?
In this special sponsored panel episode, Mark Whitby is joined by Heather Gardner, Jeff McGraw, and Jen Anderson from NPA Worldwide to discuss how split-fee partnerships help independent recruiters make more placements without taking on more clients.
Heather made six split placements in her first year with NPA Worldwide. Jen has completed more than 55 split placements over the past decade. Jeff has been making split placements since 1994. Together, they explain how split fees work, how to build trusted recruiting partnerships, and how collaboration has helped them fill searches they would otherwise have declined.
What You'll Learn:
How a standard 50/50 split fee works, including the fee paid back to the network
What questions to ask before agreeing to work on someone else's job order
How Jeff brought a partner onto an intake call and filled an optics engineer role he couldn't have qualified alone
How Jen builds trust with a new partner by copying them on every email with the client and candidate
How Heather turned six split placements into a steady first year with NPA Worldwide
What separates a partner worth working with from one worth turning down
Timestamps:
00:00 Why recruiters turn away good search assignments
07:45 How split fee partnerships work
10:43 Heather's first year: six split placements
22:16 Jeff's optics engineer success story
26:10 How to qualify a split opportunity
28:57 The university client Jen won with a partner's help
37:39 Why collaboration beats competition
45:57 What makes a great split recruiting partner
Guest Panel
Heather Gardner is the owner of High Sierra Talent in California and made six split placements during her first year with NPA Worldwide.
Jeff McGraw is with William Charles Search Group in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has been making split placements through NPA Worldwide since 1994.
Jen Anderson is the owner of Prestige Recruiting Firm in Clearwater, Florida. She has been an NPA Worldwide member for 10 years, has completed more than 55 split placements, and currently serves on the NPA Worldwide Americas Board.
If you've ever turned down work because it sat outside your specialty, this conversation will change how you think about the next one.
This episode is sponsored by NPA Worldwide, a global, member-owned network of independent recruiters built around split fee placements.
Learn more about NPA Worldwide: https://npaworldwide.com
Mark Whitby: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markwhitby/
The Resilient Recruiter: https://www.recruitmentcoach.com/podcast/

Michael Chambers didn't come into recruitment through the usual route.
Before becoming a recruiter, he spent eight years running a bakery with his mother in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then his father passed away from cancer, leaving behind a recruiting business that had barely gotten started. Michael decided to take it over despite having no recruiting experience.
A few years later, after navigating Covid, relocating across the country, and completely changing niches, Michael relaunched his business in manufacturing and battery recruitment across the Southeast United States.
By month two, he was billing $100,000 a month as a solo recruiter.
His business development strategy is unlike anything we've featured on the podcast before.
Michael combines the Dream 100 methodology with personalized market intelligence reports, handwritten notes, LinkedIn videos, voice messages, phone calls, and in-person visits. In one campaign discussed on the show, 25 personalized mailers generated 15 responses and 10 booked conversations.
He even shows up at target companies with cakes featuring their logo printed in icing.
In this conversation, Michael breaks down exactly how the system works, why he went all-retained after Covid, how he built a niche in the Southeast Battery Belt, and why giving away value before asking for anything has become the foundation of his business.
What You'll Learn
• How Michael went from bakery owner to a six-figure monthly recruiting desk
• Why he switched to a retained-only business model
• The complete Dream 100 campaign and follow-up sequence
• How personalized market intelligence reports open doors with target clients
• Why physical mail still works in a digital world
• How AI helps him create highly customized reports efficiently
• The thinking behind his two-year replacement guarantee
• How he became known as a specialist in battery manufacturing recruitment
Timestamps
[1:24] Michael's unusual route into recruitment
[8:23] Taking over his father's recruiting business
[15:21] Starting in 2019 and navigating Covid
[17:47] Going all-retained and becoming more selective
[21:51] Sending market intelligence before pitching anything
[28:14] Relocating and relaunching in the Battery Belt
[29:38] Billing $100K/month from month two as a solo recruiter
[39:28] Why physical mailers outperform digital outreach
[47:22] Dream 100 campaign breakdown: 25 mailers, 15 responses, 10 conversations
[53:09] Showing up unannounced with a logo-printed cake
[58:59] Inside a 30-page market intelligence report
[1:00:38] The two-year replacement guarantee
About Michael Chambers
Michael Chambers is the founder of The Chambers Group, a retained search firm focused on manufacturing, operations, aerospace, and semiconductor recruitment across the Southeast United States. He entered recruitment in 2019 after taking over the business his father had started before his passing. Today, he specializes in helping manufacturing organizations hire critical leadership and operational talent across the Southeast Battery Belt.
Connect with Mark Whitby
Free Strategy Session:
recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session
7-Figure Freedom Scorecard:
recruitmentcoach.com/scorecard
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in/mwhitby
Instagram:
@RecruitmentCoach

David Jenyns had 15 people on his team when he realized his business still couldn't function without him. Every client wanted him personally. Every escalation came back to him. He was working long hours and couldn't switch off. When he thought about taking time off to be present for the birth of his first child, it filled him with anxiety rather than excitement.

"It was a little bit scary when I realized, hey, if I'm not working, the business isn't working."

David is the founder of SYSTEMology, a three-times bestselling author of Authority Content, SYSTEMology, and Systems Champion, and a TEDx speaker. He has built and exited multiple businesses and, in 2016, systemized himself out of Melbourne SEO Services by documenting the business, hiring a CEO, and stepping away from day-to-day operations. He has since personally coached 223 businesses across 48 industries and 27 countries.

In this conversation, David and Mark explore why founder dependency is so common in recruitment businesses, why it often gets rewarded in the early stages, and how agency owners can break the cycle. David explains the Critical Client Flow, the knowledgeable worker concept, the Systems Champion role, and why documented processes have become even more valuable in the age of AI.

In this episode:

Why the traits that help build a recruitment business can eventually limit its growth

The Critical Client Flow and how to identify the systems that matter most

How to distinguish between the work that requires your expertise and the work that doesn't

Why key person dependency creates risk beyond just the founder

How to capture the knowledge inside your team's heads before it walks out the door

The Systems Champion role and how it drives systemization from within

How AI can turn recordings into first-draft process documentation

Why businesses with documented processes are getting the most out of AI right now

What happened when ChatGPT disrupted a quarter of David's business almost overnight

Episode Highlights

[2:08] Why David's agency became dependent on him despite having 15 team members
[4:15] The catalyst: finding out his wife was pregnant
[9:03] Why founder dependency gets rewarded in the early stages
[13:16] Systemize everything around the magic
[19:58] The Critical Client Flow: where to start
[25:32] The knowledgeable worker concept
[27:41] The Systems Champion role
[38:40] Building a Systems Hub for your intellectual property
[47:03] How ChatGPT disrupted David's business overnight
[49:06] Why process documentation is now the foundation for AI adoption

About David Jenyns

David Jenyns is the founder of SYSTEMology and a three-times bestselling author. His books, Authority Content, SYSTEMology, and Systems Champion, have been endorsed by Michael Gerber, Gino Wickman, and Allan Dib. A TEDx speaker and serial entrepreneur, he has personally coached 223 businesses across 48 industries and 27 countries. He also hosts the podcast Business Processes Simplified and runs systemHUB, a platform for business process documentation.

Connect with David:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/david-jenyns
SYSTEMology: systemology.com
systemHUB: systemhub.com

Podcast Partner

Recruiterflow is an AI-first ATS and CRM built for modern recruitment agencies.
Book a demo: recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow

Free Resources

Seven Figure Freedom Scorecard: recruitmentcoach.com/scorecard
Free Strategy Session: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session

Connect with Mark

Free 30-minute strategy call: www.recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mwhitby
Twitter: @MarkWhitby
Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter: https://plinkhq.com/i/1489513354

Dubai attracts recruiters from all over the world. Louise Vine has spent the last 18 years learning how the market really works.

Louise is the founder of Inspire Selection, a specialist finance and accounting recruitment firm based in Dubai. Over the last 13 years, she has built a fully remote business operating on a commission-only model while navigating a market where fee pressure is intense, cultural differences shape every interaction, and jobs can disappear without warning.

Last year, 70% of Louise's assignments were either canceled or put on hold.

Louise covers the challenges that catch Western recruiters off guard, why agencies charging 8% fees have changed client expectations, and how she introduced engagement fees to protect her team's time. She also explains how her commission-only model works, why only a small percentage of recruiters are suited to it, and what she has learned about hiring, accountability, and building culture in a fully remote business.

If you're considering Dubai, exploring commission-only recruitment, or looking for a different way to build a recruitment business, this episode is worth your time.

In this episode:

How Louise went from Robert Half in the UK to building a recruitment business in Dubai

What recruiters need to understand about the realities of the UAE market

Why nationality-based salary bands still exist in some organizations

How fee pressure impacts recruitment firms across Dubai

Why 70% of Louise's jobs went on hold or were canceled last year

The engagement fee strategy that changed client behavior

The pros and cons of a commission-only recruitment business

How to manage performance without micromanaging

Building culture and accountability in a remote team

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Intro

02:17 Growing up in Yorkshire and how it shaped Louise's resilience

15:51 The Facebook photos that convinced Louise to move to Dubai

17:25 Becoming top biller in her first quarter in Dubai

22:37 Nationality-based salary bands and what they mean for recruiters

27:06 Why 70% of jobs went on hold and how the engagement fee changed things

37:43 The commission-only model: 60-80% payouts, fully remote, no base salary

44:07 The hidden cost of commission-only, most owners don't see coming

46:18 How Louise manages performance without micromanaging 56:30 Why finding the right person for a commission-only model is harder than it sounds

1:03:07 How Louise builds team culture with everyone working from home

About Louise Vine Louise Vine is the founder of Inspire Selection, a specialist finance and accounting recruitment agency based in Dubai. She moved to Dubai from England 18 years ago and launched Inspire Selection 13 years ago. Today she leads a team of nine billers and three support staff, all working remotely on a commission-only model.

Connect with Louise: Louise on LinkedIn, inspireselection.com

Podcast Partners Recruiterflow is an AI-first ATS and CRM built for modern recruitment firms. Find email addresses and phone numbers directly from LinkedIn profiles and manage your entire recruitment workflow in one platform. Book a demo: recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow

Free Resources:

Take the Recruitment Freedom Scorecard: recruitmentcoach.com/scorecard

Book a free Strategy Session with Mark: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session

Connect with Mark Whitby LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mwhitby Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach

Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter for weekly interviews with recruitment business owners and search firm leaders.