Michael Johns | A Decade at Michael Page, Four Years Solo: What Actually Wins the Work | COAR S3E15

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Send us Fan MailThe scariest career question isn’t “Can I do the job?” It’s “Am I only good because of where I’m doing it?” Michael Johns, director and co-founder of Gybe Consulting, puts words to that quiet fear with a simple image: the fishbowl versus the ocean. If you’ve ever wondered whether your results come from the brand on your email signature or the relationships you’ve built yourself, this conversation will hit home. We trace Michael’s path from running a sailing school at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron to 12 years inside a global recruitment firm, then out the door to start a boutique recruitment agency in Brisbane. Along the way we talk resilience when deals fall over, why the early “grind” matters, and what changes when you move from KPI-driven weeks to measuring success by depth of connection with candidates and clients. We also get practical about the realities of agency ownership: self-management, prioritising time, vendors and back office learning curves, and why a tight niche can beat chasing scale. Michael shares how Gybe competes through retained and exclusive recruitment, how they use reviews to improve service, and why candidate care still wins in a crowded market. We also dig into their AI and marketing survey and how thought leadership can build credibility without feeling like a gimmick. If you’re building a career in recruitment, marketing recruitment, digital recruitment, or thinking about launching your own agency, listen through to the final takeaway: people use you for you. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share it with a mate who’s sitting on the fence, and leave a review with the one insight you’re taking into your next week.Support the show· Our Website is: xrecruiter.io

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Send us Fan MailRecruitment has never had more technology, yet most desks still rise or fall on the same old inputs: quality conversations, sharp judgement, and the discipline to do the work that actually drives fees. We are joined by Ross Clennent, a recruiter since 1989, coach to agency owners, and the voice behind Recruitment News Australia, to unpack what’s changed and what stubbornly hasn’t from the landline era to today’s AI rush.Ross takes us back to London in 1989 where a “candidate database” meant a manila folder of CVs and the KPI was simple: book interviews and make placements. From there we get into the modern productivity paradox, how internal HR slowed hiring cycles, and why the core still comes down to talking to clients and candidates. We also dive into the hardest promotion in agency life: moving from biller to leader. Ross shares a clear framework for managing performance without drama by setting expectations across results, activities and behaviour, then using objective reporting to run accountability chats as an inquiry, not a confrontation.On AI in recruitment, Ross is optimistic but blunt: the bar is rising, average recruiters will feel it first, and the winners will use automation to protect more time for the human “grey area” work AI can’t do well yet, influencing, negotiating, and helping both sides flex to meet in the middle. We also tackle specialisation versus generalist desks, the looming rookie training gap, and why playing the long game is still the best career insurance.If you found this useful, subscribe, share it with a recruiter or agency owner who needs a reset, and leave a review so more people can find the show.Support the show· Our Website is: xrecruiter.io

Send us Fan MailWe sit down with Christy Moses CEO of Miller Leith, to trace the moments that shaped her leadership style, from early sales training at Enterprise Rent-A-Car to building a long recruitment career across a global agency, a fast-growth startup, and an established boutique. We get practical about what makes recruiters successful over the long haul: choosing a market you genuinely care about, building a name people trust, and learning when to push for new opportunities that don’t fit the usual “consultant to manager” ladder. Christy breaks down key account management in recruitment, including how PSAs, tenders, proposals, and capability statements can either win work or lose it, and why the best agencies sell what the client needs rather than everything they can do. We also tackle the uncomfortable stats around women in leadership and why the pipeline drops off as seniority rises. Christy shares what helped shift retention through the critical years, from flexible working to more supportive policies and leadership behaviours that make careers sustainable. To close, she gives her clearest advice for recruiters navigating AI and new tools: reduce admin, pick up the phone, get out from behind the screen, and prioritise Face time because relationships still drive decisions. If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with a recruiter or agency leader you respect, and leave a review so more people can find the show.Support the show· Our Website is: xrecruiter.io

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Send us Fan MailHe got fired from a construction job, drove around for hours before he could face going home, and then made a decision: if recruiters won't return calls, he'll build the kind of agency that does.Luke Cotterell is the Director of Primebuild Recruitment, and his story is a straight-shooting look at what it really takes to go from zero recruitment experience to consistent results in construction.We cover the scrappy start: setting up an agency for under $1,000, learning contracts and terms of business the hard way, and generating early cash flow through people he already knew. Then we get into the tactics that separate busy from effective, including why relying on the same Seek applicants can flatten your judgement, how reverse marketing works when you lead with a candidate not a pitch, and the mindset shift of always asking: what are other recruiters not doing?Luke's standout move is simple and bold. He walks onto residential job sites to meet site managers where they actually are. These are candidates who aren't polishing LinkedIn profiles, don't always have a CV ready, and still get hired fast when the right builder is paying market rates. We dig into how he builds rapport, keeps a bench of ready-to-move talent, and turns that into roughly a placement a week, plus the reality checks around tax, BAS, and respecting money once the numbers grow.If you're a recruiter thinking about going solo, or just curious how modern staffing businesses win in Australia, you'll get practical takeaways you can use this week.Support the show· Our Website is: xrecruiter.io

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Send us Fan MailYou can change agencies, cities, even countries, but there's one thing you carry into every client meeting and every candidate call: your reputation.Simon Marks spent sixteen years at Michael Page, Future You, Sharp & Carter, and Troocoo, finishing as General Manager before relocating to the United States. In this episode, Ed sits down with Simon to unpack how a recruitment career really grows when the market is messy, the desk is new, and the title does not automatically match the responsibility.They cover the big moves recruiters hesitate to make, what separates billers who are ready to lead from those who aren't, how Simon justified newly created roles at every level, and why reputation is the only credential that compounds across firms, cities, and countries.Subscribe, share with a mate in the industry, and leave a review with the one idea you're taking into your next week on the desk.Support the show· Our Website is: xrecruiter.io