If You Wouldn’t Respond to Your Own Recruiting, Change It

In this episode, I address a growing problem in recruiting—lazy, spam-driven outreach that damages your brand and repels top talent. Too many recruiters and recruiting leaders rely on generic, mass-messaging tactics, thinking they’re taking a shortcut to success. Instead, they’re burning bridges, losing credibility, and making it harder for great leaders to reach the right recruits. If you want to recruit effectively in today’s world, you need a better strategy.

Episode Breakdown

• [00:00] Introduction – The problem with spam recruiting messages and why they don’t work.
• [01:30] The Worst Offenders: Real Examples of Bad Recruiting Messages – Reading actual spam messages recruiters send (without naming names).
• [04:00] How Bad Messaging Hurts Your Brand – Why recruits see these messages as red flags and ignore them.
• [05:30] The Role of Data and Tech in Recruiting – How automation, CRMs, and mass messaging are making recruiters lazy.
• [07:00] The Impact on the Market – How an oversaturated, spam-heavy recruiting environment makes it harder to have real conversations.
• [08:30] Why Good Strategy Always Wins – Using targeted, research-based outreach instead of generic, bulk messaging.
• [10:00] How to Personalize Your Recruiting – The power of specific, affirming messaging that feels personal and relevant.
• [12:00] The Importance of Building Relationships First – Why leading with connection, rather than trying to “close,” leads to long-term success.
• [14:30] Case Study: A Recruiting Leader’s Failed Mass Messaging Campaign – How a leader lost over 50% of their contacts by relying on spam tactics.
• [17:00] The Right Way to Use Tech and Data – How to leverage automation without sacrificing authenticity.
• [19:00] The Complex Sale Approach – Why recruiting is more like selling high-ticket software than selling a simple product.
• [21:30] Final Thoughts – If you wouldn’t recruit yourself with your current strategy, it’s time to change it.

Key Takeaways

1. Spam Recruiting Is Killing Your Brand – Mass, generic messages tell recruits you aren’t a leader worth following.
2. Automation Shouldn’t Replace Strategy – Using data and tech correctly requires intentionality, not shortcuts.
3. Personalization Wins – A well-researched, affirming message will always get better responses than a mass text.
4. Recruiting Is a Complex Sale – Treat it like one by taking time to nurture relationships instead of pushing for immediate results.
5. The Best Leaders Build Trust First – Recruits follow leaders who invest in meaningful connections, not quick sales tactics.

Lazy recruiting isn’t just ineffective—it’s actively hurting your ability to attract top talent. If you want to win in today’s recruiting landscape, you need to slow down, use data strategically, and focus on personalized, relationship-driven outreach. The leaders who do this won’t just succeed—they’ll dominate.

If you’re ready to transform your recruiting approach, subscribe to my weekly email at 4crecruiting.com or schedule a coaching session at bookrichardnow.com. Let’s build a recruiting system that actually works.