The Best Recruiters Play The Long Game | Luke Pitkin (EP 98)

<p><em><strong>What does it actually mean to play the long game in recruitment?</strong></em></p><p><br></p><p>Luke shares the reality of building a recruitment technology business from the ground up, from living in a shed to fund the business, overcoming failed partnerships, and learning why playing the long game always wins. </p><p>We also explore why authentic relationships outperform transactional networking, how personal branding creates opportunities, and why AI should enhance human connection rather than replace it.</p><p><strong>Topics Discussed:</strong></p><p>✅ Why recruiters need to stop thinking short-term</p><p>✅ Building authentic relationships that compound over time</p><p>✅ Why networking should never feel transactional</p><p>✅ The power of personal branding and creating content</p><p>✅ Growing a recruitment tech startup from scratch</p><p>✅ The lessons learned from living in a shed to build a business</p><p>✅ Why resilience matters more than overnight success</p><p>✅ Using AI to enhance recruiters, not replace them</p><p>✅ How to build trust that leads to long-term business</p><p>✅ Why playing the long game always wins in recruitment and business</p><p><br></p><p>⏱️ <strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p>00:00 – Introduction &amp; welcome</p><p>01:58 – Meet Luke Pitkin &amp; his entrepreneurial journey</p><p>09:30 – Why relationships beat transactional networking</p><p>13:20 – The best sales strategy is simply being yourself</p><p>15:25 – Authentic content vs &quot;Corporate You&quot;</p><p>17:40 – Building trust through testimonials and customer stories</p><p>19:00 – AI, automation &amp; the future of recruitment technology</p><p>22:00 – Why every recruiter should be creating content</p><p>26:30 – Playing the long game in business and personal branding</p><p>33:00 – Building Gig Hire from the ground up</p><p>41:20 – Living in a shed to build the business</p><p>43:30 – Getting ripped off on the company&#39;s first deal</p><p>49:00 – Startup resilience, setbacks &amp; surviving the early years</p><p>56:50 – Why spreadsheets hold recruiters back</p><p>58:20 – How Gig Hire is simplifying recruitment CRM</p><p>01:01:10 – How recruiters can get 1% better</p><p>01:02:10 – Closing thoughts</p><p><br></p><p>🐋 <strong>Podcast Sponsor – SourceWhale </strong>This episode is sponsored by SourceWhale, the multi-channel outreach platform I personally use and recommend to recruiters and founders.SourceWhale helps you combine email, LinkedIn, calls, and tasks into one structured, consistent BD workflow, without relying on spray-and-pray automation.</p><p>👉 <strong>Book a demo here</strong>: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sourcewhale.com/book-demo/?utm_source=partner&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=&amp;utm_term=charles_kyriakou&amp;utm_content=book_a_demo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mention The 1 Percent Better Recruitment Podcast or my name, Charles Kyriakou, when you book.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Connect with Luke:</strong></p><p>💻 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-pitkin-79060094/</p><p>📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC4E35iAr1JNyVhMtIXSNUBA </p><p>🖥️ Free Recruitment CRM: giighire.co/Free-Recruitment-Software-YTO</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Connect with Me:</strong></p><p>💻 LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskyriakou1/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</p><p>📲 TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@charles.kyriakou⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</p><p>🌐 Coaching Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.inf1nitelearning.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</p><p>🎙️ Podcast Website: ⁠https://www.the1percentbetterecruitmentpodcast.com⁠/</p><p>🤖 MILO: ⁠⁠⁠https://ask-milo.com/⁠</p>