A solo recruiter's 'slow and hard' approach has earned him 76k on Paraform in a month. Here's how.
Recruiting used to be human.
Recruiting was once all about phone calls. The best in the business could chat for hours, sourcing candidates via word-of-mouth and building their networks one call at a time.
Then came email, job portals, and tracking systems. Each promised help make recruiting faster, more efficient, more scalable. And in many ways, they delivered.
Recruiters like David no longer sift through stacks of paper resumes. Instead, he can reach out to thousands of jobseekers in a few clicks, sourcing and placing candidates much faster. Now we have ATS and AI.
But something got lost along the way.
The human element – the ability to truly understand a candidate's motivations, aspirations, and potential – was being sacrificed in favor of bombarding hiring managers with as many seemingly-qualified candidates as possible, in hopes that one works out.
And it still is, for some.
David tries to deeply understand an applicant and their drivers.
He wants to know why you studied at Berkeley over MIT. Why you're itching to move to Austin instead of San Francisco. Not only why you chose that tiny startup over Google, but also what impact you dream of making.
His goal isn’t to place as many people as possible, but to make placements that would lead to long-term success and satisfaction.
It's not fast. It's not easy. But it works.
The vast majority of the candidates David's submitted on Paraform make it to interviews. And while recruiters no longer need to personally get to know each of their candidates, David believes a high level of engagement helps him find better-fit placements.
Technology shouldn’t just replace — it should enable.
When David first heard about Paraform, he was skeptical.
Another platform promising to revolutionize recruiting? He'd heard that before, and they rarely support his high-touch, relationship-driven approach. He was worried that when too many parts of the recruiting process get automated, some of the fundamentally human aspects are lost.
But Paraform was different. Instead of trying to replace the human element of recruiting, it amplified David’s skills by connecting him to clients he’d be best suited to help.
The platform rewarded precisely the kind of deep candidate relationships and careful consideration that David had always championed. The results? So far, David has placed:
- A full-stack AI engineer at Freed in 23 days
- A SWE at Multiply in 20 days
- Another SWE at Melange in 43 days
“Paraform works not because it automates the entire process, but because it created an environment where the best recruiters can leverage their strong existing networks.”
The future of human-centric recruiting.
David still carefully curates his submissions based on deep understanding. He doesn’t just ask about qualifications; he’s curious about the 'why' behind a candidate’s every career decision. And he doesn’t play the numbers game by mass-submitting applicants who may not be aligned with a role and company.
But he’s learned that “when a role opens up, you better be ready to submit” — hiring managers are looking to fill roles super quickly. He prefers working on roles hiring multiple candidates, and will actively keep an eye out for new postings that could be suitable for his pipeline.
“A lot of recruiting is timing. It’s being in the right place at the right time. I’m learning that I have greater success when I submit right after a role opens up."
Technology won't replace good recruiters. It'll make them better. David proves this. And we agree with him — we believe the human element of recruiting should never be lost.
“The most effective recruiters aren’t the ones who can send the most outreach messages, but those who can forge genuine connections and understand complex goals and motivations to create aligned matches.”
Recruiting is about more than filling roles. Recruiters shape careers, build teams, and can even change the course of companies. And helping the people on either side of the talent search process by looking beyond a resume will always require a human touch.
Ready to start recruiting and earning?
Apply to join Paraform today!