EP328: Referrals, Resilience & Market Trends in 2026 - Shannon Rowlands, Qui Recruitment

In this episode of The Recruiter’s Recruitment Podcast, Lysha Holmes sits down once again with Shannon Rowlands, Principal Recruitment Consultant at Qui Recruitment, to explore market trends, as well as what it really takes to build a long-term, successful career in recruitment.

The conversation covers the habits, behaviours and mindset that have helped her thrive through market highs, lows and everything in between.

Topics discussed include:

• How recruiters can build a reputation that drives referrals and repeat business
• What the best recruitment companies are doing to retain top performers
• Why culture, communication and flexibility matter more than ever
• The real impact of AI and automation on recruitment businesses
• How recruiters are using AI to remove admin and focus on relationship-building
• Advice Shannon would give her younger self when starting out in recruitment
• The importance of process, consistency and learning from experienced recruiters
• Managing motivation and resilience during challenging market conditions
• The hottest recruitment sectors in 2026, emerging opportunities, and industries facing headwinds

Whether you're a recruitment leader, experienced recruiter, or just beginning your recruitment journey, this episode offers practical insights, honest reflections, and plenty of encouragement for navigating today's market.

🔗 Connect with the guest

Shannon Rowlands: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-rowlands-663089ba/

🔗 Connect with the host

Lysha Holmes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyshaholmesr2r/

Qui Recruitment: https://www.quirecruitment.co.uk/

Follow the podcast on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts:

https://www.youtube.com/@therecruitersrecruitmentpod

https://the-recruiters-recruitment-podcast.captivate.fm/

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The Recruiter's Recruitment Podcast is proudly sponsored by Paiger, and partnered with Needi, Keybridge IT Solutions, Bristow & Hardy and Diversity in Recruitment.

Our sponsor:

Paiger - Making Recruiters Smarter and Faster. Paiger helps recruiters build personal brands, identify new business opportunities, attract candidates, and have better conversations.

Find out more about Paiger: https://paiger.co/

Our partners:

Needi is a concierge gift-matching service using psychology and AI, to pinpoint the perfect gifts and experiences for your recipient, from the best local independent businesses. Their team of expert gift finders save companies time and money with their complimentary corporate gifting service.

https://needi.co.uk/

Bristow & Hardy partners with SME recruitment agencies to accelerate growth through sales enablement and recruitment marketing. With over 7 years’ experience, we specialise exclusively in the recruitment sector, delivering strategy, branding, websites, marketing campaigns, and sales support. Our proven growth suite of products helps agencies attract more clients, win more business, and scale efficiently.

https://www.bristowandhardy.co.uk/

Diversity in Recruitment helps recruitment businesses understand diversity, equity, and inclusion in a way that makes sense. Our training and advisory work is designed to attract diverse talent, recruit inclusively, improve your candidate journey and confidently partner with their clients. DE&I doesn’t have to be complicated and scary - it’s simply about fair, ethical and high-quality recruitment.

https://diversityinrecruitment.com/

Keybridge IT Solutions is a London-based Fully Managed IT Support and solutions Provider - Providing 24×7 Support to all Customers. Specialities include Microsoft Cloud, including Office 365, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure, Security, Internet Connectivity, VoIP, and much more.

https://www.keybridgeit.com/

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