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

What does it actually mean to play the long game in recruitment?

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.

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.

Topics Discussed:

✅ Why recruiters need to stop thinking short-term

✅ Building authentic relationships that compound over time

✅ Why networking should never feel transactional

✅ The power of personal branding and creating content

✅ Growing a recruitment tech startup from scratch

✅ The lessons learned from living in a shed to build a business

✅ Why resilience matters more than overnight success

✅ Using AI to enhance recruiters, not replace them

✅ How to build trust that leads to long-term business

✅ Why playing the long game always wins in recruitment and business

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction & welcome

01:58 – Meet Luke Pitkin & his entrepreneurial journey

09:30 – Why relationships beat transactional networking

13:20 – The best sales strategy is simply being yourself

15:25 – Authentic content vs "Corporate You"

17:40 – Building trust through testimonials and customer stories

19:00 – AI, automation & the future of recruitment technology

22:00 – Why every recruiter should be creating content

26:30 – Playing the long game in business and personal branding

33:00 – Building Gig Hire from the ground up

41:20 – Living in a shed to build the business

43:30 – Getting ripped off on the company's first deal

49:00 – Startup resilience, setbacks & surviving the early years

56:50 – Why spreadsheets hold recruiters back

58:20 – How Gig Hire is simplifying recruitment CRM

01:01:10 – How recruiters can get 1% better

01:02:10 – Closing thoughts

🐋 Podcast Sponsor – SourceWhale 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.

👉 Book a demo here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sourcewhale.com/book-demo/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=&utm_term=charles_kyriakou&utm_content=book_a_demo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mention The 1 Percent Better Recruitment Podcast or my name, Charles Kyriakou, when you book.

Connect with Luke:

💻 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-pitkin-79060094/

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC4E35iAr1JNyVhMtIXSNUBA

🖥️ Free Recruitment CRM: giighire.co/Free-Recruitment-Software-YTO

Connect with Me:

💻 LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskyriakou1/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

📲 TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@charles.kyriakou⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🌐 Coaching Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.inf1nitelearning.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🎙️ Podcast Website: ⁠https://www.the1percentbetterecruitmentpodcast.com⁠/

🤖 MILO: ⁠⁠⁠https://ask-milo.com/⁠