How Recruiters Stand Out In Saturated Markets | Adam Wagster (EP 90)

What does it take to build a recruitment business that survives 20 years, thrives in a saturated UK market, and still wins through relationships in an AI-driven world?

In this episode, I’m joined by Adam Wagster, CEO of Uniting Ambition, a technology recruitment business approaching its 20th anniversary. Adam has spent over two decades in recruitment, scaling teams, navigating private equity backing, surviving market downturns, and building long-term client relationships in one of the most competitive sectors in the UK.

Topics Discussed:

✅ Building a recruitment business that lasts 20+ years
✅ Why Adam doubled down on the UK market when others left
✅ Standing out in saturated recruitment markets
✅ Why relationships still outperform transactional recruitment
✅ The importance of customer experience & service in recruitment
✅ Narrow niche vs broad market, finding the right balance
✅ How to define your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) properly
✅ Why most recruiters are too broad in their approach
✅ Building long-term client partnerships that survive market cycles
✅ The rise of AI, automation & how recruiters should adapt
✅ Recruitment growth, scaling & private equity backing
✅ Why recruiters should think like advisors, not suppliers
✅ The reality of recruitment through COVID, boom years & downturns
✅ Candidate experience, interview prep & improving conversions
✅ Learning & development, why experienced recruiters still need coaching
✅ Marginal gains & improving performance in recruitment teams
✅ How recruiters get 1% better through consistency & continuous improvement

⏱ Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro & welcome
00:46 – Meet Adam Wagster & intro to Uniting Ambition
01:17 – Adam’s recruitment journey & 20 years of business
03:33 – Building long-term teams through market ups & downs
04:33 – Why Adam doubled down on the UK market
06:49 – Is the UK recruitment market still worth it?
09:12 – Why recruiters leaving the UK creates opportunity
11:16 – Service, reputation & customer experience in recruitment
12:01 – Transactional recruiters vs relationship-led recruiters
14:28 – Why relationships still win in recruitment
18:24 – Defining your ICP properly
20:21 – Narrow niche vs broad market focus
22:34 – Why most recruiters are too broad
24:35 – Go-to-market strategy & target lists
27:16 – Going too niche & scaling challenges
28:41 – Breaking into enterprise clients
29:30 – International expansion vs dominating locally
31:50 – Why Adam believes the UK market will recover
54:30 – Candidate prep, interview coaching & improving placements
01:06:03 – Why recruiters need more training & coaching
01:07:04 – Marginal gains, L&D & recruiter performance
01:08:28 – Final thoughts & outro

🐋 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:
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Mention The 1 Percent Better Recruitment Podcast or my name, Charles Kyriakou, when you book.

Connect with Adam:
💻 LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwagster/⁠

Connect with Me:
💻 LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskyriakou1/⁠
📲 TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@charles.kyriakou⁠
🍏 Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1-better-recruitment-podcast/id1775201502⁠
📺 YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@1PercentBetterRecPod⁠
🌐 Website: ⁠https://www.inf1nitelearning.com/⁠