Ben Farber’s biggest recruiting win wasn’t just filling a role.

It was turning one search into two hires.

And not once.

Three separate times in a single year.

In this episode of Recruiter Wins, I sat down with Ben Farber, President of Bristol Associates, to talk about what actually makes clients expand a search, create new roles and trust you with bigger hiring decisions.

What stood out most?

Ben doesn’t believe great recruiting is just about finding people with the right experience.

He believes the real signal is how candidates show up.

How they communicate.
How they handle pressure.
How they come across in emails, screening calls and interviews.

Because in his words, retention often comes down to likability and ease of working with someone more than what’s written on their résumé.

A few strong takeaways from this conversation:

• Great candidate quality can completely reshape a client’s hiring plan
• Retained search creates stronger commitment from both clients and candidates
• The best recruiters listen for more than credentials. They assess presence, communication and temperament
• AI can speed things up but human judgment still has to lead the process

This is a great listen for recruiters who want to build deeper client trust, improve candidate quality and think more carefully about what actually predicts long-term success after the placement.

If you’ve ever wondered what separates recruiters who fill jobs from recruiters who truly influence hiring decisions, this episode is worth your time.

A job seeker walked into a staffing agency looking for temp work.

No HR experience. No degree. No obvious reason for a recruiter to go the extra mile.

But Stephanie Mattice saw something most people would have missed.

A firm handshake, eye contact and a follow up message that same day are the kind of soft skills you can't teach.

So instead of filing her away, Stephanie did something different.

She sat down with this candidate, reworked her resume from scratch, translated her admin and customer service experience into HR language and then sent it to clients who weren't even hiring yet.

That move landed her an interview. She crushed it and got the job.

Fast forward a couple of years and that same woman is now an HR generalist, lighting up LinkedIn and about to become a mom.

One more thing?

She works at a food and beverage company. Stephanie now recruits in food and beverage. The candidate is becoming the client and everything has come full circle.

This week on Recruiter Wins, Stephanie Mattice from Kinza Group breaks down the whole story and drops real, tactical insight along the way.

The line that stuck with me most?

"People are going to remember how you made them feel. And if you're in it long enough, that's going to come back to you."

If you've ever wondered whether going the extra mile for a candidate is really worth it, this episode is your answer.

Zero industry experience. No relevant title. Not even close to what the client asked for.

Most recruiters would've moved on to the next candidate without a second thought but Sam Hodz didn't.

I sat down with Sam on this week's episode of Recruiter Wins and this story is a masterclass in what separates order takers from true recruiting partners.

Here's what happened: A business owner came to Sam looking for a technician. But instead of just taking the order and running, Sam dug deeper and realized what this client actually needed was an operations manager who could free them up to scale.

Then came a resume that checked almost none of the traditional boxes.

But Sam has a simple rule that told her to proceed:

"If there's a 75% match, if there's something at least 75% there, it's worth hearing the story to get the other 25%."

So Sam picked up the phone to explain why she was sending the resume before the client ever saw it.

That first meeting turned into a three hour lunch and today, they're building and growing the business together.

A few things from this conversation worth mentioning:

• The best recruiters consult. Sam's intake call completely reshaped what the client was hiring for.
• Trust is built before you ever need it. Because Sam invested time upfront understanding the company’s culture, personality and business goals, the client was willing to take a chance on an unconventional candidate.
• Never just send over a resume. Sam's approach of calling first and framing the "why" turned what could've been an instant rejection into a perfect match.

If you've ever wondered what it looks like to truly advocate for a candidate or if you want a reminder of why recruiting matters, this one's for you.