Artemis

Founder & CEO | Contingent Headhunting | Executive Search | Permanent Placement | Certified DVBE

Miracles for Kids

Board Member

University of California, San Diego - Rady School of Management

Guest Lecturer for Rady School of Management - focused on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Guest Lecturer

Epic Charter Schools - California

Alder

Gen Next is an invitation-only organization of successful individuals dedicated to learning about and becoming engaged with the most pressing challenges facing future generations — including global security, education reform, and economic opportunity. The collective influence of its national network of civic-minded leaders empowers bold and innovative solutions to these challenges.

Regional Board Member

Unified Technical, Inc.

Sales Manager

Chris Relth is a seasoned professional with 19 years of experience in the talent industry, recognized as a thought leader and an agent of change. He is the Founder and CEO of Artemis, a specialized staffing and executive search organization, where he brings a tenacious approach to concierge-style permanent search and staffing services. Additionally, Chris is a Managing Partner for Artemis United, a DVBE-certified joint venture that works with the state, fed, and clients to help meet their vendor diversity needs. Artemis United only hires military veterans internally to help with their transition to the civilian workforce.

Chris' leadership philosophy is rooted in the belief that fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment is critical to the success of his team, and ultimately leads to successful outcomes for his clients. His company is dedicated to the satisfaction of its team members and is committed to contributing to positive, long-lasting impact through the promotion of happier, healthier workforces.

A Bay Area native, Chris holds a degree from Chico State University and has been a resident of Orange County for over a decade, where he currently resides in Ladera Ranch, CA. In his free time, Chris channels his energy into philanthropic pursuits as a partner of Miracles for Kids and sits on various boards. He is also a youth football and baseball coach and is heavily involved in fitness.

Chris Relth

Recruiters and headhunters are not the same. 
It’s important you understand the difference. 
Recruiters fill openings… 




They chase active candidates.
The ones replying to LinkedIn messages, scrolling job boards, and sending out CVs.
It’s a volume game.

Fast, transactional, and surface-level.

Headhunters build pipelines.

We chase the best people who don’t show up on the market. 
The ones too busy succeeding to be looking.
The top 10% performers who take ten phone calls before they’ll even have a conversation.

It’s slower. Harder.
But it’s the difference between hiring the best talent IN versus ON the market.

Why does this matter for your business?

Lower attrition rates.

When someone leaves a job they're happy and successful in to join a direct competitor, 
They're far more likely to stay long-term.

Better cultural fit.

These candidates aren't desperately job hunting. They are selective about where they land, which means they choose companies that align with their values.

Higher performance.

The best salespeople, engineers, and leaders are already proving it somewhere else. That’s who you want walking into your Monday meeting.

The recruiting industry has earned its bad reputation for all the right reasons.

But when you work with someone who actually understands headhunting,
Someone who gets you the otherwise unattainable candidates, from direct competitors
Your experience will be completely different.
Delivering candidates who didn’t even know they were open to moving is what a headhunter will do.

That’s when your hiring process transforms… 

From hoping to fill a role with someone decent, 
To choosing between multiple A-players.

The kind that changes what’s possible for your company.

Client: “Chris, we need someone in 2 weeks” 
Me: “No, that won’t work” 
Client: “Why the hell not?” 

Every new client tells me the same thing: 

"We need someone fast."

Then six months later, they're back on the market. 

Because "fast" gave them the wrong person.

Here's what actually happens when you optimize for speed:

You get 10 candidates who barely match the brief. 
You interview 3 out of desperation. 
You hire 1 because the recruiter's pushing hard and you're out of options. 
Then the candidate leaves in 4 months because it was never the right fit.

The recruiter got paid. You got a gap to fill all over again.

I had a client come to me after exactly this situation. 

They'd worked with three different firms in 18 months. 

All promised speed. None delivered someone who lasted.

When we started working together, I told them upfront: 

"This will take longer than you want. 
But you'll get at least 5 candidates in 5 business days, will want to interview them all, and one of them will actually stay."

They pushed back. "We need someone in two weeks."

I said no and advised them on the process they should follow to secure a long-term fit

Two months later, they hired someone who's still there two years on. 
Because we took time to understand what they actually needed, not just what the job spec said.

Here's what I've learned: clients don't actually want fast. They want certainty. They want to know the person they hire won't be a mistake they're fixing six months from now.

Speed feels like certainty. But it's not when quality is sacrificed

Real certainty takes time. 

It means understanding how someone will fit your team, not just their CV. 

It means saying no to candidates who look good on paper but won't last.

Most recruitment firms won't tell you this because it's not what you want to hear

But it's what you need to hear if you're tired of rehiring the same role every year.

Lately, every CRO I speak to says the same thing:
“We’ve been burned by recruiters before.”
And they’re right to feel that way.



Too many firms promise quality candidates and instead deliver whoever replied to a LinkedIn message.

One CRO I spoke with put it to me this way:

“Chris, I don’t need more resumes. I need the right people. 
And I need to know where they’re coming from.”

I thought about it for a while after.

Because it’s exactly what separates true search partners from order-takers.

Here’s what the best CROs ask before they sign with a firm:

→ Where will these candidates come from (active job seekers or truly passive talent)?
→ How do you qualify them on compensation expectations and quota attainment?
→ What’s your interview-to-submittal ratio for similar searches?
→ Can you walk me through your last 3 placements in this space?

If a firm CAN’T answer those questions with data and specifics, you won’t be working with a search partner.

They’re a service vendor.
And you’ll feel the difference fast.

Here’s something else to keep in mind…

Most firms send one or two resumes and hope something sticks.

A true headhunter delivers 4-5 fully qualified candidates, 
And you’ll want to interview every one of them.

Because beyond matching keywords on a CV.
They’re actually assessing fit, culture, and long-term impact.

And that’s where real headhunting earns its name.

Fast hires fill seats.
Right hires build companies.

My best clients are always hiring.
Even when there’s no open role.
Especially in aerospace & defense, things change fast:


A key engineer gets poached
A program manager moves on
A lead relocates overnight

And suddenly it’s: “We needed someone yesterday.”

If you only start hiring when there’s a gap,
You’re already 6 months behind.

The strongest teams don’t wait for vacancies.
They build relationships before they need them.

So when change hits (and it always does)…
They don’t go to the market.

They make one call.

And surprise, surprise…

They’ve already got top talent ready to say yes.

TakeTwoBrothers

This guy started recruitment at 35. 
Did ONLY $65K and got fired on the spot. 
Now he's a Million Dollar Biller.



If you want to hear a good comeback story, keep reading.

Brendan, didn't get into recruitment until the ripe age of 35.

He joined an agency and made $65K in his first 6 months.

The company fired him on the spot.

With a family to feed and something to prove…

He reached out to another company and gave the best sales pitch of his life:

"You don't have to pay me. I'll work commission only. I can do this."

In his first 12 months at this new company?
$650,000.

Fast forward to today:

No. 3 in lifetime billing at Jobot
6 years in a row CEO Club (2020, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
Qualified for every quarterly event ($125K+) - 22 quarters straight
Billed $1 Million for 5 years in a row

But here's the thing…

Brendan's become a master at landing HUGE enterprise accounts.

In this episode, we dive into:

→ Brendan's incredible backstory 
→ His exact step-by-step process for winning whale clients 
→ Why everyone told him to avoid enterprise (and why he ignored them)

I know I always say this…
But you don't want to miss this one.
Podcast in comments 👇

Ben Miller ▶︎

We Interview the top 1% of recruiters and share their PROVEN strategies to Win More Placements. 100+ episodes with top billers: from $500k to $2.5 Million producers.

The best recruitment comeback stories I've ever heard:



$500 to his name and a baby on the way. 
Twelve months later: $800K billed.

Homeless for ten years. Living rough. 
Scraped together enough to buy a recruitment business at 43.

So skint he couldn't afford petrol to get to the office. 
Eighteen months later: $1 million biller.

Went seven months without closing a single deal. 
Three years on: top biller in her firm.

Teaching teenagers for $35K a year. 
Four years later: Billing half a million.

I could go on.
Whatever you're dealing with right now. 

The dry spell
The ghosting
The deal that fell through
The voice in your head saying you're not cut out for this… 

Somebody's had it worse.

Way worse.

And they got through it.

If they can, you can.

Ben Miller 

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Spoke to a recruiter today. 
He has a team of 8.
But his biggest biller is toxic AF. 



She's rude. 
Throws tantrums. 
Only thinks about herself. 
And drags down the rest of the team.

But she's also his biggest biller.

I could hear the frustration in his voice. 

I wanted to tell him right there: fire her.

But it wasn't my place.

It's the classic dilemma, profits VS culture (and your sanity).

Who else has dealt with this? And where did you finally draw the line?

If you’re stuck with BD 
Remember the basics 
A simple method used by 77 Top Billers 



MPCs.

Whenever you're lost, confused or overwhelmed with BD

Go back to basics.

Find a problem in the market.

Find a shit hot candidate.

Present that candidate as the solution…

Via email, phone or LinkedIn (ideally all three).

Don't use automation
Don't use AI
Don't be lazy

Do it yourself… every day.

And watch your pipeline grow.

I spoke to a 500k Biller
She spent 6 years as a Head of TA. 
She said there's SHAME around calling an agency…



When an internal recruiter picks up the phone to an agency

This is what's running through their head:

"Am I failing at my job?"
 "Does my team suck?"
 "We already have a team in place...
 Why can't we fill these jobs?" 
"Will leadership think I can't handle this?"

She even went to her boss and asked point-blank:

"If I call an agency, do you view that negatively?"

In other words, they're stressed, defensive, maybe even embarrassed.

This is REALLY important to understand from a marketing perspective. 

Because you need to make them feel understood AND reduce the perceived risk as much as possible. 

Communication should be around: 

1. Social proof - "I've helped Other TA teams in your situation do exactly this" - they're not alone

2. Make them the hero - Knowing when to bring in help is smart leadership, not failure

3. Reduce the risk - Make the first step tiny, the exit clean, the process transparent ( Make them feel safe ) 

And remember, when a TA brings you in, they’re really putting their reputation on the line.

Keep that in mind : ) 

Full podcast in comments

Spoke with a recruiter yesterday 
He told me about his worst month
(It's pretty brutal)



"I had 8 people at final interview stage.
Didn't close a single one."

He’s a pretty big biller ( 1 mill + ) 

Reminder:

The biggest billers still have bad months.

You just don't hear about them.

I've interviewed over 100 Top Billers 
Here's the biggest personal lesson 
(Wish someone told me sooner) 




There's always someone ahead of you.

Earning more. 
Building faster. 
Doing bigger deals.

And at first, that intimidated the hell out of me.

But then I noticed something…

It never really ends! 

The 500k biller is chasing the 1 million biller. 
The 1 million biller is chasing the 2 million biller. 
The 2 million biller is chasing someone else entirely.

So you've got two choices:

1. Spend your career feeling behind.

2. Or accept that the ladder goes on forever… 

And just enjoy the climb : )

I’m just gonna stay it...




I LOVEEEEE Christmas. 

Here’s a list, in no particular order: 

Christmas movies 
Mulled wine 
Christmas trees 
Christmas Dinner
Presents 
Snow (We never bloody get it in the UK) 
The iconic Coke adverts 
Time with the family

Who’s with me?

Just remember…
When you're sitting on your deathbed 
You won't give a monkey's about:


How much money you made 
How long you worked

You'll care about the school plays you missed
The dinners you ate at your desk
And the holidays you cancelled.

There's no trophy for dying with the most placements.

Not saying don't work hard. 

Just don't forget to have fun and spend time with your family!

There are 2 camps of Top Billers: 




Camp 1: The Top Billers who get to $1 Million
But rely mostly on referrals ( Theres more than you think )

Camp 2: The Top Billers who get to $1 Million 
But STILL do BD, regularly. 

Camp 1 has an easier life.

Camp 2 can weather any storm, pivot faster, and turn the tap on or off at will.

It's nearly 2026!!! I can’t believe it. 
Here’s a 2025 in review: 
15 things… Good, Bad and downright weird. 



The Good:
- Biggest revenue year since starting the business
- Working with some incredible recruiters
- Started hiring (finally)
- The FREE TRIAL was one of the best business decisions we've ever made
- I met my girlfriend and went to Taiwan—it was life-changing :)

The Bad:
- I only went away once and didn't have much time off
- Some months were pretty stressful
- I gained a bit of belly fat which was a bitch to get rid of
- Probably had too many hangovers (need to drink less)
- Sam's cat (my cat's dad) passed away :(
- We had to fire a client

The Weird:
- I had a somewhat spiritual experience that's hard to explain
- I'm the 2nd longest-standing resident in my building of 300 people 
(people come and go here)
- I made my first miniature house. It took 8 hours in total
- A stranger recognised me from LinkedIn in public ( it was awkward lol ) 

I'm sure I've missed a few, but these are the bits that stuck.

How about your 2025 so far? Good, bad, weird—or all three?

This recruiter Billed $1M+ for 5 years straight.
His specialty is penetrating Enterprise accounts.
Here's what it actually takes to break in:




Minimum 60 days to get a first response

- 3-4 strategic emails
- LinkedIn connection + engagement
- Personal note
- 2 calls with voicemails

And that's WITH the right message and a battle-tested approach.

Then once you're in?

It takes another year to go from 1 placement to 5-10 placements annually with that account.

The lesson:

Most recruiters give up after 2-3 weeks and wonder why they can't land enterprise clients.

The ones who win? 

They play a completely different game.

How to send ONE solid candidate
And get 5 signed contracts. 
From a $600k engineering recruiter 




Spoke with a $600k biller last week. 

He doesn’t use any fancy tools or elaborate strategies.  

Just a well-timed email and a knock-out candidate. 

And he’s got more work than he can handle. 

Why?

Because he knows his market (Very well) 

He know's exactly who to speak with 
Which firms are looking 
And who’s in high demand 

To the point where he can pick up a Hydrogeologist, send a 3 line email to a list of mid-sized engineering firms with NO PERSONALISATION and get 5 contracts signed for an interview in the same week (True story) 

These conversations always remind me. 

Nothing beats knowing your market. 

Coz you can by-pass all the fancy shit and just send them what they need.

Client win! 
Been working with a recruiter for 5 months. 
Here's what we've achieved:



- Over 4 Million impressions
- Constant influx of high-calibre candidates reaching out
- Getting mentioned at industry events by people he's never even met
- Won a massive client with 8 live roles.

All from posting 2-3 times per week.

Here’s what we’ve been talking about: 

- Pain points of hiring managers and CEO’s 
- How to attract the BEST talent on the market 
- Success stories and case studies 
- Personal posts to humanise his brand 

It’s not complicated! 

But if you stick with it, you will see a return. 

Happy to show you for free : ) 

Check out the link in the comments

Spoke with a recruiter this week 
90% of his placements come from specs 
But he's leaving money on the table... 




Because despite his HUGE network 

He’s not posting any content.... 

Don’t get me wrong. 

I love a good spec (MPC) 

It works, it’s consistent and it delivers results. 

But here's the problem:

Specs only catch clients who are hiring right now.
Some of your best clients aren’t hiring today, or even next week.

They’re hiring 3-6 months from now. 

Which is why you have to have a nurturing strategy. 

A process where you’re educating, building trust and demonstrating expertise.
 
After a few months of doing this, you’ll notice… 

- A much higher response rate 
- More inbound (people actually coming to you) 
- Better roles and higher fees! 

I'm working with a client in California. 

He does cold calling, specs, automation campaigns, THE WORKS. 

But we’ve also been building his brand. 

Last week he got a inbound from a CRO, huge business with a ton of potential hires.

That CRO reached out because he'd been watching him build credibility for months. 

And NOW he’s ready for help. 

So I’m not saying stop your outbound. 

I’m saying use content as well. 

You’ll reach MORE people and attract MORE leads for your business. 

If you’re interested to learn more about how to do this… 

I’d love to show you for free : ) 

Head to the comments to find out more

Spoke with a $1 Million Biller. 
He's a master at winning enterprise accounts.
Here's the INBOUND VERSION... (it has 3 stages)

Got an email yesterday that made my week.
(I was eating spaghetti whilst reading it) 



I worked with this recruiter 5 years ago. 

He recently came back to us after seeing my content 
(yes, I eat my own dog food).

It's 1 month in, and he's already won a new client. 

In his words:

"I've closed a contract with a new client! This is a real 'sweet spot' client as they are recruiting AI Engineers. Given all the content we've been posting lately about AI challenges, this perfectly aligns with my goal of positioning myself as the go-to AI recruitment specialist. So, all good here!"

He's also got two huge clients in the pipeline.

In 2026, you have two options…

Sit on the sidelines and play it safe.

Or finally find your voice and start sharing your expertise online. 

I promise you, 3–6–12 months from now…

You'll either be winning clients like him.

Or watching others do it while you're still "thinking about it."

Link in the comments to learn more.

Just got an email from a client that made my day.
From 12 posts we have 3 solid leads. 
1 on which could be worth 75+ roles. 



Here's what we've achieved from 12 posts: 

300k impressions 
3 strong leads 
1 lead requiring 75+ roles 
A flood of inbound connection requests

And the best part?

A complete shift in how he sees content.

He started on our free trial. We showed him everything upfront, no smoke and mirrors.

Results came quickly. 

Now, 12 posts later, he's looking at a serious ROI.

Full transparency though...

This guy had a head start. 
Over 10,000 connections. 
Deeply respected in his space. A genuine expert.

He made my job easier than most.

My point is, he didn't need to build credibility. He already had it.

He just wasn't visible enough.

Sometimes that's all you need.
 
If you’re ever curious to try us out : ) 

Feel free to check out the link in the comments

This recruiter bills $80k + per month.
He shared his mindset hack with me. 
He does it every day. Religiously.



This one really resonated with me. 

Because I've done it myself. And it works.

The effect is similar to hypnotherapy.

Here's the process:

1️⃣ Set a clear goal.
2️⃣ Decide who your future self needs to become to achieve it. 
3️⃣ Create a short daily audio that reinforces those goals. 
4️⃣ Replace negative thoughts with more useful ones. 
5️⃣ Listen every day for 20-30 minutes.

The key is repetition because it rewires your brain.

Your subconscious doesn't know the difference between what's real and what's vividly imagined.

So you start acting like the person who's already achieved the goal.

Decisions become easier. 
Doubt fades. 
Momentum builds.

I know tactics and strategies are sexy and tempting to focus on. 

But the slow, boring, repetitive mindset stuff is the thing that will change your life. 

Full pod in comments

What's been the biggest pain in the ass in 2025?

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TakeTwoBrothers

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