Mina Golesorkhi

Start To Finish - Headhunting für Startups

Finding A-Players is a struggle for many startups and scale-ups. 
→ We solve this problem for you.

Over the last 4 years, we’ve worked with more than 160 startups across 4 sectors:

E-Commerce & FBA Brands
1. Tech / SaaS
2. Agencies & Consultancies
3. Corporate Ventures

Our references include companies like Snocks, SellerX, Rosental, Advertace, and portfolio companies from Cherry Ventures.

Additionally, our Recruiting Academy helps you take your in-house recruiting and HR to the next level.

Interim COO

Hi Remi

50 % deiner Woche gehen fürs Scrollen drauf.
Und das nur, um 2–3 brauchbare Kandidat:innen zu finden?

Remi analysiert 
- deine Organisation, 
- die Unternehmensphase 
- deine spezifischen Rollenanforderungen 

und hilft dir dabei deine Sourcing-Pipeline 12x schneller aufzubauen. 

Meld dich gern direkt an mich für die Warteliste 🚀

Founder

pplwise GmbH

pplwise supports leading rapid growing companies across Europe to manage their growth plans. Our services include Interim Talent Acquisition Management, Consulting and Headhunting specialised on tech scale ups like TIER, Taxfix or IDNow.

- Building and leading the Operations & overall company
- Internal Communications & Culture 
- Learning & Development for recruiters

Managing Partner & Co-Founder

ecosio

duties & accomplishments
- People growth strategy 
- Job-levelling framework 
- Hub Allocation Strategy
- Adjustment of HC plan to new market situation 
- leading People Ops, L&D, employee experience & Workplace (6 FTE)
- Benefits Concept 
- Employee Experience Survey & strategic initiatives to improve on the the overall experience
- replacement of myself with a permanent Head of People & Culture via pplwise headhunting services

Interim Head of People & Culture

duties & accomplishments
- replacement of myself with a Head of Talent Acquisition 
- leading a team of 4 
- development of the Talent Acquisition strategy 
- headcount plan for the whole organization to allocate the 2x growth
- sparring partner to the business

Interim Head of Talent Acquisition

TIER Mobility

Supporting TIER in it's mission to change mobility for good!

Hiring the People & Culture organization 
- People Business Partnering & Operations
- Talent Acquisition (Central & Regional team)
- Internal Communications & Employer Branding
- People Projects & Infrastructure

Hiring the Product Org 
- Product Design
- Customer Insights & User Research

Sr. Talent Acquisition Manager

ready2order

-  Talent Partner for the Marketing and Business Unit
-  Established a Marketing Organisation from scratch (Content & SEO, Paid, CRM, Design, MarTech)
- Growth up to +110 employees across 9 countries (EMEA)
- End-2-end recruiting responsibility
- Employer Branding (Culture Analysis, EVP Definition, Employee Experience Management)
- Hiring Manager Enablement (Interview & Biasing Training)

Senior Talent Partner

- Doubling the HC each year
- End-2-End recruiting responsibility for the positions Engineering, Product, Design and Ops
- Talent Relationship Management (relationship management to bootcamps and university, hosting meetups, planning and organization of a 3-days long hackathon)
- established a community to connect marketers in and around Vienna

Talent Partner

Talent Whisperer & Entrepreneur 🚀

HR professional with in-depth experience in scaling fast-growing companies whilst building an innovative, data-driven and motivating environment for high-performer.

We believe that great people are the key to outstanding accomplishments 🚀

pplwise supports leading rapid growing companies across Europe to manage their growth plans. Our services include Interim Talent Acquisition Management, Consulting and Headhunting specialised on tech scale ups like TIER, Taxfix or IDNow.

Founded in 2022, we have already hired into +20 countries across Europe with a team of +10 talented people. We are at the forefront of revolutionising how companies manage their growth in one of the fastest growing industries.

With our strong held values in commitment, passion and responsibility; 

We do not believe in clients, we believe in partners - we grow together.

4 years since I quit my first job. 

I took this picture on my very last day as an employee. 

I remember, it was January 2021 - when I knew: 

By end of the year I will be self-employed

It took me 7 months to make that jump. 

I have never worked 9-5

I didn’t have any weekends off either

So, why not using my work-ethic to work for my self? 

At the same time:

I had never lead a team before 

Worked only for one company in my life

Had never worked on the agency-side  

Basically I had 0 experience 

But yet, among the way : 

I learned how the agency side works for both: RPO and headhunting 

I learned how to build and lead recruitment teams 

I learned how sales works 

And now I learn how to become a SaaS founder & recruitment leader at the same time. 

Thinking back, I am very grateful for my self for not listening to people who advised me to gain more experience, wait a little longer or just stay in my line. 

The last 4 years have been the best of my life, and I can’t wait to see what the next 4 will bring into my life!

Mina  Golesorkhi

AI Sourcing & Recruiting for StartUps 🚀

Who's the best recruiter you know? 


The last two years, we've become THE headhunting agency for tech & eCom startups : 
- doubled our monthly revenue year over year
- build a professional senior-level team 
- build a talent engineering infrastructure
- reduced time-to-hire to 30-42 days 
- professionalized our sales & scaled Jan-Lütje's personal brand
- build a sustainable career path for Recruiting & Account Management

What's up next: 
- scale headhunting 
- relaunch & scale our StartUp Academy

And guess what? 

We need more people for that. 

So if you know a (german speaking) recruiter who: 
-> loves working with startups 
-> loves making a+100k salary pa
-> performs without micro-management 

OR a junior recruiter who want's to become all of that 

THEN please tag them in this post or share this post with them. 

THANK YOU.

Software companies should be scared.

We’re in the time of AI where anyone can build software.
And for the first time, industry experts can solve their own pain.

There was a time when ex-consultants teamed up with techies to launch tools.
Not to truly satisfy their users, but to build something good enough to grab 1% market share and keep investors happy.

The next wave will be different.
It’ll be industry insiders building products that actually work —
because they’re obsessed with solving the problems the big players ignore.

I just had coffee with a recruiter who vibe-coded her own ATS in a month.
It’s the best ATS I’ve ever seen - built by someone who knows exactly what fellow recruiters need but has no previous experience in software development or coding...in a MONTH

A former headhunter I know, has built an AI CV parser that cut recruiter's admin time by 95%.

Others are creating AI talent pools, smart outreach tools, and systems that actually make sense in a recruiter’s daily workflow.

The software market is about to get an expert-led reality check.

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Let's talk about the sixth sense of a recruiter

It's hard to believe but when you know you know. 

I have interviewed many hundreds of candidates in my career and placed +150 candidates in the past

And whenever I knew - I knew.

And usually I knew it from the very first interview: That's the ONE

The ONE that: 
-> perfectly matches the company environment 
-> perfectly matches the track-record 
-> just vibes with the company 

Whenever this clicks - I know: THAT'S my hire - and in 9/10 cases -> they are.

Am I the only one?

I’ve built 2 headhunting agencies and here’s what works and what doesn’t.

Building a high performing headhunting agency is pretty simple. Let's start with the basics:

1️⃣ Pick. Your. Niche.
Stop being scared to turn down clients. Focus on one niche: industry, role, or region.
Build a talent pool so you’re always talking to relevant candidates you can submit today.

2️⃣ Retained or Nothing.
While others cut their fees to “stay competitive,” we go retained. Why? Because it locks both sides in and lets you actually deliver quality instead of playing candidate ping-pong with 5 other agencies.

3️⃣ Build Your Tech Stack.
Set up your CRM to build your talentpool.
Build a sourcing engine.
Don't let admin waste your time.

4️⃣ Use Automation & AI
No manual note-taking. No spending half your week in your CRM. Build workflows so you and your recruiters can actually recruit.

5️⃣ Build Your Team
First time I ran an agency, I hired mostly juniors to “reduce risk.” Result? I was drowning in client work and management. I’d rather pay 2x for a senior recruiter and give them support when needed so I can focus on growing the business.

6️⃣ Never Stop L&D.
Want retained business, lightning-fast placements, and referrals for life? Keep your team learning and levelling up. Always.

Here’s how to run your recruiting process in 5 days:

Day 1 – Pre Kick-Off
Preparation = speed.
Do your homework:
- Understand the company & role
- Map competitors
- Know salary ranges
- Source 5–10 profiles upfront to test the market & impress in the Kick-Off.

Day 2 – Kick-Off
Run a sharp intake and challenge the hiring manager with data
Then: Go, source immediately!

Start with your own database, then hit the market with 30 passive candidates

Day 3 – Sourcing Boost
- Add 20 more quality leads
- Start screening interviews

pro-tipp: Ask candidates  if they’re free for a quick call today or tomorrow, don't wait for days or weeks

Day 4 – Follow Up
- Refine your messaging
- Send follow-ups to silent candidates
- Keep interviewing- you’re in momentum mode now

Day 5 – Shortlist
If you've done it right, you’ve already had 5–7 calls.
Now pick your top 3
 Submit 👉  Done ;)

From Day 6? Stop sourcing -> Start closing

Manage candidate and stakeholders by sticking close to the process.

The best recruiters make what's important urgent and work smart.

It surprises me every single time I go to a founder meetup or event.

You’d expect everyone to talk about:
“How do we reduce churn?”
“What's the best LLM SEO strategy?”
“How can we hack growth?”

But no.
That’s not what sticks.
That’s not what wins.
The companies succeeding aren’t the ones with the most modern tech stack, the smartest features, or the best GTM.

They’re the ones that give a damn about their people.

Because:
→ People build your product
 → People shape your brand
 → People turn users into fans ... or not

If your team feels seen, trusted, and hyped :

you’ll win.

If not - good luck.

No matter what you’re building...

It’s people first.

Always.

I have hired and trained + 30 recruiters and here are 10 red-flags to watch out for, when you hire your next one:

🚩 Wants to "graduate" into HR instead of staying in recruiting
They see recruiting as a stepping stone, not a craft. If you can't offer them an HR role - it's better to let them find another company which will. 

🚩 Doesn't do outbound sourcing
Startups need proactive hunters. If they refuse to chase passive talent and do direct outreach, they're leaving the best candidates on the table.

🚩 Relies on job boards
Goes with the one above - if job postings are their only strategy, your talent pipeline will dry up. 

🚩 Lacks urgency 
Recruitment is a race. Great recruiters put urgency into finding the right candidates and moving them from step to step as fast as possible. 

🚩 Can't pitch the role or company convincingly. 
A recruiter is your company’s first salesperson. If they can't sell the vision and opportunity to candidates, you'll lose great talent.

🚩 Isn't curious about the product or company vision
If they don’t dive into understanding your product and company vision, how can they attract the right people? Lack of curiosity = lack of commitment

🚩 No Debriefs & Pre-Closings
Debriefing stakeholders and pre-closing candidates is the 10% that makes 90% of the job. No Recruiter should underestimate this ever.

🚩 Makes Hiring Managers responsible for qualification
Real recruiters consult their hiring managers in finding the best methods to assess their candidates without losing time. 

🚩 Wants to do "employer branding" but can't define it
Dropping buzzwords like employer branding sounds fancy, but if they can’t outline a real plan, they’re avoiding the actual recruiting work.

🚩 Doesn’t know their funnel metrics or data
If they blank on key numbers (screen-to-hire conversion, offer acceptance rate, etc.), they’re not data-driven. Great recruiters know their stats and tweak the process constantly.

Did I miss any? Let me know 👇

😅 But honestly, why would you do that?

Reviewing your recruiters pipeline once, to align the role makes absolutely sense, but as a standard procedure?

In my opinion you need to either let go and trust your recruiter or hire someone you actually trust. Period.

From Recruitment → Talent Acquisition → Talent Engineering

In the 90s, my father (a general manager of a corporate) used to screen hundreds of printed CVs.

Each one by one.

Recruitment was part of every manager’s job.
And it should be because hiring is still the #1 priority of any manager.

Back then:
- Processes were slow
- Tasks were manual and repetitive
- Companies picked the talent (employer-driven market)
- Sources: inbound + referrals

Then came the 2000s and the internet flipped the market.

Suddenly it was about finding the best of the best and convincing them to join you, so you can compete on the market. 

Talent Acquisition was born and recruiters entered the game:
- Processes were still manual, but now tech-enabled 
- Recruitment became KPI's driven and a key success metrics of high performing companies
- Sources: inbound + active sourcing

Now we’re shifting again.

We’re entering the Talent Engineering era.

A year from now, the recruiter role will look nothing like today:
- Processes: AI-led, human-owned
- Admin work: gone
- revenue/hc will drastically sink 

Talent Engineering will be about solving business problems through talent, powered by technology

If you can’t step up now to become a strategic partner, an automation geek, and a business problem-solver... you’ll get left behind.

I’m flattered to witness this era and to be part of shaping it. What about you?

PS: And yes... this post was inspired by tech and co-written with AI.

I made a huge mistake when I tried to build “team culture" the first time

I used to think leadership meant consistency

Same process. Same 1:1. Same way to communicate

Turns out: fair ≠ effective.

Because different people need different things.

And forcing everyone into my way of working slowed them down.

Here’s what I changed:

1. 1:1s Are Not Just a Routine
→ Some use them to talk about personal growth
→ Some show up with blockers and want help solving problems
→ Some just want to be seen and validated

So I stopped running them “my way” and started to adapt.

2. Process vs. Coaching
→ Some team members want structure, clarity, rules
→ Others want sparring, ownership, space to figure it out on their own

I still hold the bar high, but how they get there depends on what helps them.

3. Being Available Is Not Weak Leadership
I’m not here to protect my time → I’m here to remove blockers

→ Some ping me on WhatsApp
→ Some call me out of the blue
→ Some drop thoughts in Slack

I adapt because my job is to serve the team, not slow it down.

Leadership isn’t about treating everyone equally.

It’s about knowing what unlocks each person’s best work.

Want high performers to stick around?

→ Build a system that works for them.

Everyone Is talking about AI - but there is far more that can help you recruiters to save your precious time or help you work more efficient. 

Here are 6 of my favourites (NOT AI) tools for recruiters:
1. Expandi.io - for LinkedIn Automation 
2. Bycatch
3. OctoHR
4. Highlight This
5. LanguageTool
6. Crystal Knows

Let me know what's your favorites!

Expandi.io

Bycatch

OctoHR

LanguageTool

Crystal Knows

91% of recruiters agree: salaries should be in job ads.

 So why are companies still hiding them?
There are real reasons companies hesitate:
👉 If you publish salaries, competitors might use them to poach your team.
👉 If you’re not aligned internally, employees will ask tough questions.
👉 And if your salary bands are outdated?
One job post could trigger a 20%+ correction across the org.

Hiding salaries won’t fix outdated or messy comp.

The only real move is to build a system that keeps pay fair and in line with the market
 and makes it okay to talk about it internally and externally.

How do you handle it?

Seen any companies actually get this right?

Let me know in the comments or tag them 👇

5 must have tools for every Recruiter (beyond the sourcing tools) 

Perplexity
- to build company lists 

ChatGPT
- to write JD's 
- to write InMails 
- to build Scorecards 
- create interview briefings
- & much more

Briskine
- to create shortcuts for : LinkedIn responses, E-Mails etc

Expandi.io
- to build multi-touch campaigns 
- engage with talent pools
- build your LI network 

Highlight This Chrome Extension 
- to find essential keywords faster profiles

Let me know if I missed your fav tool!

Perplexity

ChatGPT

Briskine

What I have learned hiring for +200 startups and scale ups : 

Job titles alone don't matter. 

You have to look for people who can bring your company to the next level by simply knowing what's your next mission. 

The best way to get those people is not mass-mailing or spaming hundreds of people on the market. 

If you want to find the right people who 
....can get the job done 

...in your environment 

...and help you to reach the next level 

THEN you have to work with company target lists. 

I've built a prompt-template and rec-tool list. 

If you want access to it just comment "template" and I will share it with you :)

How to create company target lists

I’ve interviewed hundreds of candidates. Here are 9 red flags I watch for every single time:

🚩 Drops in late
An interview is a first impression. If they can’t manage being on time for this, what does that say about their reliability? (Of course, there are exceptions)

🚩 Responds vague
Great candidates go deep. They give clear context, outline their contribution, and back it up with results in reasonable numbers.

🚩 Ineffective communication
Depth is good but rambling isn’t. Strong candidates are concise, relevant, and mindful of both of your time.

🚩 Doesn’t care about product & vision
This is huge. The right candidate aligns their own goals with the company vision and is genuinely passionate about both.

🚩 Doesn’t know their numbers
Every role has measurable impact. If they can’t quantify results, they’re not tracking their own performance.

🚩 Camera off during video calls
Sometimes it’s valid, but more often it’s rude. 

🚩 No questions
If they don’t ask thoughtful, researched questions, they’re not deeply interested. Superficial questions count as a red flag too.

🚩 Only cares about comp & ben
Salary fit is important. But if the benefits are the only questions they care about during the interview process, they’re not motivated by the role itself.

🚩 Inappropriate appearance
For customer-facing roles, how they show up in the interview is how they’ll show up to clients. If that’s sloppy or unprofessional, it’s a pass

If you’re a candidate preparing for a job interview: just do the opposite of above

Congrats, you’re now better than 80% of applicants 😉

“Pride is the biggest enemy of learning.”

I’ve seen it over and over again with the high performing recruiters I’ve met.

They never let pride get in the way of their growth.

The recruiters who don’t make it or change their career : 
- Find excuses instead of accountability 
- Think they know it all 
- Think they do everything they could 

It’s not shameful to learn from mistakes. 

It’s shameful not to. 

Always stay humble, curious and coachable.

ReCrUiTeRs WHY don't you post on LinkedIn???? 

We spend hours on this platform to scroll through profiles..

...but don't use its full potential? 

Come on! 

Recruiters that post regularly on LinkedIn 
- have higher response rates from candidates 
- better conversions from clients 
- have a bigger network and access to more candidates

= more clients = more placements = more billings 

So please use this 😄

Want a 25-30% response rate? 

This is the bare minimum to consider when writing an InMail 

1. Limit your subject to 2-3 words 
- use the first name or an emoji to grab attention 
- use numbers 
- job title and company name = NOT sexy

2. Personalize the name in your outreach 
- use the first name of your candidate 
- use a personalized PS: - sentence
- use their past employers name 

3. Make sure your tone of voice matches the audience
- use words they would use too 
- adjust your tone based on their demographics
- use their native language if you can 

4. Be specific on your description 
- don't bore them with generic job descriptions
- describe their impact 
- highlight KPI's, goals and milestones 

5. Limit your inMail to 500 - 700 characters
- keep it short and straight forward 
- don't use complex sentences 

6. Clear CTA 
- don't overwhelm them with multiple call to actions 
- don't leave an open end 
- just ask them to book a call with you 

Execute the basics with excellence and your success rate will spike 📈

How much do you trust AI scoring and assessing your candidates?

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