Best Pete Watson From Mint R2r Podcasts (2025)

1
Episode 69: Sandra Rowlingson from Bluefin Resources 56:54

1+ y ago56:54

56:54

What’s is it like to join a company as one of their very first employees, then go on a 17 year journey with them through GFCs, recessions, pandemics, sale of the business, highs, lows and everything in between?And how does it shape you as a professional?Well, we ask these questions (and more) of the wonderful Sandra Rowlingson from Bluefin Resource…

1
Episode 68: David “DJ” Jackson from the S-Core Group and the Beneficial Beer Co 1:01:58

1+ y ago1:01:58

1:01:58

For most Recruiters, it’s a giant leap of faith to start one recruitment firm… Let alone three or four! But this is exactly what serial recruitment entrepreneur David “DJ” Jackson has done over his his 20+ year recruitment career. (And that’s not including the ones that maybe haven’t been so successful!) Dave doesn’t like the word “entrepreneur”. H…

1
Episode 67: James Ward from Clarity R2R 1:14:21

1+ y ago1:14:21

1:14:21

How many of us can truly say they’ve made Recruitment work for them?Well, this man certainly can!Swapping the illuminations of Blackpool for the palm trees of Miami, James Ward has had a glittering career in the industry that we call “Recruitment”. From top billing contract Recruiter at the SThree Group, to international Rec2Rec, Wardy has seen it …

1
Episode 66: Jay O’Brien from Redpath Partners 1:11:48

1+ y ago1:11:48

1:11:48

Jay O’Brien worked for Hays, a global recruitment company for over 13 years. Then, he decided to spin his career completely on it’s head and go and work for privately owned specialist, Redpath Partners. Every element of his day-to-day worklife would now be completely different! Or would it? We chat with Jay around his reasoning to immerse himself i…

1
Episode 65: Paul Hallam from Six Degrees Executive 46:47

1+ y ago46:47

46:47

Paul Hallam is an absolute stalwart of the Australian Recruitment Industry, enjoying a career spanning well over a quarter of a century. As one of the three founding Directors of Six Degrees Executive, this is a career spurred on by one key ingredient: Passion. Paul has many passions and drivers in his life, all of which are talked about in this ep…

1
Episode 64: Jo Ward & Kat Docherty from MAYDAY Recruitment 41:09

1+ y ago41:09

41:09

It took me about two years to get these particular recruitment leaders behind microphones, and I reckon they only agreed because the tropical holiday vibes were in full effect.Recorded live on sunny Hamilton Island at the RCSA Shape conference, Kat and Jo from MAYDAY Recruitment gave me a full, authentic and often amusing insight into how MAYDAY ca…

1
Episode 63: Stu Holmes from The Green Collar Brigade and previously Co-Founder of Smaart Recruitment 1:06:32

2y ago1:06:32

1:06:32

Stu Holmes comes from a loving and privileged family, and went to one of the best schools in the land, where his Father was the Principal. But sadly, despite this blessed start to life, life did not quite pan out for Stu the way it was possibly supposed to.Stu found himself in prison, which was a sad conclusion to a life (at the time) in a downward…

1
Episode 62: Debbie Davis from Sirius People 45:25

2y ago45:25

45:25

She doesn’t like talking about it too much, but Debbie Davis from Sirius People was recently awarded CEO Monthly Magazine’s “Most Influential CEO Award” for the IT recruitment industry. So we were chuffed and honoured that Debbie agreed to hop onto the Recruitment Journeys podcast to tell us how this farm girl from country New South Wales, and once…

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Episode 61: Nina Mapson-Bone from Beaumont People and the RCSA 54:12

2y ago54:12

54:12

Nina Mapson-Bone is a busy human! She’s a Mum, an MD, Chair of the RCSA, sits on charity boards, and is now also an author!So high profile is her life, her colleagues affectionately refer to her as their very own “D-list Celebrity!”Nina crams a lot into her life, and she does it all with a very cheery disposition.But the subject of her new book “Me…

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Episode 60: Erin Evans from Intelligen, and previously of Firesoft 58:16

2y ago58:16

58:16

This is not a story that you often see play out in our industry. Erin Evans has just parted ways with her business partner of 11 years, and has sold her stake in the company that they started from scratch together from a small two desk office, to start all over again, on her own. They have mutually, and amicably, agreed to continue their entreprene…

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Episode 59: James Farrey from Just Digital People 51:16

2y ago51:16

51:16

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Episode 58: Kristan De Sousa from Six Degrees Executive 42:25

2y ago42:25

42:25

Most Recruiters don’t join a company and think to themselves, “Great, that’s me sorted for the next 16 years!”Most Recruiters, when they get that 7 year itch (or even 2 or 3 year itch), jump ship, or start looking for that greener grass. But what if you didn’t have to?What if the company you worked for allowed you to constantly evolve, constantly g…

1
Episode 57: Ephram Stephenson from Collar Group. 1:00:53

2y ago1:00:53

1:00:53

Ephram Stephenson epitomises the “recruitment entrepreneur”. In his 22 year career, he has successfully launched, scaled and sold more recruitment companies than most of us have had recruitment jobs. But with Collar Group, he seems to be achieving something a little bit out of the ordinary. Collar is less than 2 years old, but already has 13 office…

1
Episode 56: Ryan McCabe: “The Failed Engineer Who Pioneered VideoTech For The Recruitment Industry” 41:17

2+ y ago41:17

41:17

Ryan McCabe was, in his own words and own admission, a failed engineer, then a failing Recruiter. But during his brief-ish foray into Recruitment, he has a lightbulb moment. With a wife seven months pregnant, zero evidence that his idea would work, but blind and unwavering belief, he founded Odro, and pioneered video-technology for the recruitment …

1
Episode 55: “The Recruitment Industry Advisor Behind All The Big M&A Deals” with Paul Masters 42:49

3y ago42:49

42:49

Paul Masters is the recruitment industry advisor behind all the big, recent multi-million dollar M&A deals here in Australia. Paul is the guy who quietly helps recruitment business owners realise the dreams they had many years ago when they started their little companies from kitchen tables or serviced offices across Australia. Paul is the guy who …

1
Episode 54: “The Recruitment Blogger With Big Opinions” with Ross Clennett 50:06

3y ago50:06

50:06

Ross Clennett has been a recognised name in the Australian Recruitment Industry for many a long year. So it should come as no surprise that he was the 2022 recipient of the RCSA’s CEO Outstanding Contribution Award. Before he was a recruitment trainer and blogger, Ross was a very successful Recruiter in his own rights, billing around a million doll…

1
Episode 53: “The R2R Special” with Grace Marlin (US), James Vizor (UK), Charlie Bell (AUS) and ME! 1:04:34

3y ago1:04:34

1:04:34

For as long as I can remember, there’s always been a bit of a morbid fascination with what I do within the Recruitment Industry, namely Rec2Rec.So why not get over 50 years of R2R experience together, on the same podcast, and lift the lid on what we do?On this episode of “Recruitment Journeys”, we have a bit of a special one…I’m simply calling this…

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Episode 52: “The Recruiter Who Quit Drinking” with Paul Tulip. 50:21

3y ago50:21

50:21

Paul Tulip was a Recruiter who liked a drink. He proudly maintains to this day that some of the best friends he met, and best memories he made, were with a beer in his hand. He’d happily admit that having a drink was not only important to him, but a part of who he was. Then on one standard Tuesday night, that all changed. He woke up at 1.30am on a …

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Episode 51: “How to become the No 1 “Go To” Recruiter in your tight niche” with Chris Caiger-Watson 44:10

3y ago44:10

44:10

In an industry that’s crammed full of small, niche specialists, all trying to cut through the noise, compete with the big boys, and make a crust… How do you stand out? How do you ensure that you’re not only seen and heard, but ultimately recognised as the No 1 “Go To” Recruiter in your chosen super tight niche?We asked Chris Caiger-Watson from Geni…

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Episode 50: “From Fit As A Fiddle Recruiter to (surprise) Quadruple Heart Bypass” with Niall Clerkin 44:23

3y ago44:23

44:23

Niall Clerkin was, as he puts it himself, “fit as a fiddle”. He was running marathons left, right and centre, and living his best healthy life. He was also a Recruiter by day, and had enjoyed a wonderful recruitment career, proudly listing “million dollar biller” and senior recruitment executive as some of his accolades. Then, after a relatively in…

1
Episode 49: “From Pro Footballer to Covid Rebuild Mastermind” with Paddy Flaherty from Experis 41:18

3y ago41:18

41:18

How did Paddy Flaherty go from dreams of playing in the Premier League, to masterminding the rebuild of an iconic Sydney recruitment brand that had taken a bit of a hiding through covid?In this “Recruitment Journeys” podcast chat, we speak to Paddy about his own recruitment career, the highs and lows, and what the “secret sauce” is that he attribut…

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Episode 48: Erin Devlin from People2People. Ballet dancer to recruitment leader to mother to author 38:11

3+ y ago38:11

38:11

Erin Devlin has had a very jam packed life, and done it all.From professional ballet dancer, to international cabin crew, to recruitment industry leader, to mother of (soon to be) 3, to author…There’s literally no limits to Erin’s talents, and everything that she turns her hand to, she seems to do to the highest of standards.In this new podcast epi…

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Episode 47: “Reinventing The Week” with Shawn Twomey (Andersen) & Simon Hair (Precision Sourcing) 45:45

3+ y ago45:45

45:45

In Episode 47, we look closely at a subject that’s been very topical in the recruitment industry of late, since the arrival of Old Mate Covid… And that’s “working from home”. Or more specifically, the shorter working week. A few recruitment businesses have pioneered the four day working week, or the nine-day fortnight with amazing results. And they…

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Episode 46: “When Body & Lynchy met Ryan”… “Start-Ups that have survived & thrived throughout Covid” 43:52

3+ y ago43:52

43:52

Iterate and Creative Natives were two exciting Australian start-ups, that launched within a few months of each other, in 2019. Both were set up for great early success, and destined to smash the lights out in their first full calendar year of 2020. And then Covid hit. Every single recruitment business on the planet struggled for a period of time. B…

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Episode 45: SPECIAL EPISODE: When I met a load of Recruiters who don’t drink! 1:22:14

4y ago1:22:14

1:22:14

Welcome to a very special episode of “Recruitment Journeys”.Today, we’re talking about something that’s been ever present in the recruitment industry since the beginning of time, and certainly since the beginning of my recruitment career. It’s as much a part of the fixtures and fittings of our industry as coffee and compendiums…And that’s booze.See…

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Episode 44: “When Shawn Met Verge”… “Why they decided to be a Mentor AND a Mentee in our industry” 43:18

4y ago43:18

43:18

Collectively, Verge Das Neves and Shawn Twomey have around 30 years recruitment industry experience. When we launched the Recruiter’s Mentor Project a month ago, it came as little surprise that these industry long-termers put their hands up to be Mentors. Why wouldn’t they want to share their experiences and learnings with others coming through, ri…

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Episode 43: “When Rob Met Matt” to talk about “Extreme Goals & Recruitment” 1:02:14

4y ago1:02:14

1:02:14

Between the two of them, Matt Cossens and Rob Millington have over 40 years recruitment experience. They’ve also racked up quite a few extreme challenges between them... Things like ultra-marathons and MMA cage fights! At some point in time, both Matt and Rob realised that their passion for setting extreme goals and challenges outside of work, coul…

1
Episode 42: “When Anika Met Sinead” to discuss “How to overcome/avoid burnout” in Recruitment... 50:57

4y ago50:57

50:57

Both Anika Stokes and Sinead Connolly have, in their careers, been brought to their knees by burnout. They both managed it badly for years, refusing to acknowledge it, or accept it. But eventually, both were left with no choice but to tackle it. In this episode of “Recruitment Journeys”, Anika and Sinead chat openly, bravely, honestly and with grea…

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Episode 41: “When “JR” met “G”” to discuss “How do you effectively scale a recruitment business?” 58:05

4y ago58:05

58:05

Grant Movzowitz from T+O+M Executive and Jason Roulston from Blackroc each head up businesses that are in full growth mode. And as we experience the official Covid “bounce back” period that we all prayed to the Recruitment Gods for for so long, which is creating almost unprecedented demand for Recruiters, it was great to sit down with these two not…

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Episode 40: “When Paul Met Carts” to discuss “Is culture or recruitment excellence most important?” 1:07:06

4y ago1:07:06

1:07:06

Between the two of them, Paul Hallam and Steve Carter, have almost 50 years recruitment experience. Most of that 50 years has been spent in recruitment leadership roles, with almost 30 of those years running two of Australia’s most respected recruitment brands, Six Degrees and Sharp & Carter.So it was great to get these two long term acquaintances …

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Episode 39: “When Stella Met Andy”...”Has the role of a Recruiter changed in this post-Covid world?” 49:52

4+ y ago49:52

49:52

Stella Petrou Concha and Andy McGregor are both young(ish), progressive thinking, innovative, “move with the times” recruitment leaders. They’re exactly the types of leaders that would have looked closely at what Covid did our industry, learn from it, and adapted.They are exactly the right kind of people to ask the question, “How has the role of a …

1
Episode 38: “When Hone Met Hair” & discussed their “Learnings From Covid” (amongst other things)... 54:33

4+ y ago54:33

54:33

Simon Hair from Precision and James Hone from Bluefin get together to chat about all manner of things like meditation, football fights, fishing, recruitment reality TV shows, and even the recruitment industry. The Yorkshireman and the Geordie... Sorry... Mackem discuss everything they learnt about their people, business and themselves during Covid1…

1
Episode 37: “The Recruiter Helping Other Recruiters Overcome Burnout” with Helena Nield-Dumper 39:21

4+ y ago39:21

39:21

Burnout is something that we Recruiters have fallen victim to many, many times over the years.And it was no different for Helena Nield-Dumper, who as billing Team Leader at Randstad, felt burnout creeping up on her too.But she survived, and moved on with her career.Only down the track, when she was in a different role, and a very different headspac…

1
Episode 36: “The Recruiter Who Started A Failed Tech Co So Started Again” with James Jennings Sourcr 45:43

4+ y ago45:43

45:43

James Jennings and his business partner, Chris Almond are a classic start-up story.Fuelled by total self-belief, financed with money from friends and family, and pushed on by not only a desire to not let those people down, but also because they absolutely believe there is a need for their business and their product in the Recruitment marketplace.In…

1
Episode 35: “The Recruiter Who Wants To Make A Positive Difference” with James Osborne from TRN 45:12

4+ y ago45:12

45:12

James Osborne went from scuba diving instructor on the Whitsundays, to launching and leading The Recruitment Network, an organisation that supports over 4000 Recruiters to help them get through tough times like Covid, but also flourish in the good times.But why did he choose to take this path, and not the path trodden by most senior Recruiters (whi…

1
Episode 34: “The Recruiter Who Successfully Started 2 Recruitment Firms” is Scott Horton at Troocoo 41:42

4+ y ago41:42

41:42

Most Recruiters don’t ever even start their own recruitment firm. And those that do, don’t usually create two.Well, Scott Horton has been instrumental in launching not one, but two successful recruitment businesses.And for reasons that he’ll delve into in this conversation, Scott tells us what drove the decisions, both business and personal, to sta…

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Episode 33: “The Recruiter Who Went From Failure To Merger” is Stella Concha from REO Group 41:02

4+ y ago41:02

41:02

Stella Concha is an inspiration.She started REO Group back in 2009, with her husband Marcelo, when she only had two years recruitment experience.She forced herself to be successful through sheer will, determination, and self-belief that came as a result of being so well trained by Robert Half.What followed was a decade of learning on the job, getti…

1
Episode 32: “The Recruiter Who Played Two Halves” with Martin O’Donnell from Sustainability 41:33

4+ y ago41:33

41:33

Martin O’Donnell and Pete Zonnevylle started Sustainability in 2008, just before the GFC.Five years later, having conceded that things hadn’t quite gone according to plan, they found themselves having a bit of a heart to heart and trying to decide whether to downsize and essentially throw in the towel, or to fix a few things, roll the dice, and go …

1
Episode 31: “The Rec to Rec” with (me) Pete Watson from Mint Recruitment 55:33

4+ y ago55:33

55:33

OK, so this one is a bit weird, because I’m not the Interviewer in this episode, and I’m actually being interviewed about my own “Recruitment Journey”.Over the past year or so, a few people have suggested they’d like to know a little bit more about my own career past. Maybe they were just being polite. Maybe they’ll wish they hadn’t asked.But eithe…

1
Episode 30: RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY COVID MARKET SPECIAL with Charles Cameron, the CEO of the RCSA. 46:33

4+ y ago46:33

46:33

Charles Cameron has been the CEO of the RCSA for almost five years. And in that time, he’s seen the good times, and the not so good times. In this special episode, Charles tells us what the RCSA are doing to support it’s members through Covid, and how he things we’re doing as an industry during these challenging times.Charles also tells us what he …

1
Episode 29: “The Recruiter Who Went From Global To Start-Up” with Ben Brown from Method Recruitment 42:49

4+ y ago42:49

42:49

Ben Brown had a very comfortable and successful career with one of the biggest recruitment companies in the world. Life was probably pretty cruisey.But, after the better part of a decade, he decided to walk away from everything that he knew, to enter the risky world of start-up recruitment.In this podcast, Ben tells us why he decided to make what a…

1
Episode 28: COVID MARKET UPDATE SPECIAL with Greg Savage 1:05:22

4+ y ago1:05:22

1:05:22

Greg Savage has been around a few years. Forty, to be exact.So he’s seen a few recessions, and he’s seen a few downturns in his time. And guess, what! He survived them all.So as we hit the 6 month mark, who better than Greg to tell us, the Recruitment Industry, where we are in the Covid recovery cycle, what other bumps in the road we can expect alo…

1
Episode 27: “The Recruiter Who Wrote A Book” with Adrian Petrie 40:21

5y ago40:21

40:21

Adrian Petrie went from Top Billing Consultant at a global recruitment business, to Best Selling Author, all in one giant leap of faith.He took a brief hiatus from his flying recruitment career to pursue his goal and ambition to write a book on leadership, demonstrating a real dedication to achieving his dream.But Adrian is very candid when he tell…

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Episode 26: “The Recruiter Who Started A Tech Company” with Bernie Schiemer from Vincere. 48:16

5y ago48:16

48:16

In 2009, after only seven years trading, Bernie Schiemer sold his recruitment business to Hays in a deal value totalling £75m GBP. Still under 40, and nowhere near ready for retirement on the beach, Bernie kept scratching that entrepreneurial itch until he decided to enter the tech business, launching Vincere, an all-in-one CRM platform for ambitio…

1
Episode 25: “The Recruiter Who Followed His Vocation” with Adam Kurdas 45:12

5y ago45:12

45:12

This is probably one of the most open and authentic conversations I’ve yet had on the “Recruitment Journeys” podcast. Adam Kurdas is remarkably honest and lays himself wide open as he talks to us about why he seemingly walked away from an exceptional Recruitment career, the likes of which many of us could only wish for. Adam was 13 years with Six D…

1
Episode 24: “The Recruiter Who Went From A Caravan to Millionaire CEO” with Chris O’Connell 52:08

5y ago52:08

52:08

Chris O’Connell experienced immense adversity in his childhood, from being abandoned by his mother aged three, being left alone in the caravan in which he was being raised, to spending years in the foster care system, to getting up at 5am every morning to accompany his Dad to work at his job on the railways…From a very early age, Chris learned he h…

1
Episode 23: “The Covid Start-Up” with Mike Dickson from AXR. 45:51

5y ago45:51

45:51

Mike Dickson is a very experienced Recruiter. And after a long and successful, stable and secure corporate career, Mike decided to launch his own recruitment firm.So, on the 16th of March 2020, Mike joined AXR as Partner of their brand new Sales & Marketing business.Only 3 days later, due to the Covid crisis, AXR closed their offices. Mike was then…

1
Episode 22: “The Successful Recruitment Partnership” with Tom Dumper & Andy McGregor from D&B/PSP. 55:11

5y ago55:11

55:11

How do you run a successful recruitment business in partnership with a mate? Should friends even go into partnership together in the first place? Or is it better to go into battle side by side with a complete stranger? And what is the secret to a successful working partnership in recruitment? All of these questions (and more) are answered in this v…

1
Episode 21: “The Specialist Recruiter Spinning Multiple Plates” with Kara Atkinson 37:15

5y ago37:15

37:15

Kara Atkinson, AKA “The Sales Recruiter”, is a perfect example of a Recruiter not allowing Covid19 to slow her down.She’s doing the opposite of waiting for the storm to pass. If anything, she’s getting busier. Not necessarily driving revenue upwards, but by challenging herself, and using this opportunity to get involved in other areas that she’s pa…

1
Episode 20: “The Recruitment Industry M&A Expert” with Rod Hore from HHMC. 40:35

5y ago40:35

40:35

Rod Hore is a bit of a household name in the Australian recruitment industry, and has been advising recruitment businesses, both buyers and sellers, on all things M&A related for well over two decades.In this podcast, Rod calls on all of his industry experience to give us his views and insights into the impact of Covid19 on Australian recruitment b…

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