What if getting laid off with a newborn was actually the best thing that ever happened to your career? Julia Arpag, CEO of a bootstrapped search firm, proves that massive career leaps and radical LinkedIn transparency can build a profitable recruiting business from scratch. Her unconventional approach to intake calls, candidate vetting, and hiring manager calibration is rewriting the playbook for elite talent acquisition. In this episode we talk about Julia's journey from AmeriCorps volunteer to startup CEO, her four-step technical vetting process that actually works, and why she believes LinkedIn content strategy is the ultimate free marketing machine. You'll hear exactly how she handles resistant hiring managers, scales organically without burning cash, and why measuring hires instead of activity metrics changed everything for her team. Key Takeaways: ➡ Julia received 6 job offers within 2 weeks of being laid off, which sparked her decision to start her own search firm ➡ 100% of her business growth came from LinkedIn transparency and content strategy - zero paid advertising ➡ Her intake calls include unusual questions about cultural add and emotional intelligence, not just technical skills ➡ Calibration calls within 48 hours of initial candidate profiles ensure radical alignment with hiring managers ➡ She maintains about 4 active candidates per requisition as the optimal pipeline metric ➡ Her 4-step technical vetting process: verbal screen, technical screen, take-home assessment, and evidence review ➡ Company scaled organically and profitably with just 6 team members: 1 director, 2 sourcers, 1 recruiter, 2 ops managers ➡ Compensation is tied directly to hires made, not activity metrics like emails sent or submittals ➡ Daily iteration of Boolean search strings and creative sourcing tactics uncover new prospect pools ➡ She advocates measuring decision support value even when recruiter candidates aren't ultimately hired Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 02:47 - From AmeriCorps to CEO: The Massive Career Leaps 08:15 - Getting Laid Off Led to 6 Job Offers in 2 Weeks 12:30 - LinkedIn Transparency as Free Marketing Strategy 18:45 - The Secret Sauce: Intake, Calibration, and Iteration 25:20 - Four-Step Technical Vetting Process 32:10 - Handling Resistant Hiring Managers 37:25 - Scaling Organically Without Burning Cash 42:15 - Why Hires Matter More Than Activity Metrics Sound Bites: "I took a course on LinkedIn posting the very day I decided to start my business - that transparency literally drove all my revenue." "Activity metrics like submittals and emails don't reflect true impact. Compensation should align with actual hires, period." Guest Info:Name: Julia ArpagWebsite: https://www.alignedrecruitment.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-arpag/Expertise: CEO of startup search firm specializing in elite technical recruiting and LinkedIn content strategy