Welcome to The Hero 🗞️. This is approximately a 4-minute read.
🔥 Where to go when job boards and outbound recruiting hits a wall
🧠 The psychology of ads
🛠️ A simple playbook that won’t waste your budget
TL;DR
Use awareness and retargeting - not “we’re hiring!” blasts.
PPC works best in hiring when it builds familiarity, not when it tries to force applications.
Treat PPC as a visibility layer that supports your outbound and referral efforts, not as a primary sourcing channel.
🚨 “What Else Can I Do?”
If you’ve hired long enough, you’ve hit this point (we all have):
Job boards flatten out.
Ads stop producing anything meaningful.
The role is solid.
The comp is competitive.
Your sourcing is dialed in.
But quality candidates aren’t coming through…
So how do you reach people who will never see your job post?
That’s where PPC becomes interesting…
The full breakdown is just below - don’t miss it! 😉
Links of the Day:
🔗 Best Links
Here are some of the best links I’ve found since last time I emailed you:
🗺️ Team Playbooks, Decision-Making, Rituals
Working Agreements (link)
DACI Decision Framework (link)
🔎 Open-Company Handbooks & Operating Models
GitLab - FY24 Big Rocks (link)
GitLab - “Day in the Life” Persona (link)
🤖 Workforce Planning, Analytics, OKRs
Set OKRs (link)
Team Effectiveness (link)
✅ Manager Development, Coaching, Internal Learning
Understand the Manager Experience (link)
Peer Coaching Impact (link)
📊 PPC Is Your Sidekick - Not the Main Hero
PPC doesn’t replace outbound or job boards -
It acts as a middle layer to passive candidate who aren’t “job hunting”…
But are scrolling career content, reading industry blogs, checking salary threads, or doom-scrolling layoffs at 11pm.
They’re movable - if you show up at the right time.
This is where PPC works: Awareness → Retargeting → Timing
⚠️ PPC Fails
When it’s treated like:
A job board
Desperation
A replacement for outbound
It also performs poorly when:
The role is too niche
The employer brand is weak
The creative is generic (“We’re hiring!”)
The campaign runs for only a week or two
You don’t have enough budget
🧠 Where PPC Works
PPC wins when:
You have a clear value prop
You know your candidate persona
You retarget warm traffic
You start before you need to hire
🛠️ The Playbook
1️⃣ Run Awareness First (Not Apply Ads)
Promote credibility and context, not job posts.
Think: employer brand, team stories, problems you’re solving, “why this role exists.”
Goal: familiarity and trust - not clicks (remember, this is a long-game).
2️⃣ Retarget the Right Signals
Retarget people who:
Visited your site or careers page
Watched your videos or clicked awareness ads
Visiting certain blogs or product pages
3️⃣ Hand Off to Outbound + Human Follow-Up
Use PPC to warm the audience - then convert with outbound and real conversations.
PPC builds recognition.
Outbound books interviews.
Summary:
Awareness → Retargeting → Outbound conversion
That’s how PPC supports hiring without wasting budget.
🧩 To Sum It Up:
PPC isn’t a miracle lever - it’s a rounder for your entire talent ecosystem.
Layer it with outbound and job boards.
And use it to convert passive candidates or candidates already moving through your funnel.
🎁 And To Wrap It Up…
A real recruiting engine is job posts + outbound + referrals working together.
PPC isn’t the engine.
It’s a spark.
Without the fuel and cylinders behind it, nothing moves.
Use PPC to amplify your brand and long term recruiting plan.
HOW WE CAN HELP?
There are a few ways:
Or you can just reply to this email.
I reply to absolutely everyone who writes me back 🙂
