Is recruiting a job title… or a professional discipline?

In this episode of Beyond the Bottom Line, I sit down with John Ruffini, Vice President of Professional Development at HealthTrust Workforce Solutions, to break down what recruiting really is and why so many teams are still getting the basics wrong.

John has spent 30 years in the staffing industry. Every recruiter at HealthTrust goes through a two-week bootcamp he built that cuts ramp time by 30%. He has started and rebuilt branches, chaired multiple ASA councils, keynoted Staffing World, and literally wrote the book on recruiting fundamentals with his Amazon best seller “Money Makers – Proven Ways to Increase Sales and Productivity in the World of Professional Recruiting.”

We get real about:

• Why recruiting is a professional discipline, not a job title
• The difference between reactive “post and pray” and true proactive recruiting
• How AI is exposing bad habits faster than ever (and where it actually helps)
• Why ghosting, black-hole ATS experiences, and weak outreach are self-inflicted
• What the best staffing firms and TA leaders are doing to train and develop recruiters today

We also dig into metrics, ramp time, and what it looks like when recruiters actually understand the business impact of their desk—not just their daily activity targets.

About John:
John is VP of Professional Development at HealthTrust Workforce Solutions, past Chair of ASA’s Healthcare, Search & Placement, and Education Section Councils, multiple-time Staffing World presenter, and ASA’s 2024 Volunteer of the Year. He’s the author of Money Makers and the #1 Amazon best seller A Quest for Alex.

Connect with John:

• LinkedIn: search John Ruffini
• Instagram & TikTok: @beabetterrecruiter

Giveaway:
John is giving away a free copy of “Money Makers” to the best Mailbag question about recruiting, training, or leadership that comes in after this episode.

Send your questions for John (or for me) to: info@elevatetalentsolutions.net

And if you’re serious about building better recruiters:

• Check out The Recruiter Training Hub: www.recruitertraininghub.com
• Learn more about Elevate Talent Solutions: www.elevate-talent-solutions.com

Follow the show so you do not miss upcoming episodes and future Mailbag sessions of Beyond the Bottom Line: Balancing Evolution with Execution.

You think you’re saving money on recruiting? Think again.

In this episode, I break down one of the biggest (and most expensive) blind spots in business today — undertraining, under developing, and overpaying recruiters to process instead of recruit. From “post and pray” job posting chaos to AI tools collecting digital dust, it’s time to ask the real question: what do you actually want your recruiting team doing?

Ron shares candid stories from staffing leaders, HR teams, and his own war stories from the field — the ones that prove most companies aren’t short on talent… they’re short on direction.

If your team’s drowning in applicants, ghosting candidates, or spending more on job boards than strategy, this one’s for you.

Tired of hearing:

• “Customize your resume for every job.”
• “Make sure your cover letter shows your personality.”
• “It’s all about timing and luck.”

Yeah… no.

In this episode, I dive headfirst into why recruiting advice online has turned into a parody of itself. From 350+ “AI tools” that recruiters don’t fully understand, to job descriptions that read like broken fortune cookies, to the endless cycle of “we get thousands of resumes” sympathy posts — it’s all become noise.

This isn’t about hating recruiters — it’s about calling out the bad habits that make good recruiters look bad.
Because the truth is, most recruiters aren’t lazy — they’re untrained, unsupported, and stuck inside broken systems that never taught them how to recruit in the first place.

This episode is real talk for anyone tired of the nonsense.
Because the problem isn’t timing.
It’s training.
And too many people either were never offered this course.....or skipped class.