In the wild world of talent acquisition, Greg Hawkes isn't just another recruiter with a YouTube channel. He's the friend who'll show you exactly how he solved that impossible hiring puzzle. When most of us hit walls with specialized roles, Greg figured it out and brought us along for the ride (messy parts and all).
The brilliance of Greg's story isn't just his expertise. It's how he transformed frustration into community impact, proving that in recruiting, our greatest value isn't in what we keep to ourselves, but in what we share with others.
We've all faced that impossible requisition, wondering how to find unicorn candidates who aren't actively looking. For Greg, these obstacles became catalysts for growth.
"There were some really tough positions that I had no idea how to go out and find, like a PLC Engineer in Tulsa, for example."
Instead of surrendering, Greg developed a different mindset. What began as casual Facebook posts evolved into something much more significant.
"It started as just me posting some different tools and things that I've made, and before I knew it, I was making videos, and people were subscribing to my YouTube channel."
Sometimes, solving a problem means creating the solution you wish existed—precisely what Greg did when faced with limited sourcing resources.
"When I was starting out, there wasn't really a great list of tools. So I gravitated towards creating that type of stuff myself," he says.
Greg made his content unique by sharing his entire process, including mistakes. This transparency not only helped his peers but also enhanced his own professional skills.
"It's become a great part of who I am and what I do. It's also helped me with speaking," Greg notes, showing how teaching others benefits the teacher too.
The sourcing community's true strength lies in its collaborative spirit, a refreshing alternative to recruiting's often competitive nature.
"What I found was this great community with sourcing, because a lot of people will share ideas. It's really like an open-source type of environment," he explains.
This knowledge-sharing ecosystem has become vital as recruiting evolves, especially when traditional methods leave positions unfilled for months. By pooling strategies, the community elevates everyone's capabilities.
After nearly two decades in recruiting, Greg has witnessed fundamental shifts. The primary challenge has flipped: finding candidates is easier, but engagement is harder than ever.
"The market has kind of shifted. It's easier to find people because of all the different websites and social media. But it's more about drilling people in and getting them engaged," he observes.
His solution is a multi-channel, persistent approach: "You're going to have more success if you pick up the phone and message people more than once."
Greg's adaptive strategy reflects his understanding that as candidates change, recruiters must evolve, too.
Rather than fearing technological advancement, Greg sees AI as a tool that frees recruiters to focus on human connections.
"Another thing that I'm really interested in is AI and how we can utilize that in our workflow to make things easier," he shares. "If you're trying to rewrite a job spec, for example, ChatGPT is great for that."
He highlights that practical applications like translation services for global recruiting are small efficiencies that yield significant time savings. These tools don't replace recruiters; they enhance their capabilities and extend their reach.
For those hesitating to contribute to the community, Greg's advice cuts through self-doubt with elegant simplicity: just start writing.
"What helped me is that I started writing my ideas down. I started writing my ideas down, and I realized I had a lot to say. Before I knew it, I had more than 10 articles posted. I started getting an audience," he recalls.
Greg's journey from reader to creator wasn't planned. It evolved organically as he documented solutions to problems he encountered daily. He admits that his first content pieces weren't perfect. One of his earliest articles was "kind of corny," he acknowledges with a laugh, but that didn't stop him.
"I started with just kind of a corny article, I think it was Jedi related, and about how to get past the whole wall of thought," he explains.
That imperfect start led to increasingly sophisticated content about "custom search engines and CSEs and web scraping," topics that resonated deeply with fellow recruiters struggling with similar challenges. Soon, his reputation grew beyond just online platforms.
"Conferences were asking me to speak, multiple conferences, and then webinars," he shares, demonstrating how sharing knowledge online can translate into real-world opportunities and recognition.
His parting wisdom for those still on the fence? "Don't be afraid to write your stuff down and to share it. If you don't put it down, if you don't share it, nobody's ever going to read it."
Greg concludes with a powerful reminder that behind every application is a person hoping for a response.
"Right now, there are so many job seekers not hearing from recruiters. Application black hole, I call it," he emphasizes. "If you find somebody that matches your job, give them a call, because, more times than not, they haven't heard from anybody, and we need to do our part in helping people find jobs."
Through his journey from frustrated recruiter to community builder, Greg Hawkes embodies the principle that defines truly exceptional talent acquisition professionals: our greatest contributions come not from the candidates we keep to ourselves, but from the knowledge we share with others.
In a field where connections matter, Greg reminds us that the most valuable connection of all might be the one between recruiters who empower one another with knowledge and growth.