Recruiting Agency Cuts Time-to-Fill by 40%
How a boutique tech recruiting firm doubled their placements and reduced time-to-fill — while their recruiters spent less time sourcing and more time closing.
The Challenge
TechTalent Partners (name changed) is a 12-person recruiting agency specializing in engineering and product roles for startups. Competition for tech talent is fierce, and they were losing candidates to faster-moving competitors.
Their pain points:
- • Recruiters spending 60%+ of time on LinkedIn sourcing
- • Average time-to-fill was 45 days — clients wanted 30
- • Generic InMail messages getting 15% response rates
- • Best candidates taken by competitors who reached out first
They needed to reach more candidates faster — without sacrificing the personal touch that wins talent.
The Solution
TechTalent implemented LeadHunter to automate candidate sourcing while maintaining personalized outreach:
AI Candidate Scoring
Each candidate scored based on experience match, recent LinkedIn activity, openness signals (like "Open to Work"), and engagement patterns.
Personalized at Scale
AI wrote unique messages referencing each candidate's recent projects, tech stack, and career trajectory. Not "Hi {firstName}" templates.
Intelligent Follow-ups
If a candidate didn't respond, follow-ups adapted based on new activity — like congratulating a work anniversary or referencing a new post.
Conversation Handoff
When candidates expressed interest, AI gathered initial info (availability, salary expectations) before warm handoff to recruiters.
The Journey
Candidate Persona Setup
Defined 5 candidate personas for their top client needs: Senior DevOps, Full-Stack Engineers, Engineering Managers, Data Scientists, and Product Managers.
AI Sourcing Begins
LeadHunter identified 3,000+ passive candidates matching personas. AI scored candidates based on experience, recent activity, and likelihood to respond.
Outreach at Scale
Personalized messages went out referencing each candidate's background, recent posts, and relevant opportunities. 52% responded positively.
Pipeline Overflow
Consistent flow of qualified candidates. Recruiters shifted from sourcing to relationship-building and closing.
The Results
From 45 days to 27 days average
Up from 15% with generic InMails
Same team, double output
Reinvested in candidate relationships
"Our recruiters used to spend most of their day searching LinkedIn. Now the AI handles sourcing, and they focus on what they're best at — building relationships and closing candidates. We're placing twice as many people with the same team."
Key Takeaways
Speed wins talent. First recruiter to reach a passive candidate often wins. AI outreach runs 24/7.
Personalization at scale is possible. 52% response rate proves AI-written messages can feel genuinely personal.
Recruiters become closers. Shifting from sourcing to relationship-building increased placements and job satisfaction.
Clients notice the difference. Faster time-to-fill led to 3 contract renewals and 2 new client referrals.
See how other teams use LeadHunter: SaaS Startup · Consultant · All Use Cases
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