Kevin Grunewald

6-8 months ago, everyone was saying post, post, and when you are tired of posting, keep posting. Now the algorithm is favoring engagement over posting. A lot of people i talk too are not interested in changing their content habits either they don't have time or they just don't want to. Due to this their content performance is at record lows. This is the case for some, but not all who say their reach is down. I highly recommend to anyone who's in the content game to comment more than you post. I've gotten 55k impressions this past week off of two thoughtful comments.

If you've got a "hard to fill" req sitting on your desk right now, chances are it's not the talent pool that's broken. It's the search strategy. Here's one example of what that looks like in practice. When a role like composite engineer or manufacturing engineer isn't getting traction, I don't just widen the same search. I look at adjacent industries where the core skill set transfers and the training gap is small enough that hiring teams are comfortable with a slightly different background. I've made hundreds of hires this way over my career; candidates the "obvious" search never would have surfaced. I've spent 7+ years in recruiting and talent acquisition solving exactly this kind of problem across energy, manufacturing, healthcare, and engineering. Most agencies compete on speed and volume. That's not what actually cracks a stubborn search. Here's what works, mapping adjacent talent pools instead of re-running the same query, building real inbound pipelines instead of relying on paid job boards, and running a process disciplined enough to follow through on every commitment made in an interview loop. That approach has helped me cut cost savings by six figures and beyond, reduce time-to-fill by 30%, and maintain a 75% interview-to-offer ratio, even on the searches everyone else had given up on. If you've got a role that's been open too long, or a talent strategy that isn't producing results, let's talk. I can help. My rates are well below market average, and I'd rather solve the problem than just fill a req. DM me if you'd like to chat about partnering up.

Most recruiters optimize for speed. I optimize for whether a rejected candidate would still refer their friend to apply. Over my career, energy, renewables, pharma, skilled trades, and high-volume mfg. I've built 100% inbound candidate pipelines without paid job boards or agencies. At one company, that approach helped me cut agency spend by 98%, saving $7M+ during a major restructuring. At another, it helped fill 125+ roles in a year, and maintained a 75% interview = offer ratio. Closed out a very niche technical role within my first 65 days that was open for 2+ years. The metric nobody talks about is the one that actually built those pipelines: → Every final-round candidate gets a call back from me. → Every commitment made in an interview loop gets followed through on. → Every "no" is delivered like I'd want to receive it myself because that candidate talks to 10 other people about how it went. Speed and volume are easy to chase. A great candidate experience is harder, slower, and almost never measured, which is exactly why it's the biggest unlock most recruiting teams are leaving on the table. This is the process I've used throughout my career, across every industry I've recruited in. It's also the reason candidates keep coming back, even after a "no." P.S. Here's a pic of me while visiting the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta last week, and no, I didn't try all 140 flavors. I did try 20+ flavors, and it was glorious. I highly recommend.

Layoff therapy, anyone? At this point, almost everyone in my network has gone through some type of reorg or layoff. I'm putting together a series called layoff therapy. Vote below if you would be interested in reading about that.

Im seeing a huge surge in referral based hiring. How do I know this? Im currently interviewing with multiple companies that ive been referred too by people who i either know personally or follow my content on here. Your network is not just your net worth. Its your professional lifeline. Treat it as such. I always tell people, build your network now so its there for when you need it. Sending good vibes to everyone whos interviewing this week. I hope you get that "we'd like to make you an offer." email.