EP328: Referrals, Resilience & Market Trends in 2026 - Shannon Rowlands, Qui RecruitmentEP328: Referrals, Resilience & Market Trends in 2026 - Shannon Rowlands, Qui Recruitment
The Recruiter's Recruitment Podcast
Recruitment specialist Shannon Rowlands talks with host Lysha Holmes about building a long-term rec-to-rec career through referrals, resilience and strong processes. They also discuss AI, culture, flexibility and which recruitment markets look strongest and weakest heading through 2026.
45:16•15 Jun 2026
Referrals, Resilience and Hot Markets: Shannon Rowlands on Recruitment in 2026
Episode Overview
- Build a sustainable recruitment career by being consistent, resilient and sticking tightly to a clear process rather than chasing quick wins.
- Strong referral business comes from doing the right thing for people over time, even when there is no immediate placement on offer.
- Top recruitment firms retain talent through transparent pay and commission, meaningful flexibility and open communication about how the business is performing.
- Use AI to remove low-value admin work so recruiters can focus on human conversations, relationship-building and deeper market understanding.
- Newer recruiters benefit from in-office learning with experienced colleagues, avoiding comparison on social media and focusing on steady, incremental progress.
“As long as you keep pushing through and just being consistent and being resilient, that’s all you can do in rec2rec.”
What makes a recruitment career keep working, even when the market doesn’t? This chat between host Lysha Holmes and long-standing colleague Shannon Rowlands from Qui Recruitment digs into exactly that. Shannon talks through nine years in rec-to-rec, from office-based trainee in 2017 to trusted principal consultant with “50% of my business coming from referrals”.
She explains how that reputation was built on sticking to process, refusing to cut corners and staying visible to candidates and clients even when things felt bleak, especially during Covid. As she puts it, “as long as you keep pushing through and just being consistent and being resilient, that’s all you can do in rec2rec.” For leaders, there’s plenty here about how to keep good recruiters.
Shannon breaks it down into three pillars: clear pay and commission (“not having to sit there for hours with a calculator”), genuine flexibility that reflects experience, and real culture – including honest communication about how the business is doing and actually asking people what they want rather than telling them. You’ll also hear a grounded take on AI.
Rather than buying every new shiny tool, Shannon sees the best firms using tech to strip out admin and free recruiters to do what AI can’t: build relationships, read nuance and support candidates through change. Towards the end, they walk through data on 2026 market trends: tech and AI, life sciences, engineering, green energy, defence and finance are all flagged as strong; retail, hospitality-adjacent roles, media/creative and office support are described as under pressure.
Importantly, Shannon stresses the chance for recruiters to pivot into healthier sectors and reminds newer consultants to “stick in your own lane” instead of comparing themselves on LinkedIn. If you’re trying to stay positive in a choppy year, this one might nudge you to refine your basics, look again at your market and ask: where could a bit more resilience and clarity take you next?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.
Related Episodes
Similar episodes from other shows in the catalogue.