EP329: Being on The Apprentice: Taking Risks & Starting Again - Melica Moshiri, Founder, SkillTorchEP329: Being on The Apprentice: Taking Risks & Starting Again - Melica Moshiri, Founder, SkillTorch
The Recruiter's Recruitment Podcast
Recruiter and founder Melica Moshiri talks through her journey from law graduate to AI executive search specialist, including her stint on BBC’s The Apprentice and the impact it had on her young business. The conversation highlights risk‑taking, rebuilding momentum, and using content and close client partnerships to thrive in a competitive recruitment market.
34:09•22 Jun 2026
From Law Grad to TV Candidate: Melica Moshiri’s High‑Risk Recruitment Journey
Episode Overview
- High‑volume cold calling and traditional recruitment training can build strong resilience and fast career progression.
- Working with early‑stage startups helps candidates gain multiple skills by wearing several hats instead of staying in narrow roles.
- Embedding closely with clients, including joining their Slack channels and weekly check‑ins, improves cultural understanding and placement success.
- Taking six weeks away for a TV show can seriously disrupt a young business and make it harder to regain focus and momentum afterwards.
- Hosting an industry podcast can boost knowledge, relationships and client wins in a crowded, often ignored email and LinkedIn environment.
“I was away for about six weeks… and even when you do come back to reality and to work, you physically just cannot get back to a normal job that easy.”
Ever wondered what it takes to walk away from a steady recruitment career, launch your own firm, and then press pause to appear on a huge TV show? This episode of The Recruiter’s Recruitment Podcast follows exactly that chain of bold moves through the story of Melica Moshiri, founder of SkillTorch.
Melica shares how she went from a law graduate with "no idea what recruitment is" to becoming a top performer in tech executive search, opening a US office, and finally building her own AI and robotics search business. Her early days at Pareto Law are described as "brutal", with 150 cold calls a day teaching her resilience, tenacity and a thick skin for all the "stop ringing me" moments.
She then lifts the lid on the reality of joining BBC’s The Apprentice while running a young company. From cancelling RPOs and signing strict NDAs to being "away for about six weeks" with "no communication with the outside world" beyond a 10‑minute supervised call, she explains how tough it is to return and "physically just cannot get back to a normal job that easy".
She’s frank about the impact on her billings, her mental energy, and why she says that if invited now, she’d probably decline. For recruiters and founders, there’s plenty of practical stuff too. Melica talks about partnering closely with early‑stage AI and robotics companies, joining clients’ Slack channels and becoming almost "part of their business" to fill very niche roles.
She also shares why her Future Pulse podcast has become a powerful way to learn about AI, win clients and build genuine relationships in a noisy LinkedIn landscape. If you’re weighing up big risks, craving a reset, or wondering how to mix old‑school phone work with modern content, this conversation might have you asking: what bold move could you take next?
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