I was at dinner with a founder not too long ago. Great guy, really sharp, building an exciting company. Then about an hour into the dinner he tells me he just couldn’t find good people. That he’s tried everything but nothing was working.

I asked him one question.

Who’s on your list?

He kind of stopped and looked at me. You could see the wheels turning.

And I think in that moment he knew exactly what that meant. He didn’t have a list.

You know that scene in the movie Inception where Leo explains that the most resilient parasite is an idea? That once it’s in there you can’t get it out?

“Why don’t I have a list?”

Think about it this way. Every founder I know builds a list of their ideal customers. Their ICP. They research them, study them, figure out exactly what makes them tick and craft ways to get their attention. They treat it like a science.

But ask that same founder for their ideal candidate list, the specific people they’d want inside their business, and most of them go blank.

It’s the same strategy; same discipline. Just one list builds your revenue, the other builds your team.

But you need both.

A talent pipeline is a living, evolving list of people you’re paying genuine attention to. Building real relationships with over time. So that when the moment is right, the conversation is already warm.

It’s a combination of habit, process and list building. And it starts long before you ever need to hire.

The habit is simple; Always be on the lookout for strong talent in your industry.

When you come across someone who’s impressive, or publishes a thoughtful post, or apart of a strong project, or a recommendation from someone you trust… Simply notice them. That’s the beginning.

The process is intentional. Reach out with recognition; No pitch. No agenda. Just a genuine acknowledgement of something they’ve done. A post they wrote, a milestone they hit, or a project they completed.
Most people never get that kind of recognition. It opens a door immediately.

I primarily do this on LinkedIn.

I send a connection request with no note, and once they accept, I follow up with a voice note referencing something specific about them.
Not a pitch; Just a person to person moment. It immediately drops their guard and starts the kind of conversation that actually goes somewhere.

From there I stay connected.

I pay attention to what they’re working on, how their career is developing, what matters to them.
I’ll do things like: share a book that reminded me of a challenge they mentioned, or invite them to an event that would genuinely benefit their career or even just send a video relevant to a project they’re focused on.

And if I’ve had the chance to grab a coffee or lunch with someone, I always follow up with a handwritten note. Every time. It costs three minutes and leaves an impression that lasts years.

None of this is transactional. That’s the point!
A-players can smell a pitch from a mile away. What they respond to is someone who actually sees them.

Everyone you connect with goes on the list. Not a cold database but a living document you actually tend to on a regular basis.

What you’re building toward is alignment.
The moment when what you can offer meets what they’re ready for.

It could be career advancement, a chance to lead a team, the opportunity to build something from scratch, more autonomy or just the next chapter of their lives.

You’re not forcing that moment. You’re being present enough to recognize it when it arrives.

And if you’re putting the right energy out, the right people will find you too.

The best ways to accomplish this is produce content, share ideas, and just being a recognizable voice in your industry.

Magnetic energy attracts A-players who are paying attention.

Sometimes you don’t have months. You need someone now.

Here’s what I do. Run a bulk search on LinkedIn using your key criteria. Job title, industry, years of experience, location, etc. I then build a list of 100 to 200 profiles and go through each one and find one specific thing in common with me: It could be a shared interest, a mutual connection, a sports team, a school, an industry opinion… But something real.

I then send a connection requests to the entire list, with no message in the connection (that’s important!). When they accept, I immediately follow up by sending a voice note on LinkedIn mobile, referencing that one thing in common.

NOTE: At this stage, I am NOT pitching. I am sharing a genuine human moment and establishing a conncetion.

I had a client come to me last year, who needed a highly specialized role in a software used by only a handful of people in their industry...
They told me they had tried to fill this role for months and have tried everything; and at this point, were convinced the person didn’t exist.

But they did exist. We found them and then leveraged this SAME EXACT approach to form a connection and discover the bridge to what this candidate wanted to accomlish next in their career to what our client was offering in this opportunity….

The crazy part was, this candidate lived on the opposite coast but the client made it work without hesitation because they knew the value this person would bring.

That’s what a warm relationship does. It removes the friction that cold outreach never could.

If apply this strategy correctly, after 10 to 20 of these interactions, you will consistently have 3 to 7 warm conversations already in motion. With people who trust you before you ever make an ask.

And going through 100-200 profiles shouldn’t take you more than 1-2 days to complete

The companies that always seem to find the right people aren’t lucky. They just never stopped looking.
They built relationships before they needed them. And when the moment came, the conversation was already warm.

Start your pipeline today and you’ll never make a desperate hire again.

See you next Tuesday.

Jared
Founder, The Hire-archy

P.S. Do you have a talent pipeline right now? Even an informal one? Hit reply and tell me how you’re currently keeping track of people worth watching. I read every one.