Your recruiter, for as long as you need one.
Hi, I'm Ben. Hiring stuck, or no recruiter in-house? I run your hiring end to end, from first brief to first day. 44 of my last 49 niche vacancies filled, usually within 30 days.
11 recommendations from clients, colleagues and candidates
- Netherlands
- England
- Freelance or fixed fees
Teams I've hired for
Not an AI recruiter.
On site
EMEA HQ
What do my clients say?
"No pile of CVs, no guesswork. Just the right people, presented at the right time."
Mark KranenburgOwner, Upsmart"He had a huge impact in the organisation, including the team, who learned from Ben, the hiring managers and candidates that always gave great feedback about him."
Raquel Peña AlonsoDirector of Talent, ASICS EMEA"Ben's not your typical recruiter: he brings a deep understanding of startups, challenges hiring managers (in a good way), and knows the type of people that fit well over here."
Gerben MeyerCTO, Resumedia"Ben helped us scale our engineering team in the summer of 2024, exceeding our hiring expectations while keeping our cost-per-hire impressively low."
Arkaitz GarroGroup CTO, ISH"His approach was refreshing, the conversation was pleasant, no-nonsense and personal."
Chris SnijderCTO, Locus EUEverything.
I've hired everything from a brewer in Yorkshire to a CTO in Amsterdam. My sweet spot:
- Tech
- Product
- Growth
- Leadership
- Ops & Finance
Every job family and level, HQ roles across the Netherlands, the UK and Europe. I've also hired in the US, Africa and Asia.
A typical senior hire, in about six weeks.
Kick-off
Transparent all the way through. You see what I'm doing, what's working and what isn't, in a rhythm that fits your team.
Why am I different?
Flexible and fractional
- A core member of your TA team, or your solo recruiter.
- Full-cycle recruitment for 1 to 20 open roles at a time.
- Scale me up or down as hiring changes.
- My wife Libby (Colourfox) is a recruiter too, which helps with capacity 😉
A proper toolbox
- A human recruiter with 15 years of experience.
- AI sourcing and automated, personal outreach.
- Best-in-class interview notes for better decisions.
- A 13,000-strong network across the Netherlands and the UK.
An HR brain
- I've been Head of People, scaling a startup from 8 to 35.
- I know Dutch and UK employment law.
- A trusted advisor to your hiring managers, not just a CV sender.
- An HR lens on every hire.
Agency, in-house or me?
| What you get | Agency | In-house hire | Ben |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term talent pools | No | Yes | Yes |
| Builds your employer brand | No | Yes | Yes |
| Understands your culture and business | Rarely | Yes | Yes |
| Objective hiring advice | No | Yes | Yes |
| Flexible, turn on and off | Yes | No | Yes |
| Incentivised on results | Yes | No | Yes |
| HR and recruitment advice in one | No | No | Yes |
| How you pay | 20 to 25% of salary | A full salary | Freelance or fixed fee |
Companies rarely need a full-time recruiter, especially startups. No cure, no pay? Yes, I do that too. It costs a bit more, but it's low risk.
Ways to work with me.
Interim Recruiter
4 to 40 hours a week, as part of your TA team or your solo recruiter.
Request pricing → Fixed feeSingle Search
One role, start to finish. No cure, no pay: the risk sits with me.
Request pricing → For close clientsHR as a service
For some of my close clients, I also provide HR as a service.
Ask me about it →Want my pricing?
Drop your email and I'll send it over, usually the same day.
Things I've learnt.
"The biggest bottleneck is misalignment at the start."
Me, in theHRD on hiring speed →
Why is my job advert not working? 6 questions to ask yourself
Read on LinkedIn → Candidate experienceEngaging with unicorns by optimising your candidate journey
Read on LinkedIn → Employer brand16 steps to build an impressive startup employer brand on a budget
Read on LinkedIn →Recent on LinkedIn
Is startup hiring harder than corporate hiring?They can both be hard. Just in completely different ways.
My dad has just retired. Turns out, I've been taking notes my whole life.38 years running his own business, and the lessons I want to carry into mine.
I called a candidate to tell them why they didn't get the job.Apparently using a phone to follow up is vintage behaviour.
Hiring something tricky?
Book 30 minutes straight in my calendar, or send me the job description and I'll come back with a rough plan.