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- Benjamin Mena - Podcasting legend
Benjamin Mena - Podcasting legend
Joel Lalgee
January 17, 2024
Thank you to the 2000+ amazing people who signed up for this newsletter. This newsletter is for Talent Acquisition and HR professionals interested in growing their brand, interested in the future of TA and love a laugh. Thanks for the support.
Trash Job Seeker advice you won't believe until you see it:
As you can see job seeker advice is out of control. I had various people in my network share posts about content circling advising candidates that wearing glasses triggers ageism, advising them not to wear glasses in profile photos or in interviews. To me this is a great opportunity for recruiters to stand out by providing actionable helpful content. I like to do this with my Tiktok live show that I run daily and the content I put out on that platform. I post some clickbait fun content but also post a lot tips, tricks and advice for candidates. The job market is tough for a lot of people so advice from a recruiter perspective can be massively helpful.
I hear a lot recruiters saying that there's already too much of this content out there, but that's because they are generally connected to a lot of other recruiters, most candidates aren't, so you can be the light in their job search. Don't underestimate the value of being helpful.
NO JOB IS SECURE- EVER.
@the_realest_recruiter 100% truth #jobstability #careertok #layoffs #techlayoffs
In case you missed it, Spotify laid off 17% of their workforce a few days after doing their Spotify-wrapped campaign. I think this was strategically timed, but either way, it's a painful reminder once again that even big companies aren't secure.
My advice to most people, especially recruiters, is to set up an LLC and start to offer contract or fractional work. That way if you need to generate revenue in downturns you can while you look for something new. Hey, you might even stick with fractional work because you enjoy it. Either way, if you can start to create safety nets and another way to generate revenue it can create peace of mind during these times.
Since 2024 has started there have already been thousands of layoffs. Confirming that the only person that will look out for you is you.
What do you think, are there any truly stable jobs anymore?
Each month, I’ll be interviewing a Talent/HR/People leader who is doing a great job with their content. (Internal recruiters, Agency recruiters, HR leaders…)
From TikTok influencers to Podcasters, bloggers to video superstars. Each episode will include a short video where they share how building their brand has impacted their career and their life.
I’ll then break down how you can use their same strategies to build your brand, so each week you’ll learn and be inspired to create content.
I’ve already lined up some fan favorites and I’m super excited to continue to learn from the best in the industry.
FROM BENJAMIN’S LINKEDIN PROFILE:
My name is Benjamin Mena, and for 15 years, I've built Data Science and Cyber Security teams for global Top Secret National Security programs.
Finding and attracting top-level people for our commercial sector is mission-critical. I know how right hire at the right time is vital for your team's growth and success.
SERVICES FOR CLIENTS AND CANIDATES
💥 Executive Retained Search (C-Level, VP, Director)
💥Cyber Security Direct Hire Search
💥 Data Science Direct Hire Search
💥 Employer/Candidate Value Proposition Development
Joel: How long have you been creating content?
Benjamin: Sharing on social media… Since 2004. Yep, I am OG The Facebook. Actually focused on creating content…. Since the start of 2023.
Joel: Why did you start creating content?
Benjamin: I really started to create content to share the awesome stories from the people that I am interviewing in The Elite Recruiter Podcast. But I will say that up until about 8-9 months ago, I was really against the idea of creating content for places like LinkedIn. Being a bit of an LI old dog, I didn’t like how the platform was catering towards content creators not those that are paying thousands of dollars to use the platform. But I came around and started to understand the impact that can be created by sharing content.
Joel: What channels/ platforms do you focus on?
Benjamin: Mostly LinkedIn, Instagram, Apple Podcast and Spotify. I feel like I really missed the boat on TikTok and Youtube, but I am trying to spend more time there. It’s the conundrum of focusing on filling positions, creating content and helping make an impact.
Joel: You’ve built a successful podcast, The Elite Recruiter Podcast, What inspired you to start the podcast?
Benjamin: Thank you for calling it successful. It’s a passion project that keeps on growing!
But!
2 Reasons…
About 2 months into my recruiting career I got pulled into an office and they sat me down and told me that I suck at recruiting and no one wants you on their team. I got told that I am on the edge of getting let go. The only reason why they didn’t get rid of me yet is because I kept hitting all the activity metrics but I wasn’t producing results. At the time, I had no where else to go and maybe 3 bucks to my name. Maybe not even at working car at that point. So I went home that night and sulked.
Each week at that company they sent out an email of the top 10 producers in each vertical. So during my lunch break the next day I started to cold call them. Some of them were gracious enough to give me their time. (This was about the time that LinkedIn only had like 2-4 million users.) During those phone calls, I learned a lot what top producers were doing and tried to emulate it within my own recruiting desk. It worked and I slowly became a top producer there within my vertical.
Secondly, I really like to share stories of what recruiters are doing to get ahead. There are a lot of ways to grow your career and your business and podcasting is a great way to highlight that and meet some awesome people along they way while helping the rest of the community.
Joel: What was the biggest surprise for you in building the podcast?
Benjamin: It can be a lot of work. The interviews and the conversations are a blast, but just like everything else there is a lot of work that happens behind the scenes to get each episode published.
Joel: How has the podcast impacted your business, career, and life?
Benjamin: First of all, its helped create some incredible relationships with people in the industry. It has also opened doors that wouldn’t have been open. You can send a ton of emails, make a ton of calls, that can go nowhere, but the second you ask someone to be on a podcast. It’s a completely different game.
For business, it has helped create enough content so I am a bit omni present online. I will go into that later. But outside of that, I learn every time I have a conversation with someone, I know the listeners are getting value. But man, I personally get so much out of it also!
Joel: What advice would you give to people thinking about a podcast?
Benjamin: Give yourself a goal of 15 episodes. You are going to make mistakes like forgetting to hit the record button. But you will have a blast along the way. Most people that try it out, never make it past the first few episodes. So 15 is a good goal. Also don’t worry about download counts. Don’t even look at that screen. Getting to 15 episodes is the only metric that matters at this point.
There are also a ton of AI tools out there that can help you create your podcast. Here is a quick list. Riverside.fm for recording, Descript for editing, Castmagic for show notes, Opus Pro and Get Munch for social media clips, and Podpage for your podcast website.
Joel: What was the most challenging part of producing the podcast?
Benjamin: Figuring out the technology part was one of my biggest hurdles starting out. Stuff like Adobe and Audacity were easy for some people but just too complex for me after hours of messing with it. My first episode probably took me about 60 hours to get published. I spent so much time trying to figure tools out before I went to Fiverr for help. The tools now are so much more easier than what was around just a few years ago. Now there is so many tech tools that are out there that can help you run a successful podcast off of 2-4 hours of work per week. I have some of those tools listed above that have helped me out.
Joel: What is the most rewarding part of producing the podcast?
Benjamin: Getting notes and emails from people talking about how the story they listened to on the podcast from one of the awesome guest, that moved their life, career, or business forward and how it made a huge impact.
Joel: What has the growth of the podcast looked like, what is there a tipping point for downloads?
Benjamin: For me it’s slow and steady. The tipping point where it started to gain traction was after the 50 episode count. Now were are just shy of cracking the 10K downloads a month. I know for some podcasts that is absolutely nothing, but for a passion project that I am having fun with, I think that’s awesome. If you want a good laugh, it took me 80+ episodes to even get a website up for the podcast, I will be sending my first email for people that signed up for the podcast email this week. There are a lot of podcast boxes that I know I should be doing but my recruiting desk is my main priority. But I am having the most fun sharing great recruiting stories and that’s what matters to me.
Joel: You also are on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, and Threads... How do you use social media to promote your business and podcast?
Benjamin: One of the cool things about a podcast if done right- It can give you way more content then you know what to do with it. You have the podcast episode that goes on Spotify and Apple Podcast. You have the video that can go up on YouTube. You can share clips of the podcast Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, TikTok, Instagram, and Threads, You can share quotes and highlights on all the same platforms. You can even use a podcast to write a blog article about it. Those are all great places to share the content that helps bring people back to your business, your guest, and your podcast.
Joel: Who are some creators that inspire you to keep creating?
Benjamin: Joel Lalgee, Who else would be an inspiration… lol.
Within the recruiting space:
Joel Lalgee, David Stephen Patterson, Ben Nader (RIP Buddy), Adam Posner, Hishem Azzouz, Mark Whitby
Outside of Recruiting:
Justin Welsh, Taylor Welch, Codie Sanchez, Mr. Beast, Alex Hormozi, Ryan Pineda
Joel: How do you maintain consistency with your content?
Benjamin: Time blocking and setting aside time to get the podcast done, including the not as fun parts of it. Also If you can outsource something, try to.
Joel: What is next for you in your content creation journey?
Benjamin: I really don’t know yet. I would love to hear from your readers. What would you do with if you had The Elite Recruiter Podcast? I would love to hear some of your insight on what I could do for the next part of the content creation journey.
Joel: What’s the biggest piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out from day 1 with a podcast?
Benjamin: Get that first 3 episodes out of the way. You don’t need the fancy tools, you can do it via zoom.
Joel: What are some tools you'd recommend people use for their podcast?
Benjamin: Tool List
Recording – Riverside.FM – https://riverside.fm/ - Probably one of the coolest recording software that I ever seen! (But you can start with zoom)
Editing – Descript - https://www.descript.com/ - You edit your podcast like you would edit a word document. You delete your “umm” and it takes it out of the podcast
Podcast Hosting – Podcast.co or Spotify for Podcasters - https://www.podcast.co/
Video Clips - Opus Pro – https://www.opus.pro/ - You drop your video in there and it magically figures out clips to share. Its not perfect but it gets you 60% of the way.
Video Clips - GetMunch - https://www.getmunch.com/ - You drop your video in there and it magically figures out clips to share. Its not perfect but it gets you 60% of the way.
Castmagic – https://www.castmagic.io/ - It uses AI to create show notes, writing show notes would take me over an hour because writing is not my strong suit.
Joel: What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you in your journey as a content creator?
Benjamin: I have had my mic die, mid recording, I have had internet problems. Luckly there has been nothing super crazy funny that has happened to me during my content creation journey. But… I am sure something will happen soon!
Joel: Where can people find you/connect with you?
Benjamin:
You can check out The Elite Recruiter Podcast at:
You can find me on these following networks:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benlmena/
Each week I am going to give you a few tips if you want to get started on creating content based on the conversation I’ve had:
Start with figuring out why you are doing the podcast. It has to be more than just business development or you won’t last. Do you want to build relationships? Do you want to create new conversations? Do you want to learn?
Don’t anticipate a quick ROI with downloads. Ben has been podcasting for years, I would know, I was one of his first guests.
Invest in the quality of the content vs the production. Production isn’t what people pay attention too, the actual content is what they care about. You can always invest in production in the future.
Thank you for reading this episode:
About the Author: Joel Lalgee has built a social media following of almost 400,000. In 2019 he started creating content on Linkedin and since then he has expanded to Tiktok, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram… yeah everywhere. He’s also hosted 2 successful podcasts. His content has been viewed over 500,000,000 times and he now coaches recruitment teams on how to create content successfully to win on social media.
If need additional help with your content I’m providing 1 on 1 coaching, corporate team workshops/training, and ghostwriting and advising services. Want to work with me?
You can book a quick call here
Until next time!
Joel
✌🏽
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