Recruitment As Your GTM Radar

By Arsalan Abbasi, Founder of Aventine Lab, and Lauren from QED

Recruitment isn’t just about hiring; it’s about gathering intelligence, shaping strategy, and positioning your business ahead of the competition. By looking deeper into hiring patterns, candidate insights, and industry trends, you can transform recruitment into a strategic tool for understanding your competitors and the market itself.

Here’s how to use recruitment as your business’s competitive radar.

1. Recruitment as a Window into Competitors’ Strategies

Hiring patterns and team shifts tell you a lot about your competitors’ priorities and challenges. By observing these movements, you can uncover their strategic focus.

Are they scaling up Customer Success? This likely means they’re tackling client retention issues.
Letting go of SDRs and doubling down on marketing? That could signal a pivot because outbound sales didn’t work.
A Head of Compliance leaving a big firm is often a sign that the team under them may also start looking for new opportunities.

These insights aren’t just observations, they’re opportunities to adapt, pre-empt, and outmanoeuvre.

2. Conducting Deep-Dive Interviews

Candidates bring more to an interview than their CV. They carry knowledge about their current and previous workplaces. By asking the right questions, you can gather valuable insights about competitors’ strategies, technologies, and internal processes.

How to prepare for an in-depth interview:

Research the candidate’s background. Know where they’ve worked and what their roles entailed so you can ask informed questions.
Understand the competitor. Familiarise yourself with their products, recent launches, and organisational culture to frame targeted questions.

Strategic questions to ask:

“What’s your team’s approach to product development? What methodologies do you follow?”
“How does your company prioritise tasks when multiple projects are underway?”
“What are the main challenges your team faces, and how do you handle them?”

Build rapport and trust:

Start with conversational icebreakers to make the candidate comfortable.
Assure confidentiality to encourage open sharing.
Actively listen and probe deeper when something catches your attention.

The goal is not just to assess a candidate’s fit but to extract actionable intelligence.

3. Analyse and Centralise the Data

After every interview, document the key points immediately. Capture details about competitor strategies, operational processes, and pain points. Store this information in a centralised knowledge hub like Notion, Confluence or Slack.

Best practices for organising insights:

Tag notes with relevant keywords like “x pricing” or “x weakness.”
Cross-reference data from multiple candidates to identify patterns or recurring issues within a department of your competitor.
Share insights with internal teams in strategy meetings to align efforts and adjust tactics.

By structuring your data, you can turn scattered pieces of information into a clear picture of your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

4. Leverage Recruiters as Industry Scouts

Recruitment agencies are a goldmine of market intelligence. They interact with a wide range of businesses and candidates, giving them a unique view of the industry.

What to ask your recruiters:

How does your salary package compare to competitors?
What hiring trends are emerging in the market?
Are there notable shifts in talent mobility or industry focus?

Recruiters can also spread the word about your employer brand, positioning your company as a desirable place to work.

5. Branding Through Recruitment

Recruitment is not just about acquiring talent; it’s a chance to showcase your business’s values and culture. A strong employer brand attracts high-calibre candidates and builds a positive reputation in the industry.

Steps to elevate your brand through recruitment:

Highlight your company’s unique strengths during interviews, such as career progression, innovative projects, or work-life balance.
Share success stories that reflect your organisation’s culture and impact.
Ensure your branding aligns with the values of the talent you want to attract.

The stronger your brand, the more likely you are to attract top talent and make your competitors envious.

6. Using Recruitment to Gauge Market Trends

Recruitment trends can reveal industry-wide changes before they become obvious.

A spike in layoffs may indicate economic challenges or a shift in business priorities.
Increased hiring in AI or compliance roles suggests that companies are preparing for technological or regulatory changes.
Talent moving from startups to corporates might point to shifting risk appetites or funding issues.

7. Exit Interviews: Learn, Don’t Haggle

Exit interviews are often overlooked but are critical for improving your organisation.

Understand why someone is leaving. Are they seeking better pay, more challenging work, or a different culture?
Use the feedback to identify gaps in your own organisation.

This isn’t about persuading someone to stay. It’s about using their insights to build a better workplace and retain top talent in the future.

8. Transforming Insights Into Action

Insights are only valuable if you act on them. Share what you’ve learned with relevant teams and adapt your strategies accordingly.

Adjust hiring criteria based on the skills and experiences your competitors value.
Identify opportunities to poach top talent who can bring fresh perspectives and expertise.
Use market trends to refine your go-to-market strategy and stay ahead of competitors.

Every insight should serve a purpose either strengthening your position or exploiting a weakness in the competition.

9. Capitalise on Talent Mobility

Job adverts, industry conversations, and recruiter feedback can help you spot talent mobility trends.

Are employees leaving certain companies or sectors? That’s an opportunity to attract skilled professionals.
Are specific roles in higher demand? Consider developing expertise in those areas to gain an edge.

Stay agile and adapt your recruitment strategy to align with where the talent market is headed.

10. Recruitment as a Long-Term Strategy

Recruitment isn’t a one-time task; it’s a continuous process of gathering intelligence and improving your organisation.

Train your hiring managers to conduct interviews that extract both talent fit and competitor insights.
Regularly review and update your recruitment processes to ensure they align with your strategic goals.
Build a network of relationships with recruiters, candidates, and industry insiders to stay informed.

By treating recruitment as an ongoing strategy, you position your business for long-term success.

Final Thoughts

Recruitment is more than hiring, it’s about gathering intelligence, refining strategy, and outplaying the competition. By combining targeted interviews, recruiter insights, and a strong employer brand, you can turn your hiring process into a strategic advantage.

Co-written by Arsalan Abbasi, Founder of Aventine Lab, and Lauren from QED