Hishem AzzouzHost Of Recruitment Mentors Podcast

Why I only meet clients face-to-face.

Name: Why I only meet clients face-to-face.
Uploaded: 2025-10-30T12:00:14+00:00
Duration: 55 s
Channel: Hishem Azzouz
Description: Hishem Azzouz argues for meeting hiring managers and clients in person over Zoom. In-person meetings over lunch or dinner reveal personal stories, build…

30 Oct 2025 · 1 min

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0:55

Hishem Azzouz argues for meeting hiring managers and clients in person over Zoom. In-person meetings over lunch or dinner reveal personal stories, build real rapport, and help assess cultural fit in a crowded market. He asks "What's your story?" to learn what candidates won't put on a resume.

Chapters

How come you have this rule about only being able to work with someone if you meet them face to face? Because it's very easy now that everything's on Zoom. You sit down with a hiring manager and you say, okay, talk to me about the business. Why is this hire needed? Who are you guys? You don't actually get to know who they are as individuals. And the market's so crowded now. There's so many different companies saying XYZ or recruiting for the same type of profile. And as soon as you create that story and people let their guard down slightly over lunch or dinner, You get to know who they are as a person. And for me, the most powerful question I'll ever ask a hiring manager, and I do it 99% of the time, is, "What's your story?" And they'll always start talking, they start talking about work, and I said, "No, what's your life story? Give me the 2, 3 minutes of who you are." And then, okay, they went to college here, this is why they did that, they got married at 25, they had kids at 28. And suddenly you start to learn who they are. And to me, that's just as important to my team as when you're selling the story of a customer.