Speed and Intent are the Key to Thrive in the Volatile Recruitment Market – Kevin Loomis

In the eighth episode of the Humans of Recruiterflow series, meet Kevin Loomis, President of Xyon Global and Director of Recruiting at Blue Castle Agency.

With 25 years of experience, Kevin’s strategy centers around “Leading relevant discovery by researching, facilitating, and persuading with genuine trust.”

Though his recruitment journey was far from linear, it’s that of purpose and impact. 

Entry, Breakthrough, & Results

Sometimes, the best career advice comes when we’re least ready to hear it. For Kevin Loomis, it was during his college years that a professor told him he’d make an excellent headhunter, thanks to his innate curiosity and knack for connecting with people.

Kevin brushed it off at the time—he had his sights set on Wall Street.

For nearly a decade, he pursued that dream, working as a stockbroker in one of the most cutthroat environments imaginable. The fast pace and high stakes were thrilling at first, but the job took its toll over time. Kevin grew increasingly disillusioned with the industry and the person he felt he was becoming.

A turning point came when he reconnected with a college friend who proposed they start a business together. During one of their conversations, his professor’s words resurfaced: “You’d be great at headhunting.” This time, the idea stuck. Kevin decided to leap, co-founding an IT consulting firm in the late 1990s when technology was booming and opportunities abundant.

What started as a venture quickly became a calling. Kevin was energized by the work, which involved meeting people from all walks of life, learning their stories, and helping them secure opportunities that changed their lives.

“There’s something incredible about finding someone a role that not only elevates their career but also impacts their family and future. It’s a fulfillment I never found on Wall Street.”

Over the next decade years, Kevin built expertise across industries like biotech, technology, and sales. His precision hiring strategies have helped teams and businesses alike.

For instance, at one software startup, employee turnover soared to a staggering 70%. However, Kevin’s strategic approach reduced it to just 10%, stabilizing the company and significantly improving morale. Similarly, for a struggling SaaS firm, he designed a scalable hiring framework that paved the way for an impressive $11 million acquisition in just five years.

Today, as the Director of Recruiting at Blue Castle, he is on a mission to build a recruitment business that prioritizes speed, intelligence, and deep human understanding.

The Metrics That Kevin Loomis and His Team Track

Metrics are the backbone of any winning recruitment strategy. For Kevin Loomis, three non-negotiable KPIs that every recruiter should track, including:

1.  Speed

Kevin believes recruitment is a race against time, and speed can make or break the process. Every step is measured and optimized From when an order is received to the moment the position is filled.

“There’s a shelf life for every job order,” he explains. “If we don’t act fast, we’ll miss out. That expiration date could be days, weeks, or months, but the sooner we act, the higher our success rate.”

2.  Candidate Pipeline Efficiency

Next, Kevin prioritizes the quality and efficiency of his candidate pipeline. He keeps an eye on these three sources:

• Applications: “These are the easiest to track. We aim to process them immediately as soon as they come in.”
• Database Searches: Kevin sets a hard rule—every job order must trigger a full database sweep within 24 hours. “Our database is our goldmine. If we’re not leveraging it quickly, we’re wasting time.”
• Sourcing: This involves building new pipelines in record time.

The KPI for each sourcing method depends on factors like the role’s complexity, the market saturation, and the location. “In dense markets like New York City, it takes longer to stand out. But in smaller regions, we can often dominate the candidate pool quickly.”

3.  Campaign Effectiveness

Kevin’s team also tracks how efficiently they can nurture sourced candidates into viable prospects through targeted campaigns. The team uses tools like Recruiterflow to ensure candidates stay engaged and move swiftly through the funnel.

A Common Thread: Speed with Intent

Whether it’s processing applications, leveraging the database, or building fresh pipelines, Kevin emphasizes that speed + intent hold it all together.

“Be fast and intentional. Each step should move you closer to the goal of closing the position efficiently.”

Adapting to Challenges in a Volatile Market

Change is the only constant in recruiting. Navigating the highs and lows of such a volatile market is both a challenge and a defining aspect of Kevin’s work.

“The market is unpredictable. Some days, it’s red hot, and others feel like everything’s on pause.” This unpredictability requires recruitment businesses to be quick and adaptable at once.

When the economy slows, companies often hire in-house, reducing the need for external recruiters. Recruitment businesses face lower demand during this time and must find ways to sustain operations without overspending.

Conversely, companies struggle to scale their internal recruiting teams fast enough to meet demand when the economy heats up. That’s when most of them partner with a recruitment agency.

The key to thriving in this market lies in being flexible as the situation demands.

“We’ve built our agency to scale up to 200 miles an hour when the market demands it, but we can also slow down and keep operations lean during slower periods.”

This efficiency comes from:

• A well-organized database: A rich pool of qualified candidates ensures they respond quickly to client needs.
• High-margin operations: The team can weather slow markets without compromising service quality by keeping costs low.
• A nimble team: Your training and processes should help your team seamlessly adapt to changing demands.

Another tip is to be the best in the market.

However the market condition, Kevin and his team stand out for their unmatched expertise and deep industry knowledge.

Unlike many recruiters who may not understand the specific roles they’re hiring for, Kevin’s team knows the multifamily industry inside and out. From job requirements to industry trends, they can answer any question without lengthy client explanations.

“Our expertise speaks for itself. Within two minutes of speaking with us, you’ll know we understand exactly what you need. And that’s exactly what keeps us going.”

The Disruptive Role of AI

AI has fundamentally reshaped the recruitment industry, and according to Kevin Loomis, we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible. “We think we know what AI can do, but we don’t,” he admits. “The potential is massive, and we’re just at the beginning.”

Hyper-Personalized Outreach at Scale

One of AI’s most significant contributions to recruitment is its ability to create hyper-personalized outreach. By analyzing data from various sources—such as job titles, industries, hiring trends, and company growth metrics—it generates customized messages tailored to each recipient.

Thanks to AI, Kevin’s team can send thousands of personalized emails every week—at a speed and scale that would be impossible manually. “People don’t even realize these emails are AI-generated. That’s how customized they feel,” he says.

AI in Candidate Sourcing

When it comes to finding talent, tools like LinkedIn’s advanced filters and smart tags are already effective, but AI takes them to the next level.

“AI helps with sourcing the right people and reaching them with the right message,” Kevin notes.

Beyond sourcing and outreach, Kevin uses AI to craft interview questions, fine-tune job descriptions, and even analyze candidate data. “It’s a massive time-saver,” he says. “And it allows me to ask better questions and focus on high-value tasks.”

What does Success Look Like to Kevin?

For Kevin Loomis, success is something that evolves with life’s stages.

Today, success means scaling and building Blue Castle into a high-margin, intelligently automated recruitment powerhouse. His goal is to achieve rapid growth, reaching $3–4 million in revenue within a few years, all while maintaining lean operations that outperform traditional staffing models.

A decade ago, his definition of success was different. It revolved around family—being present for his kids, attending their games and appointments, and ensuring they knew their dad was always there.

Tips for Fellow Recruiters

1. Find a Mentor and Learn Actively

One of the best ways to grow as a recruiter is to partner with a seasoned professional. Work with someone you deeply respect—someone who has been in the industry for years and has honed their craft.

Listen attentively during their interviews, observe how they handle different scenarios, and take mental notes. As you gain confidence, conduct simpler interviews under their guidance and seek their feedback.

2. Know Your Market Inside Out

Expertise matters. Take the time to thoroughly research the industries and markets you work in. Watch videos, read company profiles, and study industry-specific trends. It will equip you with relevant knowledge to ask thoughtful questions, demonstrate credibility, and build trust with candidates.

When candidates see you as an informed professional, they’re more likely to open up and share insights that go beyond surface-level answers.

3. Ask Open-Ended Questions

Avoid yes-or-no questions, which yield limited information. Instead, ask open-ended questions that encourage candidates to elaborate. For example:

• “I see you’ve been in this role for a while. What aspects of it do you enjoy the most?”
• “Can you walk me through the challenges you’ve faced in this position?”

These types of questions allow for deeper conversations and help understand candidates better.

4. Ask Follow-Up Questions for Consistency

Always try to keep your interviews more conversational and free-flowing. For instance, if a candidate provides conflicting information, address it diplomatically:

“Earlier, you mentioned this, but now you’re saying something slightly different. Could you clarify this for me?”

Such techniques can reveal underlying details or concerns, helping you make more informed decisions.

5. Stay Persistent and Patient

Recruiting is a journey, not a sprint. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed at the start, but every step forward adds to your growth. Stay curious, embrace feedback, and keep learning.

Wrapping Up

The recruitment landscape of 2025 resembles little to the one Kevin Loomis entered over two decades ago. Today’s marketplace moves at the speed of technology, and the difference between securing or losing top talent often boils down to minutes, not days. Yet Kevin’s philosophy remains refreshingly human-centric: understanding stories, recognizing potential, and making an impact.

His story proves that intentional recruitment, backed by technology and human intelligence, is the key to success.