From Minimum Wage to Six Figures: How I Learned to Work With Recruiters and Create My Own Opportunities

From Minimum Wage to Six Figures: How I Learned to Work With Recruiters and Create My Own Opportunities

From Minimum Wage to Six Figures: How I Learned to Work With Recruiters and Create My Own Opportunities

📌 This week, I’m sharing my personal story of how I went from minimum wage to a six-figure career, and the six career levers that made it possible. Each day, we’ll look at two parts of that journey: what I got wrong at the start, the shifts that changed everything, and the lessons you can apply to accelerate your own career. Today, we’re talking about two levers that put me back in control: recruiters and proactive outreach.

5. Recruiters and Executive Search: Navigating the Gatekeepers

When I first started applying for roles again, I assumed recruiters were there to help me. I’d send off applications and expect them to “find me something.” But here’s the reality: recruiters don’t work for candidates, they work for clients.

That misunderstanding cost me valuable time. I’d send my CV into what felt like a black hole, never hearing back, and wondering what I was doing wrong. The truth? I wasn’t positioning myself in a way that made it easy for recruiters to place me.

📊 Research shows just how influential recruiters are. A Korn Ferry survey found that executive search firms place more than 40% of executives into new roles globally. Heidrick & Struggles highlight how boards and CEOs rely on search firms to surface senior talent they’d never find through ads.

The turning point for me was reframing recruiters as partners, not saviours. Once I started building relationships with the right ones in my industry, I changed how I engaged:

  • I tailored my CV so it was crystal clear what type of roles I wanted
  • I treated recruiter calls as mini-interviews, ensuring I came across as credible and easy to place
  • I kept in touch regularly - not pestering, but staying visible. This, more than anything, led to roles that truly suited me.

And when I finally landed positions through recruiters, I realised the key wasn’t waiting to be “found.” It was making it effortless for them to match me with the right opportunities.

I don’t think it’s unfair to say recruiters are a ‘mixed bag’. Many chase quick wins. But if you can identify the good ones, understand their incentives, and build long-term relationships, they can become powerful allies.

🔍 Searching question for you: Are recruiters working for you? Or are you making it harder for them to place you?

👉 Call to action: If you’re not sure, grab our Professional CV Review Service to stress-test your document.

6. Using News, Trigger Events & Direct Approaches: Creating Your Own Luck

Even after I’d built solid recruiter relationships, I realised something else: the very best opportunities rarely reached the open market. By the time a role hit a job board, it was often already half-filled through networks or search firms.

So, I learned to get ahead of the curve.

The strategy that changed everything was spotting trigger events, the moments that signal opportunity:

  • A company announces a funding round
  • A merger or acquisition is finalised
  • A CEO or senior leader steps down
  • A business wins a major new contract

Each of these creates leadership gaps. If you reach out before a role is advertised, you’re not competing with 200 applicants — you’re positioning yourself as part of the solution.

I also discovered the value of door openers. Reporters at local business papers, chamber of commerce contacts, networking group organisers — these people often had their ear to the ground. They not only knew when things were shifting but could also introduce me to decision-makers. That network of door openers became a real game-changer.

📊 McKinsey research shows that proactive talent pipelines cut time-to-hire dramatically. Jobvite reports that referral hires are 55% faster to onboard and stay longer than those from job boards.

For me, the moment it really clicked was when I reached out directly to a company after reading about its expansion. I wasn’t applying for a listed role; I was positioning myself in the context of their growth. That conversation created opportunities that never would have existed if I’d waited passively.

This wasn’t luck. It was strategy. And it’s one many executives still overlook, preferring to play the traditional “apply and wait” game.

🔍 Searching question for you: When a CEO announces a $50M funding round, are you one of the first in their inbox? Or are you reading about the role six months later on a job board?

👉 Call to action: If you’re not confident in that answer, explore our LinkedIn Review Service to make sure you’re not leaving opportunities on the table.

The Takeaway

Working with recruiters taught me to play the game differently: they don’t exist to find you a job, but if you partner with them effectively, they can open doors you’d never reach alone. And learning to spot trigger events gave me back control, allowing me to create opportunities instead of waiting for them.

Together, these levers shifted me from being a passive candidate to an active strategist in my own career. They reinforced the truth that in today’s market, waiting quietly isn’t a strategy. Being proactive is.

Tomorrow, I’ll share my story in a different way: a Q&A-style conversation where I’ll answer the questions I’m most often asked about my journey from minimum wage to six figures. I’ll reflect on the hardest parts, the biggest lessons, and the advice I’d give to anyone feeling stuck right now.

Because the truth is, it’s never just about getting a job. It’s about building a career you control.

📌 This blog is part of my From Minimum Wage to Six Figures series. Each day this week, I’m breaking down two of the six levers that transformed my career:

👉 Read yesterday’s post here: Reputation & Learning
👉 Continue to the next post here: Interview Q&A

Your next career move deserves more than guesswork. At Resume Pilots, we specialise in crafting executive-level CVs and LinkedIn profiles that get results. We showcase your impact and position you for six-figure roles.

If you’re serious about taking control of your career story, let’s talk.

👉 Schedule a call with our team today and take the first step toward your next big opportunity.