I spent over 20 years in marketing before starting Example. It was a bold move, but I said then — and I say now — that recruitment is a marketing job. This is more true than before — as AI gets more involved in the recruitment space — what matters most is the understanding of the market, the hands-on experience of the roles and the defined network of candidates who trust their recruiter to do things right. Hello there — we're Example.
For over 20 years, I lived and breathed B2B & SaaS marketing, both agency and brand-side. From content publishing to SEO, paid search, paid media, account handling — through to being MD of a digital agency and eventually global CMO, I've always had a deep affection for the marketing industry, and have always sought ways of elevating what we do.
When I left my role as CMO, I knew that I needed to do something different. And then I realised exactly what — or more precisely WHO — had made my teams so successful. My teams themselves.
Unwittingly, I had been running a talent acquisition operation wherever I went. I knew in advance who I wanted, I had ways of getting to them, and I screened like mad for the right people.
I always had an expression that I would tell candidates — “we never hire lightly”.
I brought that ethos into Example. I always brought a rigorous approach to recruitment, one that considers the experience of the candidate, and now the client. One where you never sell, you never twist arms, you work with honesty and transparency and — armed with the tools of a marketer of over two decades, we bring a fresh approach to recruiting marketers.
The very best recruiters are marketers in disguise.
If you're choosing a recruitment agency, you may get the feeling that they're all the same.
I used to feel that.
For many years, I worked with recruiters who simply couldn't understand the complexity of the requirements we had. I had interviews with candidates who clearly hadn't been screened, who had no idea why they were there, and hadn't been prepared.
When I left my role as global CMO, I realised that I'd already fixed that problem. By building out the team there, and having built out agency teams with my own internal processes, I'd already created the frameworks for a recruitment agency.
The big recruitment agencies have had their day. They hire graduates fresh out of university and expect them to find senior marketing talent and be able to have a conversation with them.
Our difference is that we've done the job ourselves. We've been hands-on for many years, through SEO, PPC, Paid Social, Performance, Demand Gen, Social, and we've been the hiring managers.
We've built a recruitment agency that knows not only how to find amazing people, but how to assess their suitability for you.
Not all recruiters are the same, and Example is resolutely and naturally different.
Intake, Research & Sourcing
The quality of our intake dictates the quality of our research, and the quality of our research dictates the quality of our sourcing. We have over 1,000 product marketers on our CRM — and more beyond in our network. Our AI agents will work to highlight possible matches before we hand-curate a list to talk to.
Screening & Scrutiny
Our AI agents have been trained to understand deeply what you’re looking for and what our candidates have achieved — but nothing beats the human scrutiny that comes from a proper 30-minute chat with every candidate we feel could be a match. And as a former CMO, Gareth is perfectly positioned to deliver that level of scrutiny.
Your partner throughout
We are the perfect intermediary — client-focused but candidate-first. Our job is to ensure a perfect match, not just that you get the archetype that you want, but that they actually do deliver growth. That’s why we defer the final 5% of our fee until 24 months. If they don’t stay, for whatever reason, you don’t pay it.
Book a briefing call
Whatever stage you're at, we're here to help. Book into Gareth's calendar to save some time to discuss your hire.
Grab a time →Point us at the role. We'll deliver the shortlist.
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