I've been the one living with a bad hire. So I work hard not to make them.
I've spent around 15 years in recruitment, roughly half in the Netherlands and half in the UK. I've hired for 5-person startups and 1,000-person EMEA teams, from intern to CEO.
For a few years I was Head of People at SwipeGuide, growing the team from 8 to 35 through to an exit. That's where I learnt what a hire really costs when it goes wrong, and it's why I recruit the way I do.
Born in Nottingham, based in Amsterdam. Ex-chef. Will play you at chess.
The rules I work by.
I wrote these for myself when I went freelance. They're still the rules I work by.
- Hire great people, not just fill roles.
- Be an embedded partner, not just a recruiter.
- Do the heavy lifting so your team can focus on their work.
- Bring real market insight, not opinions.
- Build your employer brand through candidate experience.
- Be transparent on wins, learns, timelines and cost.
- Hire for real business goals and the actual need.
- Challenge, train and upskill hiring teams.
- Treat candidates and hiring managers like humans.
Great hires start with a great experience.
Start with a great candidate experience and you don't just make the hire. You see people at their best, so you can assess them properly, thoroughly and fairly.
I build diversity, equity and inclusion into every process I run, from where we source to how we assess.
And I keep it genuine. I build relationships, not just pipelines.
I can also help level up your TA function.
AI that actually helps
AI-assisted tools where they save time, without losing the human bit.
Better processes
A review of how you hire, then a process that's faster and fairer.
DEI that's real
Inclusive sourcing and fair assessment, built into the process.
Coaching recruiters
I've coached around 30 recruiters, from first role to senior.
Interview training
Hiring managers who know what they're assessing, and how.
Ways of working
Clear roles between TA, hiring managers and HR, so nothing gets dropped.
In their words.
"Ben took ownership of the entire process from day one. What impressed me most was how tight and predictable the process felt: clear milestones, consistent communication, and never a moment of uncertainty about where things stood."
Mark KranenburgOwner, Upsmart"He had a huge impact in the organisation, including the team, who learned from Ben, the hiring managers and candidates that always gave great feedback about him."
Raquel Peña AlonsoDirector of Talent, ASICS EMEA"Ben's not your typical recruiter: he brings a deep understanding of startups, challenges hiring managers (in a good way), and knows the type of people that fit well over here."
Gerben MeyerCTO, Resumedia"Ben was a huge support in helping us hire two senior leaders into our People team at INDG | GRIP!"
Gaby EngelsmaPeople & Culture, INDG & Grip"Ben helped us scale our engineering team in the summer of 2024, exceeding our hiring expectations while keeping our cost-per-hire impressively low."
Arkaitz GarroGroup CTO, ISH"Working with Ben enabled me to build a team that had one of the highest retention and satisfaction rates in the company."
Sue LiFormer CTO, SwipeGuide"It took me over a year to convince Ben to join SwipeGuide full-time, and it was worth every bit of the effort."
Willemijn SchneyderFounder, SwipeGuide"He has a keen eye for cultural fit and runs one of the most efficient, structured hiring processes I've ever seen."
Lisa SchmirlColleague at SwipeGuide"His approach was refreshing, the conversation was pleasant, no-nonsense and personal."
Chris SnijderCTO, Locus EU"Taking on culture, tone, general outlook and really thinking with us to suit our particular set of needs."
Joost ElferingStartup CTO and CPO"Expanding your team and the recruitment process around it can be a very pleasant and even fun experience."
Mark van der VeldenTechnologist
A recruiter household
My wife Libby runs Colourfox, recruitment and people & culture. Handy when a client needs extra capacity.
Life outside the inbox.
Hiring something tricky?
Book 30 minutes straight in my calendar, or send me the job description and I'll come back with a rough plan.