Yesterday, while visiting Lead Group’s Sydney office, I overheard an interesting exchange between two of our experienced recruiters.

A Common Challenge

One consultant, with over four years of experience, was struggling to find a candidate’s phone number.

Consultant 1: “Do you have any other ideas on how to track down this candidate’s phone number? I’ve tried Lusha, ZoomInfo, cross-referencing the Seek database, LinkedIn... but I just can’t find it.”

Consultant 2: “No mate, that’s a tough one. I’d just send him another message on LinkedIn and hope he replies.”

Then, a third consultant—someone with 15 years in the industry—overheard the conversation and asked a simple question:

"Which company does the candidate work for?"

Moments later, he picked up the phone, called the company’s front desk and said, “Hi, I need to speak with [Candidate’s Name] in your office. Would you be able to pass me their mobile? I seem to have misplaced it.”

Thirty seconds later, he had the number and handed it over.

The Lesson

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Technology is fantastic—it has changed the way we work, made processes faster, and given us access to more data than ever before. But let’s not forget the basics.

As recruiters, we got the job done long before all these tools existed. Sometimes, the simplest methods are still the most effective.

Don’t get lost in the tech.