Talent Attraction Operating Model
A structured, measurable engine combining referrals, direct outbound, market visibility, and events — with every lead attributed in Ashby regardless of whether it came online or offline.
Referrals Day 1
Highest-conversion channel. Audit existing program and activate targeted asks immediately.
- Audit current referral program
- Role-specific referral asks
- Reinforce via C-level messaging
- Track referred candidate quality
Direct Outbound Core Volume
ICP-driven campaigns via LinkedIn + email. Structured sequencing through Gem / Ashby.
- ICP-first intake per role
- LinkedIn + email two-channel
- Boolean search libraries
- Apollo.io email enrichment
Market Signal Always On
Support leadership social presence and align all messaging with the employer narrative.
- C-level LinkedIn content support
- Employer narrative alignment
- UTM tracking with Marketing
- Glassdoor / Blind management
Events & Community Later Phase
After core pipeline is stable. Accelerates referrals and builds network density.
- Event scoring + ROI framework
- QR → Ashby attribution links
- Post-event talent nurture
- GTM / Fintech community
Toronto Talent Map
Key tech and fintech companies across the Toronto ecosystem. Click any pin to view company info and jump directly to LinkedIn.
Open Roles — Relay
Live roles from jobs.ashbyhq.com/relayfi. ICP fields pre-loaded with market knowledge — full calibration post-intake with each hiring manager. Intake notes upload coming in next release.
Pipeline Dashboard
Weekly pipeline health, funnel conversion, and the reporting framework for the first 90 days.
Channels
Four sourcing channels working in parallel — each tracked and attributed back to Relay's pipeline in Ashby.
First Touch — GTM
Hi [Name], I came across your profile and was impressed by your work at [Company] — specifically your experience in [area/achievement]. I'm building out the GTM team at Relay, one of the fastest-growing fintech platforms for small businesses in North America. We're scaling aggressively and I think there's a genuinely interesting conversation here. Open to a 20-minute call this week? Carl
First Touch — Engineering
Hi [Name], Your work on [specific project / stack] caught my eye. I'm sourcing for the engineering team at Relay — we're building financial infrastructure for SMBs and have genuinely interesting problems to solve at scale (Node.js / TypeScript / React). Not a cold pitch — happy to share what the team is working on first. 15 minutes this week? Carl
Follow-up #1 — Day 4–5
Hi [Name], Following up on my note from earlier this week — inboxes get busy, I get it. Relay is in an exciting growth phase and your background is genuinely relevant. Even if the timing's off, happy to stay connected. Worth a quick chat? Carl
Follow-up #2 / Referral Ask — Day 8–10
Hi [Name], Last note from me. If this role isn't the right fit right now, totally understood. But if you know anyone in your network who'd be excited about a [Role] at a fast-growing fintech — I'd love an intro. Happy to keep the door open either way. Carl
Employee Referral Ask
Hey [Name], We're actively hiring for [Role] on the [Team] team — and the best leads always come from people already here. Do you know anyone who might be a great fit? Looking for someone with [1–2 key criteria]. Even a warm LinkedIn intro goes a long way. Happy to give you more context on the role. Carl
C-Level Referral Note
Hi [Executive Name], As we scale hiring for [Role], I wanted to reach out directly — your network is exactly where the right person likely lives. Looking for [1–2 sentence profile]. If anyone comes to mind, I'd love to set up a conversation and take it from there. No pressure — even a name to research is helpful. Carl
Network / Alumni Ask
Hey [Name], Hope you're well. I'm building out the talent pipeline at Relay (fast-growing fintech for SMBs, Toronto) and thought of you. We're hiring for [Role] — not sure if it's right for you directly, but you probably know people who'd be a great fit. If anyone comes to mind, I'd love an intro. Carl
Post-Intro Follow-Through
Hi [Referred Candidate], [Referrer Name] thought we should connect — they spoke highly of your background and I can see why. I'm Carl, Talent Attractor at Relay. We're building something genuinely interesting in fintech and I'd love to share more. Open to a quick call this week? Carl
C-Level Content Support Framework
Employer Narrative Alignment
| Event | Audience Fit | Seniority | Size | Cost | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Fintech Summit | ⬆ High | Mid–Senior | 200–500 | $$ | 9/10 |
| Pavilion GTM Summit | ⬆ High | AE / Manager | 150–300 | $$ | 8/10 |
| Toronto Node.js Meetup | ⬆ High | IC Engineers | 50–100 | Free | 8/10 |
| MaRS Discovery Events | → Medium | Mixed | 100–300 | $ | 6/10 |
| Generic Tech Conference | ⬇ Low | Mixed | 500+ | $$$ | 3/10 |
Post-Event Follow-up (24–48 hrs)
Hi [Name], Great meeting you at [Event] — I enjoyed our conversation about [specific topic]. As I mentioned, I'm building out the talent team at Relay (fintech for SMBs, Toronto) and I think your background in [area] is genuinely interesting to us. Open to a 20-minute call next week? Carl
Event Nurture — Monthly Check-in
Hi [Name], We met at [Event] back in [Month] — hope things are going well. A few exciting things at Relay since then: [1–2 company updates]. We're also continuing to grow the [Team] team. Wanted to stay on your radar in case the timing makes more sense now. Carl
Lead Attribution
Every candidate — whether they came from a LinkedIn message, referral, C-suite intro, or event conversation — is tagged in Ashby with source, channel, and attributed to Carl Casis. Nothing falls through the cracks.
| Channel | How it's tracked | Ashby source tag | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Outbound | Sourced via LinkedIn/email → screen booked → logged in Gem/Ashby sequence | Sourced - Outbound | Carl Casis |
| Referrals | UTM referral link shared with employee/network. Manual entry for offline referrals via this OS. | Referral — [Name] | Carl Casis — Referral Program |
| Events | QR code at event → Ashby link with UTM params (utm_source=carl-events, utm_medium=event, utm_campaign=[name]) | Event — [Name] | Carl Casis — Events |
| C-Level Intro | Carl CC'd on intro email. Candidate logged here → API creates Ashby candidate with source + relationship note. | C-Level — [Exec] | Carl Casis — Leadership Network |
| Community | UTM link in community posts / Slack. Manual logging for offline community conversations via this OS. | Community — [Channel] | Carl Casis — Community |
| Candidate | Role | Channel | Source Tag | Logged | Ashby Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No candidates logged yet. Use the form above to log your first sourced candidate. | |||||
30 / 60 / 90 Day Plan
From building the engine in the first 30 days to a predictable, measurable sourcing machine by day 90.
30 Days — Build the Engine
Days 1–3060 Days — Make it Repeatable
Days 31–6090 Days — Predictable Pipeline
Days 61–90📝 Scratch Pad
Written answers to case study questions that are addressed verbally during the presentation — not directly demonstrated in the OS tool.
1A · Market Architecture — How do you segment talent markets across GTM, Tech, and G&A? How would you prioritize capacity?
Part 1 · Q1I segment by talent pool behaviour, not job family. Each lane has a distinct sourcing motion. GTM talent (BDRs, AEs, RevOps, Marketing) is most abundant in Toronto but also most competitive — the ICP centres on candidates from fintech Series B–D companies who have already sold into SMB. Wealthsimple, Paddle, Stripe, Shopify, and Clearco are tier-one pools.
Engineering is tighter. Best candidates are mostly passive. The ICP focuses on Node.js/TypeScript/React engineers from fintech-adjacent companies. Sourcing is slower cadence, higher personalisation — the message leads with technical craft, not company mission.
Product is smallest volume, highest stakes. PMs at Relay need to sit at the intersection of payments infrastructure and merchant experience.
With 3–5 active roles at any time, I use a priority matrix: business urgency × ICP difficulty × hiring manager readiness. GTM roles get the most volume (40% capacity). Engineering gets focused, high-touch campaigns (35%). Product is referral-first (15%). G&A/Ops fills the remaining 10%.
1B · Intake Process — How do you structure intake to support outbound conversion? How do you pressure-test unrealistic criteria?
Part 1 · Q2The intake isn't just an alignment meeting — it's where I calibrate the outbound message. I run a structured 45-minute session covering: ICP definition (what does great actually look like, not just the JD), the "why now" narrative (why is this interesting to a passive candidate today?), three non-negotiables vs. nice-to-haves, and rejection patterns from any previous search.
That last one is critical. If a hiring manager has already rejected people, I want to understand why before I source 50 more names. I document this as an ICP card that lives alongside the role in Ashby — every candidate I pass has been filtered against that standard before it hits the recruiter screen.
To pressure-test unrealistic criteria, I use market data as a neutral third party. I'll pull a talent pool size estimate from Apollo or LinkedIn: "here are 23 people in Toronto who match all five criteria." That makes the conversation factual, not political. I never say "that's not realistic" — I say "here's what the full ICP gets us, here's what a relaxed ICP gets us, let's decide together." I start sourcing against the relaxed ICP immediately, calibrating in parallel.
3 · Experimentation — How do you balance experimentation and execution? What experiments would you run early?
Part 1 · Q3First 30 days are execution-first. I don't experiment with something I haven't proven yet. By day 31 I have baseline data — which makes experiments meaningful rather than random. I protect 80% of weekly capacity for execution, 20% for one controlled experiment at a time. Two simultaneous experiments make it impossible to isolate variables.
Experiment 1 — Message framing (weeks 5–8): Split-test two frames on 60 BDR/AE prospects each. Version A leads with Relay's product story. Version B leads with the candidate's career trajectory. Primary metric: open-to-reply rate. Minimum 120-touch sample before drawing conclusions.
Experiment 2 — Referral activation (weeks 3–6): Targeted role-specific asks to 10 employees with direct network overlap vs. a general ask. Hypothesis: "Do you know any strong BDRs from your time at Wealthsimple?" outperforms "Know anyone great?" Measuring: submission rate + quality of names.
Statistical discipline: hypothesis documented before running. Minimum sample before declaring a result. Weekly tracking but no decisions until sample is complete. Confounders flagged explicitly — if a holiday skewed a week, I note it rather than letting it distort the read.
Part 2A · Talent Awareness — How do you design a demand-generation strategy that complements outbound?
Part 2 · Q1Outbound gets you the people you can find. Demand generation gets you the people who find you — and those candidates typically convert at a higher rate because they've already formed a positive impression before the first conversation.
The strategy operates on three layers: Market Signal (leadership LinkedIn presence and content), Community Presence (being in rooms where the right talent gathers), and Inbound Infrastructure (making sure when someone is interested, there's somewhere for that interest to go).
Month 1–2: Leadership LinkedIn — ghostwriting posts for Relay's founders and engineering leaders on topics that matter to target talent. Month 2–4: Targeted community engagement — sponsor or speak at 2–3 Toronto fintech and engineering events (FintoTO, Toronto JavaScript, C100). Month 4–6: Structured employer narrative content — a short series of "life at Relay" posts co-authored with employees, addressing questions passive candidates ask before applying.
Part 2C · Measuring Awareness — How do you know if events, social, or community engagement are working?
Part 2 · Q3The key is connecting upstream activity to downstream pipeline outcomes. Every candidate who enters Ashby is tagged with a source — including "event: [name]" or "social: linkedin-post-[date]". This lets me compare: do awareness-sourced candidates convert to hire at a higher rate? Shorter time-to-offer? Higher HM quality rating?
Primary signals: inbound application volume week-over-week by source, event-sourced candidate pipeline-to-hire rate, LinkedIn post engagement from target audience (not just total likes — are the right people commenting?).
Secondary signals: repeat engagement rate on warm nurture pool, referral density increase over time, and candidate survey responses at offer stage ("how did you first hear about Relay?").
6-month success definition: a meaningful percentage of hires traceable to awareness-channel touchpoints, inbound application quality measurably higher than at month 1, and Relay has a recognisable presence in at least two Toronto tech communities that matter to our hiring.