From Laid-Off Recruiter to Staffing Firm CEO | Catiana Ibarra

Benjamin Mena [00:00:00]:
Are you still trying to grow your recruiting desk or business on your own? Join the Elite Recruiter Community and connect with recruiters who know your challenges. Members get unlimited access to replays from the AI Recruiting Summit, Finish the year strong and all our past events plus biweekly roundtables where we dive into sourcing, business development and mindset. You'll also tap into our Billers Club for accountability and a split space to partner on roles. Join the number one growth environment for recruiters. For just $49 per month, you'll be part of a tight knit group that pushes you to grow and you can cancel anytime. Visit the link in the show notes and click Join now to get started and start mastering your craft today. Coming up on this episode of the

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:00:38]:
Elite Recruiter Podcast When Covid hit as I was giving the letters of layoffs to my employees, I knew that mine was gonna come at any moment and I got it. I was like how dare you. I I spent my years here. I did my hardest and now you're saying no. I'm going to prove you wrong.

Benjamin Mena [00:00:59]:
Welcome to the Elite Recruiter Podcast with your host Benjamin Mena where we focus on what it takes to win in the recruiting game. We cover it all from sales, marketing, mindset, money, leadership and placements. You know the resume never tells the full story. Candidates share what really matters during conversations, on calls and interviews, over email. Their motivations, salary expectations, plans to relocate. Most of that detail ends up buried in notes and forgotten. Atlas changes that. It's the AI first recruitment platform built to eliminate admin.

Benjamin Mena [00:01:36]:
It captures every conversation automatically and turns it into something you can use. With MagicSearch, you can ask Atlas questions like who talked about wanting a four day week? Or who mentioned they're open to relocating next year? It searches across your entire database and pulls the answers instantly. No keyword guessing and no digging through old notes. You get insight from real conversations, not limited resume fields. Atlas also makes BD easier with opportunities you can track and grow client relationships powered by generative AI and built into your existing workflow. If you want visibility, smart dashboards give you a clear view of the pipeline across your business. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported over 40% EBITDA growth and over 80% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.

Benjamin Mena [00:02:20]:
It's built for agencies that want to grow without adding more manual work. Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive listener offer at recruit with atlas. Com. I'm excited about this episode of this podcast because here's the thing. How often have you gotten told no. How often have you gotten told no that you're not good enough for this, you're not going to make it. This isn't for you.

Benjamin Mena [00:02:51]:
No, no, no, no. You're not going to cut it. I'm excited about this story because our guests got told no over and over and over. She wasn't good enough. She didn't have it. But here's the thing. No has taken her all the way to being the CEO of a staffing firm. This is a story for you listening out there who thought that maybe you can't make it, maybe you don't have what it takes, maybe this isn't the world for you, but this is.

Benjamin Mena [00:03:31]:
The opportunities are there. So if you are looking for a path to leadership, if you are looking for a path to getting great, to becoming a lead, to being the CEO. I'm excited about this episode. So Katiana, welcome to the podcast.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:03:48]:
I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

Benjamin Mena [00:03:51]:
So quick 30 second self introduction before we start having fun with this episode.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:03:56]:
Hi everyone, Katya Niwara. We're here from the beautiful island of San Juan, Puerto Rico. I'm the CEO and brand manager of Peoplelift and what we do, pretty simple. We are an HR staffing AI consultant firm for clients all over Latin America, Puerto Rico and the States that help them personalize their situations in order to provide ideas and results that are tangible in order to continue to grow their business.

Benjamin Mena [00:04:23]:
What was the first no that you remember getting? The first one that really stuck with you?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:04:28]:
My dad. Very simple. My dad, my dad was a second generation business owner. He had a pharmacy over 40 years and I used to help him as the manager for the last five years of that work and I was really into it. I was finishing my bachelor's degree in business administration and I told him that I wanted to pharmacy, that I wanted to continue the legacy and he said no. And the reason was very simple. He said and I, and I remember it to this day that I as a woman I needed to have the flexibility because my roles will change upon once I started going to my next chapters that being a wife and a mom and everything else and the responsibility and the hours that it will take me to run a business wouldn't allow me to fulfill those other roles as I wanted. Shocker.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:05:31]:
Really shocker. I was so hurt but it gave me the fire to be like, okay, I understand. Pharmacy is not for me. I will continue. That will be the end of chapter But I will prove you wrong. That was my. My. My catchphrase.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:05:49]:
I will prove you wrong. So what I did next was continue studying and doing my master's. Because I wanted to show that even because I'm a girl, because I can have other roles in my life, that didn't mean that I couldn't define myself as a professional of where I wanted to be. So basically, that's it. And then I had my second one. So if you want to continue. Literally that same year, I had my second one with my professor telling me, telling all the classmates that we weren't up to student material and master's material because we. On the first day, he asked us to read five chapters, and I was like, five chapters in one day.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:06:36]:
And when we asked him that simple question, we were just starting and he was like, if you're not capable of doing this, you're not master's degree material. So just dropped. I don't know where he's at, that man. But every time that I was tired from studying or I thought I was going to flunk a class, I remember those words. And I was like, I'm going to prove you wrong.

Benjamin Mena [00:07:07]:
Well, I got to ask this, like, especially coming from a family member, because I think anytime a family member says something, it stings so much more. How did you make no become the fire instead of accepting that, like, as you can't do it as your identity.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:07:25]:
Effy, we need to understand. I come from a culture that the roles are very identified. So girls are to stay at the house and stay with your parents and stay with the kids. And then the man is the one that produces the money in order to continue the household, to continue to grow. So in my case, as me being the only girl, I was always thought that that was what was supposed to be right. The good thing in my eyes was that even though my dad told me this, I had a very strong willed brother and mother that were telling me that you could do so much more even if you're a girl. So my brother taught. My little brother taught me from a young age how to change a tire, how to change oil.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:08:15]:
Everything that he did, I was just beside him because he always said to me, doesn't matter. Human is human. Doesn't matter who you are. So with me, when he said that, I know it hurts. And I won't lie, it did hurt. But for me, it was like such a fire. And I was angry more than hurt. I was like, how dare you? I spent my years here, I did my hardest.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:08:46]:
And now you're saying, no, I'm gonna prove you wrong. So that's basically like, I never wanted to give the opportunity that I was gonna fail. Like, it didn't. I didn't want it.

Benjamin Mena [00:09:00]:
In my head, I think that's important. And the reason why I wanted to ask that question is because there are paths that we take. And if you want a good laugh, like, when I first started recruiting or even looked at recruiting, I had somebody tell me that, like, you know, I'm Hispanic too. We are salespeople. It's not in our family. Like, we're never supposed to be salespeople. And I actually took that to heart and somehow whispered that in the back of my head for so many years that it softly became part of my identity without me realizing it. And I.

Benjamin Mena [00:09:31]:
I love how you took that as a fire to grow. I had to learn how to unlearn that and respeak a new truth.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:09:39]:
I think it's part of the path. In my case, it was like I could just accept the path and be like, okay with it, or would I challenge it? And I don't know why. I really don't know why. For myself, I felt that I needed to challenge it. I couldn't just stand still. And for someone to tell me that it was because I was a girl or it wasn't my type of thing to do or my path, because you don't decide for me. That's what I do.

Benjamin Mena [00:10:11]:
And you wouldn't be sitting here today in the position that you're at now.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:10:14]:
Exactly.

Benjamin Mena [00:10:15]:
If you accepted the no. So anyways, let's dive in. How did you end up in this wonderful world of misfit toys? Recruiting.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:10:22]:
It's very simple. I finishing my master's degree, I was looking for employment like everyone else. Nobody was giving me a job because even though I had experience in management and sales, because I used to work at a mall, when everyone went there, shout out to my people from Champs Force that I did my 10 years there. So I was really proud of that I was there. So I knew how to interact with people, interact with team members, but nobody was giving me the chance. And I talked with a colleague from college and I was like, I don't care how much they pay me. I just need a job. I just need that one opportunity that someone can trust me and be able to make it work.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:11:06]:
So she worked at one of the top agency staffings here in the island, and they were looking for a replacement as a sorcerer. And I'm like, you know what? How much this went tomorrow and I gave the notice to my dad and I'm like, you know what? I'm gone. I found a job. And they were like so shocked, like, oh my God, she's actually. They were happy because they were. They were seeing me running my path. But at the same time, it was five years of running the business, they could not come and I was running it and now they're going to be doing it all by themselves. So it was a really like weird chapter of me ending it and I literally just cut the cord.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:11:47]:
So I started there being a sorcerer, understanding, headhunting one on one. But from the principal, no LinkedIn. LinkedIn was just starting. So don't think about that. The clients were saying, we want this type of candidate. This candidate is in this and this and this company. So I used to call the company pretending that I was a lawyer, that I was a mom, that I and worked on fucking regulated industry. And me trying to sell a story in order to create this environment and create the candidates to say yes.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:12:29]:
And I found out that I liked it because it was a mixture between my psychology major, myself experience and in the end helping them out. When people started calling me, just thanking them or crying because I was helping them, that made the world. And I started getting good at and then I am from a sourcer. I came recruiter then I was one of the top in my area. So I was like, you know what? This is it. I got it.

Benjamin Mena [00:13:06]:
When did you start to realize that recruiting wasn't just about filling jobs, it was about building lives?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:13:16]:
Not in 2017. I don't know if you know the story here in the island, but Hurricane Maria hit. And when Hurricane Maria hit, we were out of power, water and electricity. Power, water, ATM didn't work. Food wasn't coming in fast enough. Water wasn't coming fast enough. So we were really struggling. My company, in order to make it work, we started hiring for our clients stateside and provided support.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:13:51]:
But we were still using our 787 code. And one candidate, when I called him, never realizing that he had family in the island, he responded by mom. And when I said, I'm so sorry, I'm not your mom. My name is Katya and I introduce myself, I'm like, I'm so sorry. The thing is that I haven't talked to my mom in two months and I thought finally you were the one that was my mom. That I'm still. I remember that story to this day. I got chills.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:14:28]:
His mom was part of the community or the City that I had family members. So I asked him phone number, I asked him names, I was able to connect them. This candidate wasn't my candidate that made me fill this role. But seeing how I was able to connect and care and make a difference in this candidate's life, that was the best.

Benjamin Mena [00:14:55]:
Let me take a step back on that. Like Puerto Rico, it was hard after Maria.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:15:02]:
Yes.

Benjamin Mena [00:15:03]:
Like, I mean this is catastrophic event. Like probably one of the worst hurricane damages I've seen, period. What did you guys do with your guys recruiting desk when the whole world has fallen apart?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:15:16]:
My recruiting desk. From 10 to 15 job openings, I had zero. And we were like, we're going to be out of a job and we have to remember part of being a recruiter and we all know this is the huge amount of what we earn is commission. So without jobs, there's no commission. And without commission, what are we going to do? So we were like, what are we going to do? So our strategy and everything that was open in Puerto Rico that needed jobs was put on hold until like another year. So what we did was look into the States. How could we support our clients stateside given the prices for Puerto Rico? So instead of giving normal stateside pricing, we were giving it by half. And then since our offices were the ones that had electricity, in my case, I stayed six months without electricity and water.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:16:17]:
So I prefer to don't look at it wasn't that bad. We get accustomed to a generator or our best friends. So with that I stayed at the office and just did my work because they were air conditioned. We had air conditioned. We could have warm food. We can had fun and not think about the reality that was out there that everyone was confronting for a few hours a day.

Benjamin Mena [00:16:46]:
Yeah, six months, man. I. I complained after like two days of not having power after a hurricane.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:16:54]:
Six months to the T. My family received it one week prior to Christmas. I received it in February.

Benjamin Mena [00:17:01]:
Wow.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:17:02]:
You get used to it. You know that this happened. And you can do two things. You can cry and get frustrated and depressed and think that the world is against you or you can strive from it. I decided to strive.

Benjamin Mena [00:17:16]:
And so power came back, recruiting came back. Where did your story go?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:17:21]:
Like, came back. And I was like, I could do so much more than just recruiting. I was like, you know what? I did my master's. I'm starting my PhD. I want to do more. I can do more. I want to do employee relations. I want to do organizational structure.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:17:38]:
So I started running that path and I didn't like it. And I knew I didn't like it, but that was my job. And I wasn't gonna show that I fell to anyone, even though I didn't like it. So I started doing everything that I could to show that I was good at it, but feeling miserable, because the fact is, was feeling miserable what I like when I was told that I needed to recruit, Every time that I was told you needed to recruit for your departments, it was like, that's where I strive, and that's where I was good at. And then Covid hit. And when Covid hit, as I was giving the letters of layoffs to my employees, I knew that mine was going to come at any moment, and I got it.

Benjamin Mena [00:18:24]:
So your job was to lay off all your employees, knowing that once you did all that, you were getting yours.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:18:32]:
And I remember it to this day, April 24, 2020. And I got mine. And when I got it, the director's message was, I know you. You are good at recruitment, but we need it more. So if we had more recruiting, you were still being it. But since COVID hits, we never know what was going to happen. So in my head, I was like, you just didn't say that. You just didn't say that I wasn't good enough.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:19:05]:
Because in my head, I was like, back into those other two guys that told me I couldn't. My dad and then the professor. So I'm like, I'm going to prove you wrong. So I went to my house, I cried, I hugged my husband. I'm not going to lie. Because people are going to be like, oh, my God, no. I cried. I cried my eyes out for four hours, went to bed, woke up, and I had a strategy.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:19:32]:
I was like, I hit up every recruiter, Recruiter that I knew in the island. I was like, I'm gonna get my next job because I can stay home and just wait for this next opportunity or just apply and wait for someone to call me. I needed to see and make it through to get a job as quick as I can, because stateside, you could go up. In the island, we were locked down from March to, I think it was August or more than that. We couldn't go out. The only people that could go out were doctors, nurses, or if there was an emergency, we even had to have ID tags showing that we were able to go out because we were locked down because of COVID So I was like, I need to make sure that I'm able to get a job, even in this environment. And I got it. And then in three Months.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:20:36]:
I was able to not just find a job, get interviewed and get employed. So I started doing that. Mind you, my last employer called me when literally a week after I started, like, are you interested in coming back? And I'm like, no, thank you so much. Wishing you the best. No problem about it, because I already have a job. So I started doing this, but unfortunately it was contract work. I started seeing this loophole of contract work to contract work. And I wasn't having the stability that I needed in order to have a resume that people could be like, you know what? I'm impressed.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:21:19]:
Let's work on it. Because after my first formal employment with the agency, all of my employee work were only 10 months in. So I like, I'm getting dangerous. I'm going to very difficult waters because I know I'm not going to be able to protect myself or I'm going to be an asset to a company. So then I got to my. Before people left, I got to my dream job. You know, when you have a company in your head that you're like, I want to work there and I want to be part of that company because I know they're amazing. So I did that.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:21:54]:
When I got there, it was for a contract role. I knew it, but I was like, if I work hard, I'm going to get it. I'm going to get that permanent position that I want. Because I knew that that was how you got in. It was regulated industry. Four months in, my leader, that was one of my mentors up to this day, asked me for a meeting. You know, when I got there, she told me, if I could, you would be still in the team. But the person that you are substituting is returning, and I can't have you.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:22:31]:
I don't have a budget. I'm trying to get a budget, but I can't. And I only. For now, I only have you for 45 more days. So why I'm telling you this is because I don't want you to be surprised in 45 days when I need to let you go so you can start looking for employment.

Benjamin Mena [00:22:54]:
I gotta ask, like, I've seen this happen numerous times. You know, working in the staffing industry and working with companies. Not every leader is willing to have that conversation. You're now a leader. Now, what did that conversation teach you about transparency?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:23:15]:
It taught me what was the leader that I wanted to be. A true leader is transparent to their employees at all times, even if they don't listen. They make sure that you are doing the best for them. At the same time taking care of the company. She could have just not say anything and me live in the la la land and just continue to work for four or five more days and just gave me the notice like any other ones. But her giving me that opportunity let me find where I'm at today and at the same time finally showing me what was the leader that I wanted to be and how I was gonna pay it forward to others that were going to be under my leadership.

Benjamin Mena [00:24:08]:
Okay, so the 45 day clock started ticking. You started your job search. Like, how did that go and how did you end up landing where you landed?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:24:16]:
Now I was desperate, I'm not gonna lie. I was desperate. I was like, I can't lose employment right now and I only have 45 days. So I'm like, okay, let me check my bank account, how much I can stretch it. Perfect. And I saw this company that it was in an indeed application and I was like, who is people lift? Mind you, at that moment, their website was down. They were having technical situations and they were looking for a talent acquisition manager. At that moment in us I'm like, okay, that's a manager role.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:24:58]:
I can do that. I can be good at it. And I applied, not thinking much of it. And when they called me and asked me for an interview, mind you, still in Puerto Rico Covid stage only tourists were allowed to not wear masks. Everyone else should wear it at all time or they would get fined. So they were like, they called me and they were like, we want to interview. This person is going to come the next day to Puerto Rico at the hotel, not saying the name at this hotel at this time. Are you able to make it? I'm like, this is fraud.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:25:37]:
They're going to steal me, they're going to kidnap me and I'm going to be one of those stories what I'm doing. And I'm like, you know what? I'll think about it. And then my husband said, why are you thinking about it? We can prepare you for you to feel safe. And that would be it. So I got my GPS on my car, I got a GPS on my watch, I got another one on my cell phone. Like I was all cared for. My business partner knows the story and he laughs all the time about it. So when I got in and I finally.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:26:13]:
The only reason that I knew that he was truthful was because he was using the logo on his shirt. It was the longest interview that I had. It took almost three hours. And it was such an interesting story because he was genuine. Wanting to know how to continue to expand the business. And in my head, I didn't see it. Of he's interviewing me. All the ideas that I had of entrepreneurship, of growing business, of me thinking like, my dad just came pouring in.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:26:49]:
And I was like, have you checked this regulation, the other regulation? Have you interviewed other employees? Can you tell me the name so I can tell you feedback regarding them? Have you checked an office space? Or are you doing awful remote payroll system? So with that, they saw not only me as a recruiter, but me as a. He can do something else. And I got then the other interviews, and then my business partner interviewed me. And what he said sold me the deal. Because he said, and I quote, I want to have a company where my daughter that is two years old will feel proud of working here when she's growing up. I was like, that's me. That was me when I was growing up. And you're going to give it to her.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:27:41]:
I'm in. Let's do it. Girl power.

Benjamin Mena [00:27:45]:
Girl power. Love it. So your first, you know, you got hired as a TA manager, your first 30, 60 days.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:27:53]:
How was that interesting? It was interesting because it was the first time that I was in a full American company, Mind you. I have worked and supported international companies across the whole world, but it was the first time that I was the only minority. And it was not only minority as myself, as a Latina, I was a minority because I was the only one that had a college degree that was more than a master's. So a lot of people saw me as a threat. Some people were not understanding where I was coming from or why was I working that hard. Because this was a full remote company, so people were tending to go and do their nails where they were supposed to be working. And I caught up on that. Or people were just at 5, literally at 5pm clocking out, because that was their eight hours.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:28:53]:
And I'm like, at 5pm is where people call. So I'm still going to be on the phone if I have people that want to talk to me. And when I started seeing that, I could have gone with them and follow whatever they were doing because it was the culture of that company at that time. Or I could be myself because I wanted to show the difference with me, that I could do it better because I needed to get it better. Because trust me, this was my last chance. I had already forecourt contract roles on my belt in two years. I needed people left to work because if I lasted months, it was going to hurt my reputation.

Benjamin Mena [00:29:41]:
I Think that's like a lot of things that people don't think about. I know you were thinking about like these short term contract roles are great, but for some reason, many companies hate people that look at them. So you knew you had to go all in.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:29:57]:
I knew I had to go all in. I knew that now this day, people with contract roles are being looked better because of the reality of what happened with COVID and the layoffs that have happened in the recent years. But this was 2021 when I started it.

Benjamin Mena [00:30:15]:
Well, let me ask you this. You started as a TA manager, pretty much a recruiter. At one point during that journey, did you start realizing with people left that this wasn't just a recruiting job? Maybe nobody said this to you, but this is. You started seeing this as an opportunity to build a company. Like how long into your journey there did that click?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:30:38]:
My business partner, that was my boss, was enough attorney to leave when I started. I didn't see him. I only talked to him hours the first day of my employment because I visit the main offices in Atlanta and then I didn't see him anymore. So for the first three months, I was just doing my work. When he came back, he saw what I was doing, he saw the mess. And he asked for a meeting with me. And he said that he valued that he sees my potential, that he sees that I can do so much more than what I'm doing right now, that if I trust him and let him mentor me, that he can make me continue to grow to my full potential. This is only the second time someone said that to me.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:31:33]:
And for someone that said I had a potential, that was what I was wanting to hear for so long. Someone to just give me the opportunity to show. So I was like, where do I sign? What do I need to do? And that way he gave me the opportunity. And it was really funny because you see my titles of growth, what nobody knows is that I was doing the titles two months prior, that I was getting the notice, that I got promoted, or that we told everyone because he wanted me to see A, if I liked it, two, if I was capable of, and C, if I was successful. And when he saw threes, then he was like, okay, let's move you one step. If not, we continue where you are, but let's just do it carefully and methodically in order to continue your growth.

Benjamin Mena [00:32:29]:
And we're going to walk through this ladder a little bit, but for those listening, we're going to jump ahead to where we are currently. And I had a conversation with A former CEO, a partner, he said that because of the things that you've done, you've helped grow the bottom line 50%, which is huge. That's a huge number in a staffing company. But anyways, let's take a pause there. I want to go back into like the early days where you weren't a leader yet, like you were starting to get those leadership positions, like for those listening that want to become a leader. What were you doing behind the scenes on top of your recruiting? Because you were still recruiting.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:33:10]:
Yeah, I was still recruiting. I still have my positions that I needed to recruit and I still have my okrs that I needed to hit.

Benjamin Mena [00:33:19]:
What were you doing on top of that to start like getting that foundation of like, I want to become a leader, I want to do more.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:33:28]:
First of all, I started seeing all that we had as an organization and all the processes. I wanted to check that we were in compliance with all the regulations that were out there for staffing. Because one of the things that for me was very important is the companies are trusting us to do the recruitment for the team. We need to assure that we're doing everything effectively, that the language and verbiage that we're using is the one and according to laws. And we need to educate our team members because it's not because they don't want to, it's because most of them don't know the reason behind it. So it was a lot of change management, a lot of new process, new protocols that we were installing. So normally my day, so everyone can see that it's hard work. 8 to 5 it was usual recruiting stuff, account management, making sure my clients were happy, trying to build myself here in both state and in Puerto Rico.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:34:33]:
And then by 5pm I stopped everything that was recruiting unless someone wanted to talk to me. And I started doing SOPs. I started identifying areas of opportunities, I started looking or evaluating websites that could help us continue to grow within the business.

Benjamin Mena [00:34:53]:
When you started doing this, did you start to see some resistance from people?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:35:00]:
I remember one time that someone made a slack and that said to me that this happens because people that have higher educations are like dogs that just, you just throw them a bone and they will follow their owner wherever they need to go.

Benjamin Mena [00:35:25]:
Wait, somebody slack you that in the

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:35:28]:
general comments of the company, like wasn't

Benjamin Mena [00:35:31]:
a personal dm, it was in general. Everybody could see it.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:35:34]:
Yeah, I was the only one that had the education. So I knew it was directed at me. The investor called me that moment and I'm like, I'M very. I'm not pissed. I'm more hurt than anything else because nobody has gone to that route of insulting me. I don't want you to tell him anything because I don't want him to get the pleasure. I'm not going to say anything. I'm just going to prove him wrong.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:36:11]:
Because I don't think that in order for you to be a better professional or growing a business, you need to step down to that level. But I still remember it. And that happened my first year when I started and when I started implementing processes and him giving me the opportunity, the former CEO and investor are now giving me the opportunity of this is what is going to happen. And yes, you need to follow those instructions. So I knew as part of change management that one of the things that react a person, how they are going to react is with anger, fear and retaliation. So I knew where I was going to get into how they were going to react to me. But it was hurtful because I never thought that they were going to attack the way that they did. So in my head, I needed to space out, take a few minutes, walk.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:37:16]:
I did a lot of walking that time around those times while I was growing in the company, I did a walk. Dry my tears, because you are allowed to cry. I dry my tears. And the next day I made myself think that he never said those words because I still needed to work with him.

Benjamin Mena [00:37:35]:
I hope he listens to this episode.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:37:38]:
I wish him the best. He's no longer with us after a few years.

Benjamin Mena [00:37:41]:
That was gonna be my next question.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:37:44]:
He's not working with us after that episode, but it wasn't not related to me at all. It was related to performance and everything else. But I wish him the best. Like, literally, I wish everyone that has worked with me at one point in the other, and that doesn't matter in what company. I wish him the best, even the ones that hurt me, because that made me the person that I am today. And you need to remember, without your past, you're not going to be getting all the success, all the achievements, because this made you. The guilt and the ugly. It's what made you.

Benjamin Mena [00:38:21]:
So how'd you go from this internal resistance, this internal pressure? And if somebody said that publicly, that means there was a lot of conversations privately. When did people start buying into the things that you were doing?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:38:35]:
When they saw that what I was doing was closing business for listeners real

Benjamin Mena [00:38:42]:
quick, you were still crushing it on the recruiting side and the BD side.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:38:45]:
Yes. So when they started seeing that, even though That I was doing this side of the operational, that it was more structured, that I was more strategic. I was able to come in and save clients that were unhappy because of the services that they were receiving. And how did I do that? Because I know you're going to ask that question, is that I took care of them. It wasn't just recruiting or presenting candidates. It's like it was, do you need a questionnaire for me to fill it out? For you to fill it out because you don't know how to ask questions? I will do it. Do you need for me to create you that offer letter because the company doesn't have it? Do you need a jd? How do you want me to work with it? Every single day, I was sending texts, I was sending emails. The candidates, when they were getting interviewed, I was filling them with all the information that they needed in order for them if they prepare themselves in order to be successful.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:39:52]:
That created a trust bond with my clients, that my clients don't want to talk with my investor anymore. They want to talk to me. But that took work and that took sacrifice. And when that. When my team members started seeing that this is something that works, and if you put the same effort, I'm going to be behind you and be like, you know what? This is my team. I don't care who you are, what you do, you're not going to touch them. So when they saw that I did like this, it's not only me, it's everyone. They came on board.

Benjamin Mena [00:40:30]:
When you knew that so many people in the company were publicly and privately kind of going after you, why didn't you quit?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:40:39]:
I didn't have an option. I didn't have an option and I didn't want. Why would I give them the pleasure? Let's go back to the beginning. I liked what I was doing. My clients loved me. I had a mentor that was supporting me, understanding, and was giving me the push that I needed when I was down. For me to feel like, you know what? I'm not alone, let's do it. Why was I going to give them? And I had offers just to let you know and be completely transparent.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:41:16]:
I did. People were calling me, asking me if I wanted to work with them, why I had something that I was looking for in life that was someone that trusts me, that believed in my potential. Why would I leave that for something else that I didn't knew what was going to be? Because some people were not comfortable having me around. I knew one was, and that was the one that was paying my Bills. So I was like, I'm not gonna leave. I wanna prove every single one wrong.

Benjamin Mena [00:41:54]:
I love it. We're gonna jump ahead the story a little bit just for time. So you've helped grow the bottom line for the company 50%. What specifically drove that growth?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:42:06]:
Creating noise, simple as I can say, and getting out of my comfort zone. I'm talking to you. And because I'm in my safe space, I am myself. But if you look at me, two years ago, I was the one crying like a little girl on my car before a client's meeting because I thought I was not able to do it. I couldn't. They're going to say, no, I am not prepared. All everything in the world. And I just realized that I needed to be just out there, just showing myself, showing that I, I was passionate about this enough that if you asked me to question, I wouldn't shut up, basically.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:42:59]:
And everyone as they saw the passion in me, they saw, okay, I want to talk to her. I want to make it work. And then at the same time volunteering, putting you on uncomfortable situations that will make it work. So I found my net. I was volunteering myself in organizations that were helping other employers with everything that has to do with the organization, education and recruitment. When they started seeing me, understanding me, that created a voice for me. Does it happen overnight? No. Does it take a lot of time? Yes, a lot, A lot.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:43:45]:
I have gone through events that I have had nights working on them, making sure that it was relatable. I was needing to have birthday parties that I had my computer with me because I had to create it. But those little things that make it work, right now I can see and using my platform, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, that is making something that two years ago nobody knew me. Now I have a follow, thank God that I have over 10,000 followers on LinkedIn or 9,000 connections. So I know it's working and people know me by name. Then two years ago, I was just one of many.

Benjamin Mena [00:44:27]:
I know one of the things that you told me in the pre game is like a company just can't be one thing anymore. You guys have like expanded your staffing offering. Can you talk about like kind of what spurred that idea and like how that's working to also increase the business.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:44:45]:
We need to remember in order for us to continue to have an advantage in this industry that we're going through, that is recruitment, that is staffing, that is HR consultancy, we need to be adaptable and we need to listen what is going on, not wait until the wave comes for us to be like, oh, we need to do something. So we saw back 18 months ago that AI was coming, that AI was going to influence extremely to our business platforms and what we do on a daily matter. So what could we do different? Most of our employers don't understand one AI. They don't understand how to create those processes or understand how HR work. And they don't have the budget to have someone full time. So for us it was a time to set who is going to be our ideal client profile, what is that they need, what are they looking for. And then created provided and personalized solutions that including fractional service, consulting, employee relations and also staffing just in one place that they could just pick what they needed at that time in order for us to continue to care for them.

Benjamin Mena [00:46:11]:
I love that it's one of those things, just like thinking about what's in the future.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:46:16]:
You need to always think ahead. Not only and this is something that is happening right now. We're always thinking, what about the next quarter or the next six months? We need to be thinking right. We're already in February 2026. We need to think 2027. What can we change in 2027? What can we be a difference for our own clients that they are still going to ask us about us? Because what is important for us is that return of clients always coming in.

Benjamin Mena [00:46:49]:
So I want to flip over to like some leadership questions.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:46:53]:
Sure.

Benjamin Mena [00:46:54]:
You get a chance to see like top billers and what's the difference between a top biller and somebody that wants to become a leader? Because sometimes top billers are better being top billers and aren't always the best leaders. Like where's that difference at that they can go from top biller to becoming a great leader?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:47:12]:
You need to scare. It's as simple as it is. You need to care. In my opinion, you need to care not only for what you're doing, but for your team, for your company. In order to understand it all, you need to eat, breathe and feel the mission and vision of the company. It needs to be your own. And you need to be able to translate that to your team members and to your clients as well. Because they are not seeing the company, they're seeing you.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:47:48]:
And your team members are seeing you as someone that they need to follow. So if you're just a door that just asking them to do stuff and you're not taking the time of the day to help them understand all those areas that you are passionate about, just be an individual contributor. There Are many things career path for individual contributors. But you need to understand that as a leader, you need to be so much more than just do your job.

Benjamin Mena [00:48:23]:
And this is gonna be another question that I think is gonna be interesting. So if there's a recruiter that's listening to this, this episode, listening to you talk, and they have the idea, the dream to come, an operator or a partner, what do they need to start doing tomorrow to start going down that path?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:48:43]:
First of all, do you love doing recruitment? Are you passionate about doing recruitment? Let's go. Very simple. Because this type of business can be so good. And those happy days, you're gonna celebrate them, but they're gonna be so low. Days like I had six months, didn't have jobs, trying to make it work on a different area. And we are not selling product. We're selling an idea. We're selling a human that thinks, that breezes, that can change your mind one minute before clocking in on that new job.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:49:22]:
So if you don't like what you're doing every single day or you can't handle the anxiety, frustration that comes with the job, don't do it. Because you need to find something that it gives you that urge to wake up every day and help people out in order to. And help people out. Not only candidates, but clients as well, in order to continue to make it work. And with that said, then find your niche. Okay, you like recruitment? What type of recruitment? What industry? And then look, what I would suggest is look for that superpower, woman, man, or person that can help you continue to grow, not only as in. In your own organization, but someone that can see your potential and continue to see what alternatives it can be and what certifications are out there that you should go for you to continue to learn in order to make it work. Because when you work hard and you put all your effort in, it's gonna work.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:50:36]:
It's gonna take time. Don't think it's gonna happen in three months and a year. Mine took 10 years. It will come if you are passionate and focus on what you want.

Benjamin Mena [00:50:49]:
Before we go to the quick fire questions, is there anything that you want to go deeper on that we probably should have?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:50:57]:
I think that one thing that I want to make across, and this is very important for me, is that you're going to hear the no all the time, every time. Doesn't matter in what role you are. It could be with a client, it can be with another colleague or with your own managers. You need to understand who you are as a person and where you want to be and not let anyone that. Let anyone take that shine out of you. If I can give out anything for someone to just that is hearing this or seeing the. I will say that just believe. It's gonna sound so quirky, but it is.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:51:48]:
You need to believe in something. And if you need to believe in something, believe in yourself. Because anyone will step on you no matter the day. But when you believe in yourself, you can make it work. You just need to just brush off the dust and make it work.

Benjamin Mena [00:52:08]:
So let's picture this. You have a new recruiter starting on your team. Especially now that you're, you know, leading. They sit down with you like, you know, if you can give me one piece of advice to succeed in this career, what would it be?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:52:23]:
Do what you're passionate about. That's basically what is. And I do this in the interview process. I ask why recruitment, why you're asking for this specific one. When they tell me, oh, it's just that I got out of college, I don't know what to do or I'm not passionate about. I will give them the opportunity to be a sorcerer because you need to learn from the itsy bits. But I know for a fact that they still don't have that fire in them. When I go in and I see, I like to help people.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:53:01]:
I understand the difficulties of this. I want someone that won't ghost me. So I want to be that person that talks to people. There is a recruiter. And when I see that, what I try to do is when what others did for me. So when they're down, I'm there with them. When they're up, I'll celebrate with them and just show them that you're doing this as a career path in order to continue to grow. And I have team members that are not with me anymore that have gone through this path and I still follow them on LinkedIn.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:53:42]:
And every time that they reach a new goal, I'm one of the first that likes to celebrate it because that's what a leader does. Someone that is there for them no matter what.

Benjamin Mena [00:53:53]:
Do you have a favorite book that's had an impact on your career?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:53:58]:
The Art of War. I love it. I feel that that is the true book for any professional to do. If you're going to be an entrepreneur, if you're going to be someone that is just going to be managing every single day, normal stuff, it is going to show you what is going to be your goal, what you want to establish as a path, how you want to Negotiate in order to get what you want in order to win. So it's a little book. Doesn't take that much time, but I read it like every two or three years just to get a refresh.

Benjamin Mena [00:54:33]:
Do you have a favorite tech tool

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:54:35]:
that you love as of today? As of today. As of today. So this is a free promo. If any of you are using Mac download Granola as a recruiter, that's the best product out there. I haven't had to take a note in a meeting since I did it, since I downloaded it, and it's favorite for me. But at the same time, adaptability. I'm creating my own. That's why AI is here.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:55:07]:
So right now I'm creating my own personalized prompts. I have partners that help me do it in order for me to not needing to have systems or pay for systems.

Benjamin Mena [00:55:18]:
Up next, cloud code, lovable. All that stuff.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:55:23]:
Exactly. There's all of them and I still use it all the day. But try Granola.

Benjamin Mena [00:55:29]:
All the Mac users have all the fud.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:55:31]:
Unfortunately, we do because I'm a busy girl after not working and on my first life, so.

Benjamin Mena [00:55:38]:
So you've had the chance to work with a lot of recruiters across all sorts of industries, and you've gone into a leadership position from recruiter all the way up the career ladder to leader because of. You're the leader because of the leadership opportunities that you've got. You probably haven't talked to recruiters all day long about stuff like, you know, sales, bd, breaking into clients, how to get new business, all that fun stuff. And I'm sure you're getting these questions, but in all these conversations that you have with recruiters, do you ever wish that there was a question that they would ask you that they just never do. They're like, man, I just wish they would just ask me this. I don't want to tell them, but I wish they would ask me this so I could give them this answer.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:56:19]:
Why are you doing this every single day? What makes you wake up every single day and do it? We are going through a very difficult position right now with AI integration with clients asking us to be like cost operations. We need to lower them. Can we reduce product? Can we reduce your percentage? Or why is it different you from this other agency that is out there or us finding that the candidates are not speaking with us because it is fem. So nobody has asked me before, why do I do this? Or why do I continue doing this? So I think it is really important for us recruiters to Find that support between each other because this is not easy. And I understand that. And I, I encouraged everyone. I'm a free book, I'm a LinkedIn. If you need support, we're here for you.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:57:21]:
But it's something that it's not there. We are like little islands that doesn't help each other out.

Benjamin Mena [00:57:28]:
I got one more question. This actually came from the elite recruiter community. Somebody in the community want me to ask this? Is there one skill that you're trying to learn currently? And with that one skill, how are you going to add that to your playbook?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:57:43]:
There is one and it's really funny because you're mentioning it. My skill right now that I'm trying to learn is more related to AI, not a software developer because those guys are great at what they do. Just learning how to code simplified code in order to make my day to day work less stressful and more focused on what I need to be doing. That is talking to clients, talking to candidates and making sure that all of them are happy. So it's just that it is hard. Oh, yes. Hate it, hate it so much. But I know once I see the results that I have started seeing.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:58:25]:
Okay, I don't mind, but it's really fun.

Benjamin Mena [00:58:28]:
All right, I lied. I got two last questions for you. First, first of the two of the last ones. I know, I just thought for those that are listening. You're not watching. She just rolled her eyes at me. If somebody wants to follow you or connect with you, how do they do that?

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:58:43]:
They can email me katianaopolift.com they can look for us at Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn at PeopleLift. People left. PeopleLift us. People left. PR. They can look us up also on our website, www.peoplelift.com or they can look me up at LinkedIn. Catiana e Ibarra. I'm always there.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:59:10]:
I'm always going to connect with everyone. So just send me a connect and let's start.

Benjamin Mena [00:59:15]:
Cool. And this has been an awesome conversation. Is there anything else that you want to share with the listeners before I

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [00:59:21]:
let you go at this moment is go and follow your dreams. Do. Don't let anyone. That's the only thing that I'm going to say. Don't let anyone or anything stop you for what you want to do.

Benjamin Mena [00:59:38]:
I want to say thank you for coming on. I want to say thank you for sharing your story. The reason is so often we get told no. And it's an option of do we take that no and let that become our story or we do. We take that no and we rewrite our story for a way to win. And so often with these stories, these stories are not overnight success. Then I got the no yesterday and it's going to happen. The destiny that you decided to take for yourself because of those nos, it's amazing where it could take you.

Benjamin Mena [01:00:14]:
It's amazing. If you're listening to this, where can your path go? Where can you take your career? Where can you grow to become that leader, the CEO? Where can you grow to just become a team leader? Or where can you grow to become that, that top biller? Because the more that you take control of your story, the more that you can take control of your identity, the more that you believe in yourself. You're going to make your dreams come true. So thank you for coming on. Thank you for sharing your story.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [01:00:48]:
Thank you for having me. It has been a pleasure going through my walk of life and seeing how hard but how enjoyful joyful is has it this ride.

Benjamin Mena [01:01:01]:
And if you want to connect with her, you definitely hit her up on LinkedIn. 2026 is your year. Make it your year. I believe in you.

Catiana I. Ibarra Aponte [01:01:10]:
We believe you. Live in you.

Benjamin Mena [01:01:12]:
You know the resume never tells the full story. Candidates share what really matters during conversations, on calls and interviews, over email. Their motivations, salary expectations, plans to relocate. Most of that detail ends up buried in notes and forgotten. Atlas changes that. It's the AI first recruitment platform built to eliminate admin. It captures every conversation automatically and turns it into something you can use with MagicSearch. You can ask Atlas questions like who talked about wanting a four day week? Or who mentioned they're open to relocating next year.

Benjamin Mena [01:01:42]:
It searches across your entire database and pulls the answers instantly. No keyword guessing and no digging through old notes. You get insight from real conversations, not limited resume fields. Atlas also makes BD easier with opportunities you can track and grow client relationships powered by generative AI and built into your existing workflow. If you want visibility, smart dashboards give you a clear view of the pipeline across your business. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported over 40% EBITDA growth and over 80% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. It's built for agencies that want to grow without adding more manual work.

Benjamin Mena [01:02:20]:
Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive listener offer at recruit with atlas.com. thanks for listening to this episode of the Elite Recruiter Podcast with Benjamin Mena. If you enjoyed hit, subscribe and leave a rating.