Richard Katz

“The recruiting industry, the people industry, is really difficult to automate.”

At an industry event, a new acquaintance took one look at the first line of Richard Katz's professional profile, which calls Richard an honest and ethical recruiter, and called it weird. Richard's explanation was simple: "There are a lot of people out there who aren't." That conviction has anchored roughly 30 years in IT recruiting, now as a Principal Recruiter with Randstad Federal.

Richard works in the Randstad Federal division of Randstad Digital. For Richard, the measure of success is the effect a placement has on someone's life, and whether the people placed still remember, years later, who helped them get there.

From Pagers to Placements

Richard calls the start of it all a fluke. Back when pagers and beepers were a fixture of daily life, Richard ran a business built for that era. As demand began to decline, the logical next step was the IT industry, the field Richard already knew.

The search for an IT role led to a recruiting agency, where the manager liked Richard and posed a direct question: would Richard consider recruiting instead? Rather than leap, Richard asked to learn more about the work and do some research first. That careful yes became roughly 30 years in the field and, by Richard's own estimate, a place among the better recruiters working today.

A Work Ethic Learned at Home

The deepest influence on Richard's working life came long before any agency job. Richard's father was a Holocaust survivor who never had the chance at a formal education, came to the United States after the war, and built a life in a new country. Watching that father rise every morning and go to work, even when sick, left a lasting mark.

That example became the foundation of Richard's own work ethic and a steady hunger to succeed. The advice passed down was brief and permanent: "Be good at what you do." It remains a key principle, visible in the daily discipline of the job.

That standard shows in how Richard has invested in others. Years ago Richard mentored a young recruiter, and about three years ago, while in a management role, brought that same person back to work at Randstad. Richard also recognizes the quality in others, including a current manager of less than a year whom Richard describes as phenomenal at the job.

The Human Limit of AI

On artificial intelligence, Richard takes a measured view. It has value for certain tasks, and Richard uses it to check things. Recruiting, though, resists automation where it matters most, because knowing who a candidate really is requires speaking with them and building a relationship, something Richard doubts AI will ever do well. Richard also believes the AI industry needs regulation, since there are things about the technology that are bad.

The same belief shapes the daily method. Some might call it old school, but Richard prefers a personal touch, with candidates knowing they are dealing with a real person. Until someone can build an agent that is 100 percent Richard, an outcome Richard considers unlikely, the approach stays the same.

The larger worry is for people just starting out. Repetitive duties, in Richard's view, will shift to AI sooner rather than later, leaving entry level workers most exposed. The concern is personal: Richard loves working with entry level talent and remembers having far more opportunity early on than many newcomers see today.

The advice for them is practical. Choose a path carefully, because that choice is what you will depend on. Focus on the technology sector, where every specialty touches the others. Above all, learn AI, since many senior professionals already grasp its importance while plenty of people still do not know how to use it.

Care About People

Richard's advice for talent leaders fits in three words: care about people. It is a belief held for an entire career. "You're changing people's lives in this business," Richard says, and that influence should never be used in a negative way. A recruiter filling a role only to fill it, knowing the person will not be happy there, should think twice.

What Richard loves most about the work is the chance to change lives, both in careers and in compensation. The proof arrives regularly. People placed more than 20 years ago still send texts and messages, and one former placement sends birthday wishes every year and used to send gifts too, until Richard insisted that had to stop. It is an apt measure for a recruiter who leads with honesty and ethics: long after the placement is made, the relationship remains.