The recruiter's recruiter.
Founder-led from Sydney since 2018. One unified brand, Start Group, with four focuses: rec-to-rec placement, UK/IE relocation, retained hiring-plus-training, and AI consultancy.
It started with one desk.
Start Group began with Start In Recruitment, John Bourke's Sydney rec-to-rec desk, built social-first to show good salespeople why recruitment is the career worth starting. It has since unified with Start In Australia (UK and Irish recruiters relocating), Start Training and Start Automation & AI under one master brand.
The thread through all of it is the same: we know this market cold. Which desks are warm, which comp plans actually pay out, and which agencies are about to grow or contract across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
That same instinct, recruiters building better tools for recruiters, is why John also founded RecView, the AI meeting assistant now used by agencies across ANZ. We're not a CV shovel. We place recruiters at every level, rookie desks through GMs, and we're direct about which agencies to avoid. That honesty is the whole business.
The people you'll actually deal with.
John Bourke
Founded Start In Recruitment in Sydney and built it social-first, using content and automation to show good salespeople why recruitment is the career worth starting. He's also the founder of RecView, the AI meeting assistant and note-taker now used by recruitment agencies across ANZ and beyond. John has consulted to the RCSA on automation and marketing, and worked with Greg Savage to build the AI-powered Savage Coach for the Savage Recruitment Academy.
James Dolan
Spent the last decade recruiting tech across Sydney before moving into rec-to-rec, so he knows the market from the inside, far better than your average rec-to-rec. James places recruiters all over Australia, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, specialising in senior and director-level hires while also running the rookie desk for those making their first move into the industry.
Claudia Dasal
Bondi born and raised, Claudia is our relocation specialist for recruiters making the move from the UK and Ireland. She appeared on Bondi Rescue and is a certified swim instructor, so she can help with a lot more than landing the dream role, right down to getting you settled into Australian life. We don't recruit into UK or Irish roles, Claudia moves UK and Irish recruiters to Australian agencies across Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne, and guides them through the move itself, not just the job offer. The visa side is handled by the migration lawyer associated with the business, so relocation and immigration run together.
Trusted to shape the wider industry.
Founder John Bourke doesn't just place recruiters, he's helped build the tools and training the Australian recruitment industry runs on.
RCSA consulting.
Consulted to the RCSA, the Recruitment, Consulting & Staffing Association, the peak body for recruitment across Australia and New Zealand, on automation and marketing.
Visit the RCSA ↗
Savage Recruitment Academy.
Worked directly with industry legend Greg Savage to build the AI-powered Savage Coach for the Savage Recruitment Academy, bringing automation to how recruiters are trained.
Visit the Academy ↗
Four things we don't compromise on.
One honest call
We tell you on the first call whether we can help. No CV roulette, no mass mailouts, no 'just thought I'd reach out.'
We know the market cold
Years of it. Which desks are warm, which comp plans actually pay out, and which agencies are about to grow or quietly contract.
Specialist, not a CV shovel
Every market has a rhythm, a salary curve and a short list of agencies worth joining. We treat rec-to-rec as the specialist work it is.
One brand, four focuses
Rec-to-rec placement, UK/IE relocation, retained hiring-plus-training and AI consultancy, one team, one standard.
Fifteen minutes. A straight read on your market.
We'll tell you on the first call whether we can help, whichever way you're moving.