“Much less Admin, Extra Human”: JobAdder CEO Martin Herbst on Constructing AI-Powered Plans for At this time’s Recruiters
Uncategorised / twenty third June 2025
CEO Journal talks to Martin Herbst
Based in Sydney and now utilized by over 27,000 recruiters worldwide, JobAdder is making waves within the UK recruitment scene with its recruiter-first design, seamless AI integration, and daring “Much less Admin, Extra Human” philosophy. Backed by SEEK and led by CEO Martin Herbst, who has in depth expertise scaling world tech companies, JobAdder is on a mission to redefine what recruitment software program can do—making it quicker, smarter, and extra strategic from day one.
Q. Are you able to begin by giving us an summary of JobAdder and its journey?
JobAdder is a worldwide recruitment platform designed to streamline the end-to-end hiring course of for recruiters and HR groups. Based in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, it was initially created to simplify the hiring course of by a completely cloud-based system, effectively forward of the curve, and shortly gained a fame for its intuitive design and recruiter-first strategy.
Acquired by SEEK, one of many world’s largest on-line employment marketplaces, JobAdder has developed into a number one SaaS platform utilized by over 27,000 recruiters and expertise professionals.
At this time, JobAdder operates in key markets, together with the U.Ok., U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Canada, serving each recruitment businesses and in-house HR groups. The platform helps everlasting and non permanent recruitment and continues to increase with a give attention to automation, AI integration, and streamlining recruiter workflow.
Q. Are you able to inform us about your historical past and position at JobAdder?
Earlier than becoming a member of JobAdder, my expertise was in consumer-facing tech and startups, taking early-stage firms to profitability, together with eBay and PayPal. What drew me to JobAdder was chatting with recruiters and listening to about how a lot they genuinely loved utilizing the platform—and let’s be sincere, nobody normally raves about recruitment software program. That intrigued me.
Additionally, the truth that SEEK, a significant participant within the job market area, acquired the corporate was an enormous benefit. They assist us with a light-touch, collaborative strategy that offers us the liberty to innovate.
My position as CEO is to take that sturdy basis and scale it. I’m centered on accelerating our innovation in AI and automation, increasing our world attain, and serving to recruiters spend much less time on admin and extra time on what actually issues: constructing significant human connections.
Q. Let’s speak in regards to the product itself. What instruments does JobAdder supply?
JobAdder is a recruitment CRM and ATS designed to streamline the complete hiring journey, from sourcing and job posting to candidate administration and shopper engagement. What makes it stand out is how seamlessly automation and AI are constructed into the workflow, enhancing productiveness with out getting in the way in which.
We have been early pioneers in cloud-based recruitment tech, and as we speak, we’re main the cost with AI-driven instruments that make an actual distinction, like clever candidate matching, automated shortlisting, personalised communications, and sensible shopper summaries. All the things is designed to chop down admin and free recruiters to give attention to what issues most: constructing relationships and making nice hires.
Q. You latterly launched new Recruiter Plans. Are you able to share extra?
Recruitment businesses aren’t one-size-fits-all. A boutique startup doesn’t want the identical instruments as a multinational. So we designed Recruiter Plans—Mild, Important, and Professional—tailor-made to businesses at totally different levels of progress. Every plan gives growing ranges of AI-powered automation, insights, and customisation.
Alongside the plans, a brand new AI pipeline will ship 10+ instruments over the subsequent yr, easing repetitive work and integrating seamlessly into JobAdder’s user-friendly platform. JobAdder’s State of Recruitment Report 2025 exhibits that functions are up 42% year-over-year, addressing rising recruiter stress and the pressing want for smarter, scalable options.
Among the many first instruments to launch are:
· Smarter Expertise Administration: Our Candidate Database will function CRM cleanup instruments, clever matching, AI-powered summaries, and automatic rejection and compliance emails—all designed to streamline recruiter workflows.
Moreover, by extra successfully utilising current databases for proactive sourcing (versus relying solely on advert channels), recruiters can unlock important advantages, together with decreasing the fee to rent and accelerating time to position by 30% on common.
· Stronger Consumer Engagement: New enterprise improvement–centered shopper check-in automation and alternative outreach instruments guarantee well timed, tailor-made follow-ups with purchasers.
· International Enablement & Insights: From localised lead feeds and saved search folders to ANZ benchmark dashboards and in-product steering by way of JAA, we’re delivering data-driven assist tailor-made to every area.
We’re already seeing how this flexibility helps small businesses develop quicker and bigger businesses develop into extra agile.
Q. How are you utilizing AI in another way from others within the area?
AI is in every single place in recruitment proper now, however what units us aside is how seamlessly we combine it. As a substitute of counting on separate chatbots or advanced interfaces, we embed AI instantly into the recruiter’s every day workflow, delivering sensible suggestions and summaries proper the place they’re wanted.
Over the subsequent 10 months, we’re rolling out new AI options that do precisely that—from cleansing up CRMs and surfacing prime candidates already in your database to producing polished, client-ready summaries—all throughout the instruments recruiters already know and use.
Q. What impressed the “Much less Admin, Extra Human” philosophy?
Recruitment is likely one of the most human professions—you’re guiding careers, shaping groups, and navigating emotional moments. However for too lengthy, recruiters have been caught in admin, spending 80% of their time on duties that take them away from actual connections. We need to flip that ratio.
“Much less Admin, Extra Human” was impressed by listening to our customers. They don’t need flashy tech—they need instruments that quietly do the heavy lifting. Our mission is to provide recruiters again their time to allow them to give attention to what actually counts: significant conversations, trusted relationships, and smarter hiring.
Q. You’ve been described as “the Apple of ATS” by purchasers. What do you assume drives that form of suggestions?
That quote got here from one in all our company clients, and it’s one thing we’re extremely pleased with. Being known as “the Apple of ATS” speaks to the simplicity, usability, and considerate design of our platform—we obsess over each touchpoint, from onboarding to every day use.
At our core, we’re customer-first. We don’t construct tech for the sake of innovation—we construct to resolve actual issues recruiters face on daily basis. Whether or not it’s decreasing friction, boosting effectivity, or serving to groups transfer quicker, each function is designed with function.
Q. The place do you see recruitment and JobAdder heading over the subsequent few years?
Over the subsequent two or three years, recruiters will more and more undertake the position of strategic expertise advisors—much less centered on transactional duties and extra concerned in workforce planning, employer branding, and long-term expertise technique. We count on a big shift in company funding, away from conventional job advertisements and towards tech stacks that drive aggressive benefit and measurable impression. JobAdder is constructing for that future.
Q. And what can JobAdder clients count on from you—on day one and down the road?
From day one, JobAdder clients can count on a platform that lightens the load: intuitive, responsive, and constructed to assist them work smarter, not more durable. Whether or not sourcing prime expertise, managing pipelines or scaling a group, the expertise is designed to spice up productiveness from the beginning.
Over time, that impression compounds: quicker time-to-hire, higher candidate matches, larger shopper satisfaction, and 1000’s of hours saved. We’re not simply promising “much less admin, extra human”—we’re delivering measurable outcomes by clever, easy-to-use tech that grows with your small business.
