Async Saturday #001: Mikey Weil
Every Saturday, I bring you a conversation without the noise of panels, the scheduling nightmare of Zoom calls, or the fluff of corporate PR. Asynchronous Saturday is exactly what it sounds like: five sharp, original questions answered in writing by leaders, builders, and thinkers who are shaping the future of work, tech, and culture.
Why asynchronous? Because the best insights don’t need a calendar invite. They need reflection. Each guest answers at their own pace, in their own words, giving you distilled wisdom you won’t find in a soundbite or a tweet.
Think of it as a weekend coffee with someone fascinating, where you get to skip the small talk and dive straight into the good stuff.
This week, I’ve invited Weil to be our first guest.
Mikey Weil isn’t just a sourcer; he’s a sourcing assassin with a LinkedIn profile that reads like a masterclass in getting shit done. He’s been everywhere: agency, corporate, RPO. Banking, biotech, tech, healthcare. You name it, he’s found talent for it. Today, he’s a Senior Strategic Sourcer at Boston Children’s Hospital, a commitment that he doesn’t take lightly. Honestly, lives are on the line.
Here’s the thing: Mikey doesn’t just fill roles. He teaches the rest of us how to stop sucking at sourcing. He’s a regular voice at conferences including Sourcing Summit, SourceCon, HRTX, and TA Week, and he’s written playbooks for ERE and other industry publications. If you’ve read one of his 500+ LinkedIn tips or subscribed to his newsletter (4,000 recruiters and counting), you know his style: zero fluff, all actionable.
The dude is basically the sourcer’s sourcer, blending the science of Boolean wizardry with the art of not sending desperate InMails. If you’re in talent acquisition and you don’t know who Mikey Weil is, you’re either new to the game or you’re playing it on mute.
And that's why Mikey is in this week's hot seat. Let’s get to it.
Mikey, how would you introduce yourself if you were the feature speaker at your elementary school's career day?
It's great to be back here! My name is Mikey Weil. Yes, I have stayed with that name. Because the older you get, the more you will want to keep some of your child-like tendencies around. Anyway, I have spent the last decade working as a Sourcer in Talent Acquisition. Not a Sorcerer, like Mickey. I am Mikey, the Sourcer. I help my company find the best fit for our job openings when we aren't getting them from anywhere else. I go out and find people who aren't out in the open looking for a new job and sell them on joining my company.
You’ve sourced across industries. What’s the one universal truth about candidate behavior that recruiters still don’t understand?
The universal truth about candidate behavior that recruiters still don't understand is that candidates want and need a little hand holding throughout the process. Don't just hand them off to the next person in the process and wish them good luck. Tell them exactly what the next steps are. Tell them the name and email of the next person in the process and encourage them to keep an eye on their Spam/Junk folders, so they can move along quickly and efficiently. Let them know that you are a resource for them and that they can message you at any time throughout the process. Whether that is because they have good news, or they aren't hearing back, or maybe they need a little extra advice to succeed in the interview process.
Everyone’s stacking tools like Pokémon cards. How do you decide when it’s time to add a new sourcing tool and when it’s just lipstick on a pig?
It is SO hard to keep up with new tools these days. Every day, I have people messaging me on LinkedIn telling me that they have the best new AI tool for talent acquisition. My first piece of advice is keep using your current tools and explore their AI capabilities. There is a good chance that whatever you are using now has recently implemented some new AI tool. Start there. Next up, see what other people are using. If Dean Da Costa has it on his SSAR page, it is probably worth looking into. Find out, internally, what your company can actually work with. What is their budget for new tools? Do they have a strict security preventing you from using any Chrome Extensions? When you are curious about a new tool, ask the sales rep how it can, specifically, help you and your industry. Ask to demo it for free, so you can gather some intel to sell your senior leaders on purchasing it. And a big piece of advice all around: Don't be afraid to ask for advice. Reach out to a sourcing friend or post in one of the sourcing Facebook groups and ask if anyone has information on the tool that you are looking into. It is hard to tell what new tools are just the lipstick on a pig. You can't get on a call with every rep who wants to talk about how their product is the best. Ask them for a one-pager. Tell them your problems and ask them how their tool can fix it. And do what you do best: research. Find forums of people talking about new tools and the successes and struggles with them. Oh, and if a tool doesn't work due to price or something else, use a website like Owler to look up competitors!
You’re known for writing outreach that actually gets responses. What’s the biggest mistake recruiters make in their first message and what’s your formula for a reply-worthy email or InMail?
The biggest mistake a recruiter can make in their first message is not giving enough information. As a Sourcer or Recruiter, we aren't always reaching out to people who are advertising themselves as Open to work. Don't make your first message a guessing game. People want to know things like: What kind of tools they will be using in this role, what is the work environment like, and what does it pay. Granted, we don't always talk salary THAT early on. If you have it in your job posting, it doesn't to share that link in your initial message. That way, they can learn more about the role, your company, and pay. However, in your initial outreach you should talk about the day-to-day of the role. The team size. The tools they will be using. And make sure you mention if the role is on-site, hybrid, or remote. This is really one of the most important things to people today. Oh, and don't ever end your initial outreach with something like, "If you aren't interested, maybe you know of someone who is?" That is a quick way to make that prospect not feel like you really want to get then in the door for an interview. Save that for when someone tells you they aren't interested at this time.
With AI creeping into every corner of TA, what stays human?
I just did a panel on this!
What stays human is the communication piece. The updates. The keeping in touch. Make a Google Sheet and keep track of people you have in process, when you last followed up with them. Set Calendar reminders to circle back with them. Hold Recruiters, Coordinators, HMs accountable for their part throughout the process.
What’s the one skill every sourcer needs to future-proof their career in the next 5 years?
The one skill that every sourcer needs to future-proof their career in the next 5 years is learning how to use AI to make their job easier and free up a little of each day to make room for other things. Everyone is worried about being replaced by AI. I don't think it is that. It is about being replaced by other humans who know how to utilize AI better than you do. So, learn AI. Take some courses in it. Use some tools. Learn how your existing tools are implementing it. Learn from other Talent Acquisition professionals how they are using it to succeed.
Where can people follow you, but not like follow you home, you know?
Some links for people to find me:
https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/jobuscar-7153403219312803842/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeyweil/ (I am at maximum connections, but they can follow me)
And…
And Mikey, who would you like to see in a future Async Saturday and what 1 question would you want me to ask them?
Steve Levy - I would ask him: What job titles and what industries do you feel are sustainable in the future, even with the oncoming AI boom?
Thank you, Mikey
Mikey, thank you. You didn’t just agree to be the first guest on Async Saturday; you strapped yourself to the nose cone and said, “Light this thing and let’s see where it goes.”
Why start this thing? Because I missed it. The back page of Esquire’s “What I’ve Learned.” Those one-page, hard-earned truths from people who had the guts (and scars) to tell their story. It wasn’t clickbait. It wasn’t growth hacking. It was connection. It was wisdom dressed down in jeans and sneakers.
That’s what I wanted to bring back. A Saturday ritual that doesn’t sell you productivity hacks or remind you your inbox is on fire, but connects you to someone new. A recruiter. A builder. A dreamer. Someone willing to share what they’ve learned the hard way.
And Mikey, you set the bar. You didn’t just answer questions. You handed over the playbook, the bloopers reel, and the highlight tape. It’s sourcing wisdom with a side of “don’t take yourself too seriously.” Which, frankly, is what the rest of us need tattooed on our foreheads.
Readers of FWDmotion: here’s where you come in. If you know someone with a story, a scar, a lesson learned the hard way, nominate them. This isn’t just about recruiters. It’s about voices worth hearing, experiences worth sharing, and truths worth passing along.
Mikey went first. Who’s next?
— Brian