Katrina Collier is a globally recognised author, keynote speaker and facilitator specialising in improving recruitment processes and candidate experience. Based in London, she designs and delivers workshops and keynotes to recruiters worldwide. She authored The Robot Proof Recruiter (2019|2022), and Reboot Hiring (2024), and released her memoir The Damage of Words in 2025.
“Ghosting leaves people down or depressed. 87% of job applicants who don’t hear back after applying say it affects their mental health.”
Making good recruitment my mission
In 2003, I moved to London and took my first recruitment job without knowing what it was. I saw the newspaper ad, thought “I can do that,” and dove in. Starting in an agency, I learned the essentials of recruiting. In the 2008–9 crash, I launched my own consultancy, initially to teach job seekers how to use social media to land work, but I was lured into a role as a talent acquisition professional, which proved to me that it was possible to hire on social media exclusively.
In early 2012, I made the leap to training recruiters and organisations. Blogging, tweeting and networking on social media led to speaking gigs across five continents and being asked to write my first business book. Because I work for myself, I can choose the work I love and pivot to fill gaps in the market. If I don’t enjoy a specific part, I don’t do it.
Adapting through change and rethinking who I serve
As a typical Gemini, I love juggling different projects. Having launched my business during the global financial crisis and navigated the upheavals of the 2020s, I’ve learned to pivot quickly and thoughtfully. My client base was mainly in-house recruitment teams, but as budgets have tightened and the use of automation gains more attention, I’ve shifted focus to working with HR tech companies as well. My goal is to ensure that technology supports recruitment, rather than unnecessarily displacing humans, and produces better experiences for applicants and hiring managers.
There’s no rigid business plan; I follow the work that energises me, which allows opportunities to flow in.
Why I wrote The Robot-Proof Recruiter
In 2018, revered business book publisher, Kogan Page, approached me to write a book! As someone who failed Year 11 English and doesn’t have a degree, I was stunned, but I knew immediately that I wanted to push back against the vendors saying that HR tech can replace recruiters. The Robot-Proof Recruiter reminds people that they are recruiting human beings who have thoughts, feelings and emotions. The book was well received, and in 2022 the second edition was released. Now with the influx of AI, I probably should write a third edition, but my message remains the same: put humans first and keep tech firmly in its supporting role.
Rebooting hiring from the inside out
Reboot Hiring (Wiley, 2024) was written for company leaders and managers. It dives into the greatest barrier to successful recruitment: the relationship between hiring managers and recruiters. According to the Chartered Management Institute, 82% of managers have not received leadership or development training, so when they’re under pressure to hire, they can hand over vague job specs and skip essential conversations about who is really needed. The lack of time investment upfront breaks the hiring process before it even starts.
Now, too many companies are trying to automate the entire process, but hiring requires empathy, curiosity, and critical thinking because people do not have to apply, interview, accept an offer or even turn up on day one. Without the proper human and process foundation, technology becomes a barrier to success.
Why candidate experience is still overlooked
Candidate experience starts at the very beginning, perhaps even before someone applies. It includes the ease of finding a job listing, the clarity around salary and location, the silliness of having to copy-paste a CV into boxes or answer inane questions riddled with bias, or the tone of interview interactions. Poor treatment in any stage of the process hurts not just individuals, it damages the employer’s reputation and ability to hire in the future.
Ghosting is especially harmful. 87% of applicants who don’t hear back after applying say it affects their mental health, leaving them down or depressed. Organisations must test their own hiring processes, walk through every step and treat candidates with respect, especially if those candidates could become customers!
Hiring challenges look the same around the world
Worldwide, little differs. In-demand sectors face competition and talent shortages, while recruiters working in high-volume are drowned in applications. Today, many candidates use AI tools, like ChatGPT, to write their CVs but it leads to similarity that makes it harder for recruiters to spot a great applicant. Some also use tools to mass apply to jobs, which ultimately makes it harder for genuine applicants to secure work.
No matter where they are in the world, companies must remember that the internet reveals how employees and candidates are treated. I’ve seen examples of micromanagement and cost-cutting gone too far, with poor decisions hitting morale, reputation and productivity that negatively impact recruitment and retention.
Healed trauma and the future
In May 2025, I released my memoir, The Damage of Words, which details my journey healing self-hate and complex PTSD and gaining self-mastery. It’s aspirational, aiming to inspire others to heal their wounds by demystifying the process. There is so much help available now that generational trauma could stop with us.
The book is for anyone ready to heal but hasn’t taken the step yet. I’ve experienced profound transformation, and I hope by speaking openly about it that more will step onto the path to feeling happy, healthy and whole.
