Testimonials
Don’t just take our word for it.
Here’s what past hiring managers and candidates say about working with Rob and Northborn:
Rob has a positive, warm and welcoming personality. Great at collaborating with senior leaders on their talent needs in a consultative way. He is super reliable and diligent in every step of the recruitment process. He cares for the candidate experience and understands its importance.
Rob is hands down one of the best recruitment managers I’ve ever worked with. I partnered with him to hire product designers for my design team at Cin7—something that’s typically complex and time-consuming, especially offshore (Sri Lanka and India)—but Rob made it feel effortless. He didn’t just find top-tier candidates; he brought clarity to our hiring strategy, guided me through negotiations, and was a steady, solutions-focused partner throughout. His professionalism, instinct, and genuine care for getting it right set him apart. An absolute standout in the recruitment space.
I previously collaborated with Rob at Xplor during our team expansion phase, where he played a crucial role in sourcing key software engineering hires. His ability to grasp the brief swiftly and accurately was always impressive. What truly stood out about Rob is his talent for identifying suitable candidates based on concise instructions from me - it never failed to amaze me. Furthermore, he demonstrated excellent collaboration skills by streamlining our recruitment process during a time when we needed to hire extensively. His efforts significantly reduced friction in the process. In conclusion, I wholeheartedly recommend Rob if you are searching for someone capable of recruiting exceptional engineers for your organisation.
Rob hired me when I started with Cin7 and he helped me with our recruitment drive last year and helped us to get some really good talent. It has been nothing but extraordinary. I have enjoyed working with Rob during the time he has been with us. An absolute star to work with.
Rob has this incredible talent for understanding people. He can grasp what motivates them, what excites them, and how they’d fit into an organisation. He’s diligent, open, and engaging, and this wasn’t just true in the workplace, it was also evident in his interactions with potential candidates for roles. He always made sure to understand the brief, what was needed in the different teams we were hiring for, and how we could find the right people for those roles. I had an amazing time working with Rob and would definitely work with him again anytime.
Rob spear-headed a bulk recruitment campaign to enable us to rapidly double the size of our globally dispersed support team. He worked all hours, covering some very unsociable time zones. Rob is an innovator and a collaborator and he goes about his work with great energy and passion. I’m eternally grateful for Rob’s efforts and his achievements in successfully hiring a highly talented team which we are still benefiting from today
I just wanted to say a big thank you for your incredible support throughout the recruitment process. Your professionalism, responsiveness, and deep understanding of what we needed made a real difference—not just in finding the right candidate, but in making the whole experience smooth and positive. I really appreciated your insights, your persistence, and the way you kept everything moving forward. It’s been a pleasure working with you, and I’m genuinely grateful for your partnership in helping us build a stronger team.
Rob is one of the most knowledgeable recruiters I've had the opportunity to work with, and I've reused recruitment tips and tricks I have learned with him hiring people when he hasn't been part of the process; and those hires have always been very successful as a result. Rob genuinely cares about getting the 'right' person in place (as do I!) and this has helped create many awesome teams over time. I've hired many people with Rob's help over multiple companies over the last few years, and have to say the bar for excellence candidates need to achieve has been set very high as a direct result of having Rob involved, and indirectly where I've used tips and tricks from working with him when I haven't had the advantage of having him directly involved.
I had the privilege of working with Rob as my manager, and learned a great deal from his expertise and leadership. He’s a highly respected and knowledgeable recruiter with a strong business acumen. He thinks beyond just filling roles—always considering the wider impact on team dynamics, process and culture. Rob’s partnering also comes with his sense of humour, which keeps the team grounded and positive even during challenging moments. I would highly recommend reaching out to Rob for your recruitment needs.
I’ve had the privilege of working under Rob at Xplor, and it’s been an incredibly valuable experience. Rob stands out as one of the most strategic and people-focused recruiters I’ve worked with. In a fast-paced tech environment where adaptability, innovation, and cultural fit are key, he consistently demonstrated a strong ability to balance operational excellence with a deep understanding of people. He also brought a sense of energy and enjoyment to the process. Hiring managers trusted his judgment and relied on his ability to source top talent. I learned a great deal from him and would highly recommend him without hesitation.
I've had the pleasure of working with Rob for over four years, and during that time, he’s proven to be both a brilliant recruiter and an exceptional partner to the business. Rob truly gets the relationship aspect of hiring—he doesn’t just fill roles; he builds high-performing teams grounded in culture, trust, and long-term fit. With a keen eye for talent—especially in highly technical roles—Rob has delivered consistently across global markets. His work has directly supported our recognition through multiple culture awards, and his commitment to aligning the right people with the right environments has been invaluable. Rob is a brilliant chap and simply great to work with.
I had the pleasure of working alongside Rob for over 3.5 years during his time as our Talent Acquisition Manager for New Zealand, Australia, and parts of the broader APAC region. Rob is deeply passionate about what he does and brings a genuine commitment to both candidate care and hiring manager support. He quickly grasps the nuances of what a role requires and is highly effective at identifying quality candidates, ensuring a smooth and timely recruitment process.
What I valued most was Rob's collaborative nature and his ability to balance candidate expectations with our internal salary frameworks to ensure integrity in our pay structure. He brought valuable insights from the talent acquisition process, such as candidate feedback or process observations which helped inform my work as an HR Business Partner and supported continuous improvement in how we worked with hiring managers. He stayed connected with new hires, helping to foster a strong referral network, and consistently showed sound judgment when it came to aligning talent strategy with business needs.
Rob goes above and beyond to support both candidates and hiring managers, and I have no doubt he’ll bring the same energy and dedication into his own business.
Rob was my first point of contact at my current company, guiding me through the recruitment process that ultimately led to my hire. Since then, he’s continued to be a valuable partner—approachable, reliable, and always professional. Rob consistently makes the effort to understand the roles he’s hiring for, enabling him to effectively assess and identify strong candidates from a large pool of applicants. He’s played a key role in several successful hires within my team and across related departments, making the process smoother and more effective every time. Beyond that, Rob has generously given his time to train and support others on recruitment best practices, helping empower us to conduct interviews with confidence and achieve strong hiring outcomes.
Rob was the powerhouse who helped me build the Sri Lankan team from scratch. Always friendly and willing to go the extra mile, he ensured an exceptional candidate experience while hiring the perfect fit. The most technical 'non-techie' I’ve ever met, his thorough approach left no room for doubt. One of the best TA managers I've worked with—an outstanding communicator!
