My Take: Why Sales Is the Real Job (Even If You Hate Sales) — with Julia Arpag

I’m saying the quiet part out loud: if you don’t build your sales muscle, growth stalls - no matter how talented you are. In this episode, Julia Arpag, CEO and Founder of Aligned Recruitment, shares with me how she went from five weeks postpartum and laid off to building a seven-figure tech recruitment firm by treating selling as service, investing early in mentorship, and using LinkedIn + networking like a real funnel.

Julia’s journey began in August 2023 when she was unexpectedly laid off while on maternity leave. What could have been a destabilizing moment became the catalyst for something extraordinary. While briefly accepting a W-2 role, she started selling for a friend’s startup recruitment venture on the side. Within months, she closed three retainer clients. That early traction forced a pivotal decision: continue playing it safe, or step fully into entrepreneurship despite fears around sales, taxes, and “not knowing enough.” She chose the leap. 

Rather than trying to figure everything out alone, Julia invested her earliest earnings into mentorship by hiring an executive coach who had sold a recruitment agency for $28 million, a LinkedIn writing coach, and systems experts. Inspired by Carol Dweck’s Mindset and the philosophy of “Who Not How,” she built her sales muscle, reframed selling as service, and adopted a growth mindset that became foundational to Aligned Recruitment’s rapid success. She reminds us that for women entrepreneurs especially, seeking support is often the difference between staying small and scaling meaningfully. 

We also explored Julia’s tactical wisdom as a recruiter, including why job seekers should treat their search like a sales funnel, how to optimize LinkedIn to be discovered, and why networking consistently outperforms cold online applications. At a deeper level, Julia challenges the idea that business success must come at the cost of personal well-being. Her philosophy is clear: build a business around your life, not the other way around. 

This conversation is a powerful reminder for all of us that profitability, purpose, and peace can coexist. Tune in to hear my conversation with Julia Arpag and how she is redefining what it looks like for women to lead, sell, and scale without losing themselves in the process.

Chapters:
01:12 👩‍💼 Meet Julia Arpag Founder and CEO of Aligned Recruitment
02:34 🚀 Turn a Layoff Into a Launch Plan After Maternity Leave
07:32 📈 Smart Strategies for Scaling a Recruitment Firm Fast
16:12 🤝 Sales Skills and Mentorship Change Everything for Women Founders
22:51 🔎 How Recruiters Really Search for Candidates
23:32 💼 Make Your LinkedIn Profile Work for You
24:50 ☕ Networking Tactics That Beat Online Applications
26:59 🌍 How Values Driven Tech Companies Hire Diverse Talent
36:59 ⚖️ Build a Business That Supports Your Life and Family

Links:

Website: www.alignedrecruitment.com 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-arpag 
Connect with Julia on LinkedIn and explore Aligned Recruitment’s website to learn how values-based leadership and smart hiring strategies can transform the way you build teams and careers. 

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