💬 Summary
In this episode, we speak to Austin Okolo – founder of Gen Z Recruits and a leading voice for Gen Z in the world of work – about turning lived experience into lasting impact.
Austin shares how his entrepreneurial journey began with selling football boots at school and how it evolved into a mission to fix a broken job market. We talk about building confidence from the ground up, creating opportunities where none exist and why visibility and vulnerability are powerful tools for career growth. Austin opens up about the loneliness of leadership, what most people get wrong about Gen Z and why effort still beats everything else.
💡 Takeaways
🕒 Chapters
00:00 – Who is Austin Okolo and what does he do?
01:43 – From football boots to fashion to founding a business
03:50 – The rise and fall of Clubhouse and building a real-life community
06:16 – Becoming “Mr Gen Z” and launching Gen Z Recruits
08:57 – Why he started a recruitment agency with no corporate background
11:39 – Starting from scratch: mentorship, prep and long-term thinking
13:15 – The real problems Gen Z face in the job market
16:13 – Are Gen Z expectations really that unrealistic?
17:56 – Rethinking traditional work models and expectations
20:43 – Meeting in the middle: flexibility vs reality
22:48 – The hardest part: loneliness as a founder
24:10 – Why we need to build our own communities after school
26:05 – The hidden cost of working from home
28:15 – How Austin got into the media – and why visibility matters
31:04 – Building confidence by doing hard things
33:35 – Personal branding tips for early-career professionals
35:14 – What not to post online (and how to avoid being cringe)
38:13 – Why Austin didn’t post about Coldplay – and how to stay in your lane
41:08 – What’s next for Gen Z Recruits
42:46 – Austin’s signature advice: reverse engineer your dream role
44:31 – Where to find Austin online
🔗 Follow Austin
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