Straight to it. No essay. You get enough of that. Got me and my wife laughing. For a minute I thought it was just a catchy ad. By the end of the message I had a feeling I’d be writing this recommendation eventually.

Most cold messages I get are some variation of vague role, calendar link, chase. Samuel’s wasn’t. He ran the intro call himself – no handoff, no script, no rehearsed lines. He asked real questions, listened to the answers, and pushed when something caught his attention. It felt like a conversation between two people who were curious about each other, not a screen.

The thing I most want anyone reading this to know: Samuel treated me like a person, not a CV.

Lu and I were mid-move from Brazil to the Netherlands. New country, new system, my wife with her own career to figure out – the usual chaos that nobody wants to ask about because it’s complicated. Samuel asked anyway. He brought up relocation and timing before I had to. He gave me room to breathe. Not once did I feel like I was being fit into a process that ignored the rest of my life.

He moved fast behind the scenes too. When he said he’d put something forward, he did. When he said the team made decisions quickly, they did. Job-hunting across borders is its own kind of stress test; he never left me waiting.

His feedback was honest. Good and bad. It helped me grow in ways I hadn’t seen coming. Most people in his role tell you what you want to hear. Samuel just tells you what will actually help you. That’s rarer than it should be.

Fast, direct, clear about what he could and couldn’t promise. No theatre, no spin. And underneath all of it, a kind of quiet care that made our international job hunt into one of the unexpectedly good parts of moving countries.

Samuel does this work the way the rest of us wish recruiters would. He’s curious, honest, respectful of your time and your life, and none of it is performance. It’s just how he works.

So: if you’re a candidate wondering whether Samuel is worth your time, yes. Easily. And to any hiring manager reading this. You’re lucky if he’s the one calling.
Samuel, thank you. For the questions, the honesty, the care, the respect. For making something that didn’t have to be personal feel personal anyway. Lu and I won’t forget it.

Waiting on your little ones to grow up enough for us to spin around amazing places in Brazil one day!

P.S. Turns out the recommendation isn’t enough. I owe you a beer too. First round’s on me when you’re in Amsterdam.

Felipe Mendonca – Senior AI engineer

Working with Sam is always great. He has a deep understanding of the roles I need to fill, coupled with his knowledge of the EU market and he gives his all for both the client and the candidate. This makes him an invaluable partner in the recruitment process.

Sam consistently delivers top-notch candidates and operates with the utmost reliability, making him my go-to technical recruiter. I’ve used Sam to hire Product Owners, Engineers (various types) and Engineering Managers.

Adam Castle – Head of Platform Engineering @ Sympower