Why recruitment data goes stale before you even see it

Business development for recruiters depends on one wrong assumption: the data you’re using reflects what’s happening in the market right now. Unfortunately, this assumption has become an industry practice. 

Most recruitment teams unknowingly work with historical data while trying to operate in a real-time market. Working with historical data means you’re working with stale data that cannot provide value in real-time. 

And that usage reflects in how long it takes you to reach the right person, close a placement, or lose a lead. 

Understanding why that happens starts with how recruitment data is actually collected.

In this article, we’ll be looking at how you can get rid of stale data and use live contact data, how this process can be automated, and what parts of your recruitment workflow can be altered for improvement. 

How recruitment data is usually collected

Most databases are generic. Platforms like Apollo, for example, provide access to a large pool of contacts, but they are not built for recruiters. If you’re expecting a ready-to-go, niche-focused lead list, you may be disappointed.

Here are a few reasons why: 

1. Data is often stale: Many platforms, like Apollo and Lusha, rely on scraped or periodically updated data, meaning contact information, job titles, or company affiliations may be months or even a year old. Outreach based on this data risks reaching people who are no longer relevant.
2. Generic coverage: These large databases serve multiple industries, so they can’t help specific industries like B2B sales or recruiting. 
3. Manual curation is required: To make the data usable, recruiters often have to manually verify emails, phone numbers, and role relevance, adding significant admin time before outreach can even begin.
4. Limited real-time signals: Traditional databases rarely show job moves, promotions, or company expansions as they happen. 

In short, scraped data doesn’t work because it answers the question: “Who was in this role when the data was last collected?”

But recruiters need to know: “Who is in this role right now?”

The importance of live, updated data 

B2B contact data can become outdated extremely quickly. At a minimum, B2B contact data can decay by 22.5% within a single year (source: Hubspot). This means nearly a quarter of a typical database can be stale within 12 months. And that’s the minimum threshold; this number can go up to 70%. 

That’s why it’s so, so important to have updated data. 

Live contact discovery, as implemented by Zileo, works differently:

• Contacts are sourced live from LinkedIn.
• Job changes, promotions, and new roles are captured as they happen.
• Combined with integrated data from all major providers, this ensures verified emails and phone numbers.
• Leads are immediately actionable for outreach, without exporting to separate tools.

Plus, Zileo automates this entire process. Not only do you get real-time signals, but Zileo also executes the entire sequence. That gives you a huge window of opportunity before competitors. 

Why do job changes matter more than the titles? 

When you have scraped data from these large databases, you only get job titles. These job titles are mostly outdated. But in recruitment, job changes are the more important signals. This is because:  

• A candidate moving roles may trigger new hiring needs or budget changes.
• Companies in hiring mode respond faster to outreach from consultants who reach them at the right time.
• Live data ensures these signals are caught as soon as they happen. 

When you have access to all these updates, it leads to more relevant conversations and better conversion rates for placements. 

How Zileo supports recruiter-led business development

Vacancy Lead Generation

Capture 98%+ of live vacancies globally across all major job boards — including backfill and replacement hiring signals — so you know exactly which companies are actively hiring, right now.

Live Contact Finder

Search LinkedIn in real time to identify the current hiring manager, HR lead, or decision-maker, with verified email and phone details. No scraped lists. No ex-employees.

Automated Email & LinkedIn Sequencing

Run structured outreach across email, LinkedIn messages, InMail, profile views, and follow-ups. This means client development happens consistently without manual chasing.

Zileo AI (Recruiter-Focused)

Reduce admin and research time. Zileo AI:

• Refines vacancy lead lists based on what you actually convert
• Recommends the most relevant contacts for each account
• Builds and adapts outreach sequences based on recruiter behaviour

Data Enrichment & Lead Management

This feature keeps your CRM accurate and usable by enriching old records with live contact data. Plus, you can manage prospects by company, vacancy, or pipeline stage. 

Integrated Mass Mailing & CRM Connectivity

Re-engage your existing client database or launch targeted market outreach with warm, deliverability-safe emails and LinkedIn messaging, fully integrated with your CRM/ATS.

Takeaway: Use niche-focused platforms instead of generic ones 

Big databases are popular because they cater to more people. The more people, the more popular that platform will be. However, when you use a generic database platform for niche industries, it won’t work. 

The data will be less actionable, and the workflow will lead to a lot of admin work (because it’s not developed for recruiters or sales teams). 

With Zileo, you not only have access to live contacts, but you’ve got automated sequencing, AI-driven lead refinement, and so much more built into one platform. 

Try it here and get 50 leads for free: zileo.io