Continuing our live coverage from #RecruitDC, where we just finished listening to John Vlastelica's keynote on Recruiting Leadership. As he put it--it's not about the leaders at the top of the recruiting pyramid--it's about the role we each play as a recruiter in our organization. How do we stand out as a recruiter?

The idea of rethinking our roles is so timely--it's easy to get mired in filling reqs the way we've always filled them. But what if we flipped the model, changed our ways, turned the tables? I caught John after his presentation for the download.

Just like @ThisisLars, you're in a suit today too. Aren't you a jeans guy?

"I AM a jeans guy. I work on the West Coast and people are way more casual. Carmen on my team took me to Soho when we were in NYC last week because normally I'm a Kohl's or Men's Wearhouse guy. Now I can be East Coast cool."

Ok, so on to the serious stuff, of all of the tips you provided, which is the one that's the most powerful?

"I'd say it's all about problem-solving. If the business doesn't perceive something as a problem you won't drive change. They have to see high turnover or the careers site sucking as a problem, they won't care. It won't get funded, and it won't be a priority. Sometimes doing the right thing is acknowledging that it isn't a problem. But sometimes you can make it painful. Use data and stories to make the pain clear. Politicians do this all the time--tell a story about why a candidate dropped out of the process."

You talk about the hiring manager NOT being our customer. Why is that?

"Hiring managers are accountable for hiring. We support them but we are not subservient order takers. We have to demonstrate our expertise. If we have them as customers we have to subscribe to the idea that says the customer is always right. And the customer isn't always right, particularly in recruiting. For me, recruiting nirvana is extremely high hiring manager ownership. It's where the business managers hold hiring managers accountable for recruiting."

What does a really successful relationship with a hiring manager look like?

"It is one of mutual respect and really strong investment on both parts. Help me help you--the recruiter tells the Hiring Manager they want them to be wildly successful. The Hiring Manager has to understand how to set up the recruiter to be successful."

This is your second trip to DC in just a few weeks. What do you like most about our city?

"I love the food. I went to Shake Shack at 11pm and it was delicious! I also went to the Newseum recently and loved it. I love walking around here. I walked 7 miles on Monday! I never get tired of seeing the Lincoln Memorial. It's so fricken' cool."