The Recruiting Future Podcast - Innovation In Hr And Recruitment

Recruiting Future is currently on summer break, and the regular show will resume next week. I didn't want to leave you with nothing to listen to over Labor Day weekend, though… The Alder Hour is my show with Purple Acorn, which live streams on LinkedIn every Monday afternoon. Every show features an interview segment, and I wanted to share here three of the best interviews we've had so far, showcasing three of the smartest people in the industry. Keep listening to hear: Master Burnett from HireBrain discussing the ways AI can augment hiring Madeline Laurano, the founder of Aptitude Research, talking about the impact of AI on the vendor  landscape Laurie Ruettimann from Punk Rock HR warning us about the end of work as we know it.

Recruiting Future is taking a couple of weeks off and will return the first week in September. In the meantime, I've got some summer specials for you. As I don't need to tell you, AI is a massive topic at the moment and isn't going to change any time soon; it's only going to get bigger and more critical. With that in mind, I wanted to share my thoughts on where we are with AI at the moment, its future direction, and also share the outline of a framework I've developed for strategic AI implementation in TA. Earlier in the summer, I was a guest on the Saville Assessment Deep Dive podcast, talking about AI. The host, Hannah Mullaney, asked such great questions that I thought I would drop the whole episode into the Recruiting Future podcast feed for you to take a listen to. So, with thanks to Hannah and the team at Saville, here is a deep dive into my take on AI and the future of talent acquisition.

The explosion of AI-generated applications isn't just breaking traditional recruiting - it's creating an unprecedented opportunity by making sophisticated assessment tools accessible for early-stage screening. There is now the opportunity to filter thousands of applicants based on actual predictive data. However, the vendor landscape here can be confusing, and some offerings lack the transparency that employers need. So how can organizations identify tools that leverage AI's efficiency while respecting established peer-reviewed assessment science? My guest this week is Djurre Holtrop, Assistant Professor at Tilburg University. In our conversation, Jura reveals how AI could democratize evidence-based assessment for organizations of all sizes and offers advice on best practices and the future assessment landscape. In the interview, we discuss: The science-practice gap in assessment The tension arising from the rapid development of AI and the need to evaluate work performance results over time.

Up to 20% of the global workforce is likely to be neurodivergent and mostly undiagnosed. Understanding how to unlock the full potential of people with non-typical brains should be important to all employers. The difference between the right and wrong job fit for someone with ADHD or other neurodivergent conditions can be the difference between struggling daily and becoming a top performer.  So what if the key to creating exceptional teams lies not in trying to fit everyone into the same mold, but in asking the right questions to understand what each person needs to thrive? My guest this week is Shell Mendelson, an ADHD career coach with 35 years of experience helping neurodivergent individuals find their ideal work fit. In our conversation, Shell shares her proven process for identifying the "must-haves" that enable neurodivergent employees to perform at their highest level and explains why understanding individual needs benefits both employees and employers. In the interview, we discuss: The c

Recruiting Future helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. If you're interested in finding out how your TA function measures up in these four critical areas, I've created the free FITT for the Future Assessment. It'll give you personalised insights to help you build strategic clarity and drive greater impact immediately. Just head to mattalder.me/podcast to complete the assessment—it only takes a few minutes. This episode is about Talent and Technology. The recruitment marketing landscape has been about more than just job advertising for a long time. However, many employers are still missing out on the unique benefits search and social bring to the marketing mix by approaching these channels in the same way they approach job boards.  As AI reshapes these platforms and candidate behavior evolves rapidly, there's a widening gap between companies seeing dramatic results and those struggling with failed

For too long, gaps in resumes have been a red flag for recruiters. But what if this outdated bias is costing you your best hires? In today's world, where everyone's constantly reskilling and skills become obsolete within months, penalizing career breaks makes absolutely no sense. This red flag mentality drives ageism and automatically screens out experienced professionals. Organizations clinging to "recent experience" requirements are handing their competitors access to mature talent bringing fresh perspectives, proven loyalty, and decades of expertise. So how can forward-thinking employers flip this nonsensical bias into strategic advantage by recognizing that career breaks often create stronger professionals, not weaker ones? My guest this week is Hazel Little, CEO at Career Returners. Hazel exposes the real cost of resume gap discrimination and shares proven strategies for building returner programs that deliver business results. In our conversation, she reveals why the red flag mentality around care

How do we move from reactive recruiting to predictive talent acquisition? In an era where performance metrics drive every business decision, recruitment often remains stubbornly intuition-based, especially when evaluating soft skills like empathy, communication, and critical thinking. What if AI could help us predict performance before a candidate even starts? And what happens when we connect hiring decisions to actual performance outcomes, creating a feedback loop that makes recruiters smarter over time? Can technology help us understand which risks are worth taking, and which gut feelings we should trust?  My guests this week are Veronique Lacasse, Senior Manager at Bell Canada, and Stephane Rivard, Co-founder and CEO of HiringBranch. In our conversation, Veronique and Stephane walk us through Bell's integrated approach to talent acquisition, which utilizes AI assessment data on soft skills to create a predictive, performance-driven hiring system that is still very much driven by human recruiters. I

Organizations face a critical AI inflection point: the pressure to implement quickly conflicts with uncertainty about the right approach. While some companies are still cautiously experimenting with basic AI tools, others have fundamentally reimagined how work gets done. What separates the companies achieving remarkable results from those stuck in endless pilots? Often, it's not the technology itself but the culture and approach to adoption. So how exactly are companies at the cutting edge getting to the cutting edge? My guest this week is Brandon Sammut, Chief People Officer at Zapier. Ever since Zapier's"CEO issued a 'Code Red" on AI back in March 2023, Zapier has been undergoing an AI transformation in every part of its business.. In our conversation, Brandon shares how their AI strategy is boosting both productivity and employee engagement, why and how every new hire must demonstrate AI fluency, and why it is critical to keep the human touch in talent acquisition and throughout the employee journey.

We are on the cusp of a significant transformation in the world of work, with HR and Talent teams currently at the frontline of change. CHROs face unprecedented questions about the impact of agentic AI on the structure of organisations and the continuing need for agility and adaptation as skills go in and out of relevance at an ever-accelerating pace. The most innovative CHROs are looking in two directions - collaborating with IT teams in entirely new ways and studying how product teams operate with their test-learn-iterate mindset. Over the last few years, talent acquisition has often been more exposed to constant tech experimentation and workflow optimization than their HR colleagues. So could TA Leaders play a significant role in driving this workforce transformation? My guest this week is Amy Schultz, VP Market Development & Operations for RPO at Korn Ferry ANZ. Amy brings a unique perspective from a career spanning agency, RPO, and senior in-house roles at LinkedIn and Canva. In our conversation

Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology.  This episode is about Foresight. The pace of change has become relentless. Economic volatility, AI adoption, hybrid work challenges, and geopolitical shifts are forcing companies to completely rethink their workforce strategies. Organizations that once planned in five-year cycles now refresh their approaches on a quarterly or even monthly basis. This unprecedented disruption demands immediate action - but many HR and talent teams remain paralyzed by uncertainty. Traditional recruitment and development approaches simply can't keep pace with how rapidly skills requirements are evolving. What concrete steps should companies take today to build resilience into their talent strategies? My guest this week is Peter Miscovich, Global Future of Work Leader at JLL. Peter has spent 25 years helping Fortune 100 companies navigate wor

Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. This episode is about Talent. After years of hype surrounding skills-based hiring, the data is showing that it is really happening at scale and becoming strategically important across all sectors and company sizes, with some surprising patterns emerging. Organizations are seeing benefits beyond just filling roles, and the implications for TA and HR are significant. What's driving this shift, and what do TA teams need to know? My guest this week is David Wilkins, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Talent Neuron. David has produced some exclusive data insights for Recruiting Future that paint a clear picture of where skills-based hiring stands today. In our conversation, he shares where the market is, what specific companies are doing, the real benefits they're seeing, and his thoughts on how AI might change everything in

Budgeting has long been challenging for talent acquisition teams, but the stakes have never been higher in today's volatile economic environment. Many TA leaders find themselves stuck in a cycle of defending past decisions, managing cuts, and struggling to align budgets with business strategy. Meanwhile, CFOs expect data-driven proposals, ROI insights, and long-term planning that TA teams often aren't equipped to deliver. So, how can talent acquisition leaders transform their approach to budgeting, build trust with the C-suite, and position themselves as strategic business partners My guests this week are Madeline Laurano, founder of Aptitude Research, and Joshua Secrest, VP of Client Advocacy at Paradox. We discuss Aptitude's new report, The Talent Acquisition Budget Playbook, which contains actionable strategies to move beyond reactive spending, harness automation for efficiency, and demonstrate clear ROI to unlock longer-term investment. In the interview, we discuss: The background behind the report S

The rapid evolution of AI is reshaping talent acquisition, but many TA teams are struggling to keep pace. While AI offers the potential to revolutionize processes, reduce friction, and improve candidate experiences, adoption rates remain low. At the same time, businesses are under pressure to boost productivity and efficiency, leaving TA teams vulnerable to being left behind—or worse, having changes imposed on them without their input. So, how can talent acquisition leaders embrace AI and use it to align themselves with broader corporate objectives? My guest this week is Adam Godson, CEO of Paradox, a pioneer in conversational AI for talent acquisition. Adam shares valuable insights from working with industry leaders like McDonald’s and Chipotle, exploring how AI is transforming recruitment at scale. He discusses how TA leaders can harness AI to future-proof their organizations, deliver tangible ROI, and create hiring systems that prioritize speed, efficiency, and better candidate experiences. In the inter

Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. This episode is about Influence. The importance of data is universally recognized in TA, but the real opportunity lies in going beyond basic metrics and using data to shape business strategy. Forward-thinking TA leaders are moving beyond operational dashboards to connect hiring decisions with business outcomes like revenue generation and team performance. This shift requires not just better metrics but a fundamental change in how we communicate value to the organization. The challenge is that many teams remain stuck at the operational level, measuring activity rather than impact. So, how can you be more strategic about data and analytics? My guest this week is Leandro Cartelli, founder of a staffing and recruiting agency specializing in Latin American talent. With nearly 20 years of experience working in recruiting and

Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. This episode is about Talent and Technology. Timely and effective measurement of the quality of hire has long been a significant frustration for talent acquisition, with meaningful data often trapped in subjective performance reviews that arrive too late to be of any help. But what if AI could help connect interview assessments, onboarding metrics, and performance data in ways that reveal which hires are going to succeed, creating real-time feedback loops that continually improve hiring decisions?   So, how exactly can employers build these types of connected systems? My guest this week is Mark Linnville, Head of Talent at Garner Health. In our conversation, he reveals how to identify accurate leading indicators for quality of hire, why authentic interview experiences help predict performance, and how AI helps connec

Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. This episode is about Talent. While we're seeing a growing awareness of ageism, the reality is that it is regularly ignored as an inclusion factor. The impact of this is staggering. AARP estimates that ageism costs the US economy $850 billion in lost GDP annually, and research shows that intergenerational teams consistently outperform age-segregated ones in terms of productivity and innovation. Yet, unlike other forms of discrimination, age bias is openly accepted in hiring via things like age-coded job descriptions and ATS systems that filter by graduation dates. So what will it take for organizations to recognize that age discrimination isn't just morally wrong - it's actively destroying their competitive advantage? My guest this week is Maureen Wiley Clough, host of the 'It Gets Late Early' podcast and advocate again

Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology.  This episode is about Influence and Technology. Talent Acquisition leaders are navigating a uniquely challenging period, juggling rapid advancements in AI with ongoing operational demands. The opportunity to automate routine tasks is clear, but the real challenge is determining where AI ends and human intervention begins.  With AI technologies rapidly reshaping the recruitment landscape, how can employers ensure they deploy AI strategically rather than superficially?  My guest this week is Chris Riche-Webber, VP Business Intelligence and Analytics at SmartRecruiters. Chris shares valuable insights into defining clear outcomes for AI deployment, experimenting effectively, and building genuine trust with technology vendors. In the interview, we discuss:  Current TA market realities Implementing AI to its full

Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology.  This episode is about Foresight and Talent Some of the most significant innovations in talent management and talent acquisition originated in the tech sector. From Edison's revolutionary use of teamwork to Netflix's principle of Talent Density, cutting-edge thinking about technology has often also involved cutting-edge thinking about talent. What might the history of technology teach us about the future impact of AI on talent practices? My guest this week is Jamie Dobson, CEO of Container Solutions and author of the forthcoming book, “Visionaries, Rebels and Machines,” on the history of technology. In our conversation, Jamie identifies some of the talent innovations the tech sector has given us, shares how he applied some of this thinking to his own business, and we discuss what the future might look like In the int

Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology.  This episode is about Talent and Foresight. We're no longer dealing with a world that's simply volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous - we've arguably entered something far more challenging: a reality that's brittle, anxious, nonlinear, and incomprehensible. This shift is turning traditional workforce planning completely on its head. Three-year strategic plans become meaningless when entire job categories disappear in months, when AI capabilities jump overnight, and when market conditions change faster than planning cycles can adapt. So how can employers develop effective talent strategies in highly uncertain times, and how might talent acquisition step up to take a strategic role? My guest this week is Toby Culshaw, VP of Strategy for Talent Intelligence at Lightcast. In our conversation, Toby explains how real-t

Hi there, welcome to episode 711 of Recruiting Future with me, Matt Alder. Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology.  This episode is about Talent and Technology. The recruitment technology landscape is experiencing a perfect storm. Perfect match candidates aren't completing applications due to frustrating processes. At the same time, recruiters are being overwhelmed by candidates using AI tools to generate thousands of low-quality submissions. Traditional matching algorithms provide limited transparency into the decision-making process, thereby creating legal and compliance risks. Meanwhile, cost-per-application models continue to charge for clicks rather than actual conversions, leaving employers paying for candidates who never complete the process. How can TA teams navigate this impossible environment while improving outcomes for everyone involved? My gue