HR Interviews Playlist

The modern workplace has created an epidemic of burnout that's quietly destroying careers and companies alike. Many professionals are quietly battling anxiety, sleep disruption, and physical exhaustion while maintaining a facade of having everything under control. TA leaders are currently navigating AI adoption, defending budgets, managing anxious teams, and are still expected to fill critical roles faster than ever. So what kinds of systems can you put in place to prioritise your own wellbeing, while still making a lasting impact in your business? My guest this week is Chris Ducker, a serial entrepreneur and bestselling author. Chris suffered a severe burnout in 2021 and has used the lessons it taught him to develop a Life Operating System that sits at the centre of his new book "The Long-Haul Leader." I've known Chris for a while now, and the advice and insights he offers are very much grounded in the reality of modern working life In the interview, we discuss: Building long-term business impact in disruptive times Why self-care is strategic The myth of work-life balance Recognising the warning signs and avoiding burnout The four key areas of the Life OS and how they intersect to drive results The power of creative hobbies Why data and what you do with it is so important AI, friend or foe? What does the future of work look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

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 But what if this outdated bias is costing you your best hires?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 career breaks belongs in recruiting's past. In the interview, we discuss: What is a career returner? What are the common issues returners face The human impact of bias What drives career gap bias? Incorrect perceptions, false assumptions, and outdated approaches to hiring The significant advantages of tapping into the returner talent pool The significance of the decreasing shelf life of skills Advice to employers What might the future look like? 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. Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

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 connect the dots we've been missing. In the interview, we discuss: Talent market challenges Removing the silos in the talent function Providing a true-to-self candidate experience How do you judge quality of hire from a TA perspective? Leading indicators versus lagging data Creating continuous feedback loops Using AI to connect interviews to performance The importance of the human element of talent acquisition What does the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

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 interview, we discuss: How can historical context help us understand the future? Examples of talent innovations that have come out of the tech sector Teamwork and talent density The problem with copying the artifacts but not the thought processes behind them Lessons from elite sports How technology changes, but human nature doesn't What does the future look like Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

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 guests this week are Simon Van Hijfte, Marketing Manager at Adecco Belgium, and Ritu Mohanka, CEO at VONQ. Simon shares how Adecco is transforming their recruitment process with AI agents and the impressive results they're achieving - from improved candidate satisfaction to enhanced recruiter efficiency. We also all discuss the shift from opaque matching systems to transparent point-based scoring, how AI agents are solving the broken candidate experience, and why this people-first approach is delivering better business outcomes across the board. Why is the candidate experience broken? The impact of candidates using AI Implementing a people-first approach supported by AI Recruter Enablement vi AI Agents What do the candidates think? Moving from matching to scoring and explainable decision making Spotting transferable skills Vonq's innovative CPA+ model What results has Adecco been getting? What does the future of recruiting look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Recruiting Future is a podcast designed to help Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. This episode is about technology and foresight. AI terminology is getting confusing, which is compounded by vast amounts of marketing focusing on future promises rather than the current reality. Beyond the jargon and hype, how can AI agents be used to tackle today's recruiting problems? My guest this week is Shiran Yaroslavsky, SVP Product at SmartRecruiters. Shiran shares the importance of using customer research to build AI solutions for genuine recruiting challenges and to create the right vision for the future . In the interview, we discuss: Building products in disruptive times The difference between AI co-pilots and AI agents Using AI to Solve real TA productivity problems with AI Why customer research is critical for meaningful AI innovation The importance of building agents that collaborate across platforms How TA leaders should be evaluating AI vendors The importance of visionary innovation What is the ultimate future vision for TA? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify. A full transcript will appear here shortly.

Recruiting Future is a podcast designed to help Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. This episode is about talent and technology. Many employers are facing an increasing problem with candidates' use of AI. Along with dramatically increasing application numbers, AI tools are, in some cases, allowing potentially unsuitable candidates to jump to the front of the queue, endangering the integrity of the recruiting process. One potential answer to this challenge is to deploy science-based psychometric testing much earlier in the process than has traditionally been the case. So, how should assessment tools and technologies evolve to combine scientific robustness, candidate engagement, and resilience against AI manipulation My guest this week is Alan Bourne, Partner at Omatti and an expert in assessment innovation. Alan highlights the issues with legacy assessment tools and sets out a blueprint for transformation that embraces AI to enhance both the candidate experience and the predictive accuracy of the tools. We also discuss the role of assessment in the move to skills organisations. In the interview, we discuss: The real impact of candidates using AI Why resumes & interviews are the least effective and least fair way of assessment Defensive proctoring versus proactive innovation Using AI to develop immersive, simulation-based assessments Getting the right balance between science and engagement The progress of skills-based hiring The danger of just replacing experience-based CVs with experience-based skills What will the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Employee turnover continues to undermine talent acquisition efforts, with many organizations investing heavily in hiring only to watch new talent walk out the door feeling unappreciated. Even organizations with the most robust hiring processes continue to struggle with retention, costing millions in lost productivity and repeated recruitment efforts. So how can companies ensure their hard-won talent becomes long-term, engaged contributors in competitive talent landscapes? My guest this week is Brie Harvey, Head of Market Research and Community for Achievers. Achievers is helping organizations implement recognition strategies that transform employee experience and dramatically improve retention rates. Brie offers valuable perspectives on data-driven insights connecting recognition to business outcomes and how taking the right approach to appreciation can protect recruitment investments and drive performance across the entire employee lifecycle. In the interview, we discuss: • TA's lack of control over ultimate hiring outcomes • Praise versus recognition • When hygiene factors are missing, recognition will always fail to have an impact. • Low-cost, high-impact strategies • Impact of recognition on key business metrics • Building the business case for HR Tech • Identifying the performance outcomes that move technology investment from nice to have to must-have • AI-driven personalization • What does the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts Follow this podcast on Spotify.

The early careers landscape is experiencing unprecedented disruption. While AI technology offers opportunities to transform how organizations operate, it eliminates many administrative tasks that once formed the foundation of entry-level positions. At the same time, employers are rigidly demanding years of experience and specific technical skills for roles labeled as "entry-level," leaving Gen Z unable to even begin their careers and risking their disconnection from the workforce altogether. So, how can talent acquisition professionals transform this crisis into an opportunity? My guest this week is Caitlin McGregor, CEO and co-founder of Plum. Caitlin shows how employers can leverage Gen Z as the first AI-native workforce who don't have to unlearn old ways of working - they can start with AI-powered approaches from day one without the burden of "how things used to be done." But accessing this advantage requires shifting focus toward durable skills like innovation, adaptation, and communication, not the hard, perishable skills most employers are currently looking for In the interview, we discuss: How AI is disrupting the foundation of early careers The issues with employers demanding three years of experience for entry-level roles The outdated lens we're using to evaluate Gen Z talent Why Gen Z can approach work from an AI-first perspective without legacy thinking How durable skills like innovation and adaptation predict long-term performance The importance of assessment tools that provide value to the candidate The success Scotiabank has had by eliminating the use of resumes in campus hiring What does the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

The entire recruiting landscape is undergoing a profound transformation as organizations grapple with the implications of AI and the economic disruption 2025 is bringing. Talent acquisition teams are drowning in applications while simultaneously being asked to do more with fewer resources. Candidates find themselves in increasingly dehumanized processes where ghosting is now the norm. At the same time, regulatory bodies are developing laws to ensure fairness and transparency around the use of AI in hiring. So, how can employers navigate this challenging terrain while creating fair, accessible, and effective hiring processes? My guest this week is Ruth Miller, a talent acquisition and HR consultant who works across the public and private sectors. Ruth is an advisor to the Better Hiring Institute, working with the UK Government on developing legislation around AI in recruiting. In our conversation, she shares her insights into how organizations can proactively develop strategies that balance innovation with compliance while enhancing rather than diminishing the human elements of hiring. - Different perceptions and reactions to AI among employers across sectors - The paradox of AI both introducing and potentially removing bias from hiring processes - Neurodivergent candidates and AI in job applications - Common misconceptions job seekers have about employers' AI usage. - Strategic advice for organizations implementing AI in recruitment - The future of recruitment and the evolving balance between AI and human interaction Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

The acceleration of AI in talent acquisition has sparked both excitement and concern across the industry. While many fear automation might make recruiting more mechanical and impersonal, what if the opposite were true? Traditional recruiting processes already force candidates and recruiters into transactional relationships - with endless applications, screening calls, and administrative tasks leaving little room for meaningful human connection. At the same time, increasing expectations for personalized experiences are putting pressure on talent teams who don't have enough hours in the day. So, can AI actually make hiring more human rather than less? My guest this week is Diana Tsai, Co-founder and CEO of Upwage, a company building AI interviewing agents that have been proven to reduce turnover by as much as 48%. Diana shares valuable insights from working with employers to deploy over 4,000 AI agents. We also discuss her recently published book "AI For Good", which maps out a positive vision for the future of recruiting where AI doesn't replace human connection but creates space for it to flourish. In the interview, we discuss: Why Diana wrote a book about the positive future of AI in recruiting How the role of recruiters is evolving with AI empowerment Where will the data come from to power advanced AI talent systems? How to ensure AI reduces bias rather than amplifying it The human-AI balance and what AI will never replace Key signals that indicate the transformation of recruiting is accelerating What will recruiting look like in 2035? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcast. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Research consistently shows that happy employees are more engaged, more productive, and stay with their companies longer. While many organizations recognize this connection, they often lack the data and insights needed to make meaningful improvements in their workplace culture. With different generations having different expectations from work and regional variations in what contributes to happiness, reliable metrics are essential for making the right decisions. So, how can employers better understand workplace happiness and use this data to attract and retain talent? My guest this week is Matt Ward, Head of Recruitment Services at WorkL. For their latest research report, WorkL surveyed 400,000 employees in 26 industries across 100 countries on the key drivers of workplace happiness. The results give us some fantastic insights that can help make talent acquisition and retention strategies significantly more effective. In the interview, we discuss: The findings from WorkL's latest workplace happiness report The six key elements that contribute to workplace happiness Why workplace happiness is rising globally Variations across generations and genders What is driving flight risk? The continued importance of flexibility at work How can Talent Acquisition teams leverage happiness data for competitive talent advantage? What does the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts Follow this podcast on Spotify

The pace of AI adoption is accelerating rapidly, yet most organizations aren't integrating it effectively into talent acquisition—and they certainly aren't thinking big enough about its implications. Many companies are simply automating existing processes rather than reimagining what recruitment could become in an AI-driven world. So, how can talent acquisition leaders think exponentially bigger about AI's potential, moving beyond incremental improvements to envision and create an entirely new paradigm for talent strategy? My guest this week is Richard Bradley, who has decades of experience in the RPO space and the wider staffing and TA ecosystem. Richard challenges us to think radically bigger about AI's impact, arguing that most organizations are severely underestimating the scale of transformation ahead. He explores how forward-thinking TA leaders must move beyond automating processes to reimagining the entire concept of recruitment. In the interview, we discuss: How does AI in 2025 compare to the Internet revolution of the late '90s Ask & Generate vs Search & Consume The risks of automating bad processes with AI rather than reimagining them How TA technology needs to evolve to be fit for purpose Durable soft skills The shift from traditional recruiters to talent strategists Why TA will evolve rather than disappear What the TA team of the future will look like Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.