In Episode 64 of BEST HIRE EVER, Kris Dunn talks with Stephen Ivany of Marriott International on his path to becoming a world class trombonist (prior to his Learning career at Marriott) The hot buttons hit include:

1. What the 10,000 hour rule means in relationship to becoming world class at anything (in his case, music).
2. The power of intentional practice.
3. The importance of having feedback and access to a coach when shooting for mastery.
4. The importance of family in relationshp to a career in music.
5. How mastery in music set him up for a transition to the business world when he was ready.

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In Episode 63 of BEST HIRE EVER, Kris Dunn talks with Simon Mullins (former Microsoft Exec Search leader) of ESIX about the state of Executive Search in the Talent Industry. The hot buttons hit include:

1. How the landscape has changed as Simon benchmarks Exec Search over the last 2 years, since the pandemic, etc.
2. Changes in reported priorities from internal Exec Search teams in 2025
3. Retained Search Firm usage vs directly sourced (by internal Exec Search teams)
4. Does CRM Management work in Exec Search – based off Simon's data?
5. Where Exec search teams see growing usage of AI

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---------Simon Mullins

Simon on LinkedIn

ESIX (Executive Search Exchange)

------------Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

Kris Dunn on X

Kris Dunn on Instagram

In Episode 62 of BEST HIRE EVER, Kris Dunn talks with Tim Sackett (TA industry analyst, HRU Tech, The Tim Sackett Project) about where we're at with AI and automation in the world of TA. Topics/goodness in this pod include:

--KD made the move to full voice dictation at work over typing and the results are staggering. He makes the case if you're waiting for incredible AI outcomes but haven't made a similar move to voice dicatiion—you're just playing around.

--Tim talks about the latest and greatest in AI/Automation sourcing and screening in the world of talent acquisition.

--Tim and KD discuss whether AI screening interviews for ALL candidates who apply is the way out of the legal jungle related to AI and recruiting. Spoiler alert, it depends.

--Tim previews his top 100 tech platforms in the world of recruiting.

--There's also stage banter related to Tim doing 10,000 crappy demos of recruiting technology so you don't have to. So you got that going for you, which is nice.

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---------Tim Sackett

Tim Sackett on LinkedIn

HRU Tech

The Tim Sackett Project

Tim's book - "The Talent Fix, Volume 2"

------------Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

Kris Dunn on X

Kris Dunn on Instagram

In Episode 61 of BEST HIRE EVER, Kris Dunn chats with Jessica Lee, Global Officer, Talent Acquisition and Associate Development at Marriott International, as they discuss a recent joint project where they did a deep dive into the art of influence within the world of leadership.

Jessica and KD talk about common myths and perceptions related to developing and using influence, the push and pull tactics available to any leader wanting to influence others, the relationship of influence to the topical areas of lobbying and negotiation, and more.

Short timeline below to skip to what interests you most.

0:10 - Stage Banter with Jessica and KD

3:54 - How Jessica and KD started a project on the art of influence

7:01 - What is Influence and why so many struggle with the concept

24:20 - Broad Defintions of Pull and Push influence

26:41- Tactics for Pull influence

34:45 - Tactics for Push influence

-----------Jessica Lee

Jessica Lee

------------Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

Kris Dunn on Twitter

Kris Dunn on Instagram

In Episode 60 of BEST HIRE EVER, Kris Dunn talks with Tim Sackett (TA industry analyst, HRU Tech, The Tim Sackett Project) about the concept of ghost jobs - loosely defined as job listings that are posted by employers but are not intended to be filled immediately, or sometimes at all.

A recent study claims that up to 20% of jobs are "ghost jobs", and the Wall Street Journal and others have jumped in. It's a clickable topic for the media, but KD and Tim break down the concept and share their perspective.

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---------Tim Sackett

Tim Sackett on LinkedIn

HRU Tech

The Tim Sackett Project

Tim's book - "The Talent Fix, Volume 2"

------------Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

Kris Dunn on X

Kris Dunn on Instagram

In Episode 60 of BEST HIRE EVER, Kris Dunn chats with Jessica Lee, SVP of Global Talent Development at Marriott International, as they break down an episode of one of their favorite streaming shows (The Bear), with the episode in question focused 100% on JOB SEARCH.

Jessica and KD talk about the arc of the series and their reflections on how hard job search can be for candidates (especially after a long period of stability), how the episode made them feel, and what meaningful work actually means in life. They close strong with observations on how it can all be made better with just a little bit of compassion as we interact and try and help candidates in the process. Episode link below!

Episode linked here

-----------Jessica Lee

Jessica Lee

------------Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

Kris Dunn on Twitter

Kris Dunn on Instagram

In Episode 58 of BEST HIRE EVER, Kris Dunn talks with Tyler Weeks, VP of Talent Analytics at Marriott International, and they conduct a TA/Recruiting analytics draft, pro sports style, including the following:

1. Tyler's dream of measuring employer brand equity
2. KD's goal of extending TA Analytics to the selection skills of the hiring manager
3. Tyler's audacious claim that better responsiveness is needed to land great candidates
4. A cool discussion on sources and why your best sources from a raw numbers perspective may mean nothing
5. A shared taste for funnel metrics mixed with hiring manager psychology

Come for the recruiting data talk, stay for the Tyler's recommendations of whether a Chris Farley/Tommy Boy print is appropriate for KD's workspace.

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---------Tyler Weeks

Tyler Weeks on LinkedIn

------------Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

Kris Dunn on Twitter

Kris Dunn on Instagram

In Episode 57 of BEST HIRE EVER, Kris Dunn talks with Shaunda Zilich, People Brand Leader at Marriott International, on the best way to build a modern employment brand at your company. Among the topics discussed:

--Why she calls it People Brand, not Employment Brand

--The 3 big components to building a modern employment brand, regardless of the size of your company

--The best way to maximize use of your employment brand in the field (toolkits and what should be included in those)

--If you're just gettting started out and don't have a stand alone department for people brand, what type of skills you should be looking for in your normal TA or HR hires to help get your people brand off the ground.

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---------Shaunda Zilich

Shaunda Zilich on LinkedIn

Marriott International Careers

------------Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

Kris Dunn on Twitter

Kris Dunn on Instagram

In Episode 56 of BEST HIRE EVER, Kris Dunn talks with Mike Fitzsimmons (CEO and founder of Crosschq) about all things related to QUALITY OF HIRE. The conversation centers around the link/correlation of some common hiring elements we naturally think are linked to great quality of hire – referrals, interviews, assessments and more.

Turns out, things aren't what we think they are.

Mike breaks down with the Crosschq research says about each of these big areas (spoiler alert – the link of each to quality of hire isn't what we think it is) and then lays out the reality – that every organization is unique and must chart their own path related to components of quality of hire that matter most to their workforce and industry.

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---------Mike Fitzsimmons

Mike Fitzsimmons on LinkedIn

Crosschq

------------Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

Kris Dunn on Twitter

Kris Dunn on Instagram

In Episode 55 of BEST HIRE EVER, Kris Dunn talks with Tim Sackett (TA industry analyst, HRU Tech, The Tim Sackett Project) about his new book, "The Talent Fix, Volume 2" (click link to view and order), Musings between KD and the artist known as Sackadaumus including the following:

--2:15 - Did the world need The Talent Fix, Volume 2? As sequels go, is this The Empire Strikes Back or Weekend At Bernie's 2?

--3:55 - KD hates Zombie Movies. Enough to make sure the lights are on during World War Z. --9:34 - Tim Sacket give you his elevator pitch for why you should by "The Talent Fix, Volume 2", available for pre-order now, shipping 4/19. --12:11 - Why aren't there more books on recruiting out there? --14:20 - What are the 2 biggest Recruiting truths that carry over into Tim's second book? --17:22 - Why Tim added riskier topics to Volume 2 --25:50 - Why aren't more leadership teams globally supportive of great TA/Recruiting? --27:50 - When leaders want to fix TA, what do they wish they had more of? --32:45 - The time when people came after Tim about his description of the mediocre/lazy recruiter.

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---------Tim Sackett

Tim Sackett on LinkedIn

HRU Tech

The Tim Sackett Project

Preorder "The Talent Fix, Volume 2"

------------Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

Kris Dunn on Twitter

Kris Dunn on Instagram