Digital Recruiter Podcast

Digital Recruiter Podcast

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Digital Recruiter Podcast episodes

  • #88- From No Chair to AI Lead: Mastering the Art of Recruiting in the Age of Automation

    SUMMARY

    Jeremy Roberts didn't start with much, no chair, no computer, just a headset and a phone. Today, he's the Founding Customer Success Lead at Tenzo AI and a veteran voice in the recruiting world. In this energizing episode, Jeremy reconnects with Clark to unpack the evolution of recruiting from listservs and Boolean strings to AI recruiting agents and automation.

    Jeremy shares his deep roots in the ERE and SourceCon community, where he once served as Editor, and where he still plays a pivotal role. He walks listeners through the tech shifts of the past 15 years, from Yahoo Pipes and people aggregators to today’s free and enterprise AI tools. But beyond the tools, he hammers home one thing: the art of recruiting hasn’t changed.

    The episode dives into how recruiters can thrive in a post-automation world by focusing on what machines can’t replicate, empathy, persuasion, and relationship-building. Jeremy explains why recruiters who only know workflow but not the “why” behind it are at risk, and how conferences like ERE help professionals reconnect with the fundamentals and level up.

     

    JEREMY'S BIO

    Jeremy Roberts is the Founding Customer Success Lead at Tenzo AI, where he helps enterprise recruiting teams operationalize AI agents. A longtime leader in the recruiting space, Jeremy formerly served as Editor of SourceCon and has worked across in-house, agency, and RPO roles. His career spans the shift from manual sourcing to full-stack automation, but his focus has always stayed human: teaching recruiters the art behind the process. Known for his humility, generosity, and sharp insight, Jeremy is also a beloved speaker at ERE and SourceCon events. He lives in Austin, TX, and got his first recruiting job without even having a chair.

    Connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn at  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyroberts/

    Stop wasting money on lead-gen tools that don’t work. Learn how top recruiters are winning on LinkedIn with content, messaging, and automation—without spamming.  Get live coaching, ongoing support, and a proven system to drive revenue inside Digital Recruiter Bootcamp. Join now: DigitalRecruiter.io/bootcamp

    Get the best and most current digital recruiting insights, tips, and strategies every Sunday—straight to your inbox, for free: https://www.digitalrecruiter.io/drnewsletter

    For more information about Digital Recruiter, click HERE ---> https://linktr.ee/thedigitalrecruiter

    Make sure to sign up for the ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit on November 4th and 5th in San Diego. In person and virtual seats available.

    Get 10% off your ticket by using code "DigiRec" at checkout: https://lnkd.in/ewQcNVEi

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    28 min
  • #87- JCK on Rewiring HR for AI: Building Modern, Compliant Hiring Strategies

    SUMMARY

    In this special ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit edition of the Digital Recruiter Podcast, Clark sits down with Jennifer Cotie Kangas, known as JCK, Chief Solutions Architect at White Rock Consulting. Jennifer’s path to AI and HR tech strategy is anything but typical. Following a severe accident that resulted in major memory loss, she was forced to relearn not just who she was, but how modern organizations function. That clean slate became a surprising advantage. Free from traditional "design bias," she now helps enterprise HR and TA teams rebuild their processes from the ground up with AI at the center.
    In this conversation, JCK unpacks what it really takes to build a compliant, modern AI hiring strategy. She reveals how most organizations get AI adoption wrong, either from fear, lack of data strategy, or tech overload and how to reverse engineer transformation by following the pain. You’ll also hear about her upcoming session at ERE with legal expert Danielle Ox and moderator Brian Fink, where they’ll go deep on governance, strategy, and getting AI right in high-stakes hiring environments. Jennifer's blend of real-world expertise and radical self-awareness makes this one of the most insightful episodes yet.

    JCK'S BIO
    Jennifer Cotie Kangas (JCK) is the Founder and Chief Solutions Architect of White Rock Consulting. With deep expertise in HR tech stacks, compliance, and AI implementation, she partners with enterprise teams to design scalable and legally sound talent strategies. Her approach blends systems thinking with radical empathy, shaped in part by her recovery from a traumatic brain injury that wiped much of her memory. This reset forced her to rethink everything, and now she brings that same mindset shift to her clients. She’s a speaker, strategist, and someone who truly believes in "building better" from the inside out.

    You can find her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcotie/

    Stop wasting money on lead-gen tools that don’t work. Learn how top recruiters are winning on LinkedIn with content, messaging, and automation—without spamming.  Get live coaching, ongoing support, and a proven system to drive revenue inside Digital Recruiter Bootcamp. Join now: DigitalRecruiter.io/bootcamp

    Get the best and most current digital recruiting insights, tips, and strategies every Sunday—straight to your inbox, for free: https://www.digitalrecruiter.io/drnewsletter

    For more information about Digital Recruiter, click HERE ---> https://linktr.ee/thedigitalrecruiter

    Make sure to sign up for the ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit on November 4th and 5th in San Diego. In person and virtual seats available.

    Get 10% off your ticket by using code "DigiRec" at checkout: https://lnkd.in/ewQcNVEi

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    34 min
  • #86- What We’re Bringing to ERE: Sourcing Smarter, Not Harder with Conor Kline

    SUMMARY

    In this ERE series kickoff, host Clark Wilcox sits down with Conor Kline, Head of Revenue at PIN.com, the sourcing platform that’s rapidly gaining traction in the recruiting world. Conor shares how PIN aims to empower recruiters, not replace them, by acting like an “Ironman suit” that multiplies human output while preserving human judgment. Unlike many AI recruiting tools promising full automation, PIN leans into augmentation. Their platform helps sourcers find contact data faster, automate low-value tasks, and still leave room for the recruiter’s craft.

    The two explore the philosophy behind PIN’s growth: helping one recruiter do the work of ten without burning out or cutting corners. Conor dives into how they’ve differentiated in a noisy, AI-saturated market by building proprietary models and keeping the recruiter at the heart of the process. From the Vegas trade show floor to their upcoming showcase at ERE San Diego, the episode brings practical insight and energy to anyone navigating the AI evolution in recruiting.

    For those heading to ERE or navigating events solo, Conor offers some deeply useful advice, block your time, protect your energy, and remember everyone’s figuring it out together. There’s also a sneak peek into a free tool recruiters can try by simply emailing a JD to PIN and getting top candidate matches within minutes.

     

    CONOR'S BIO

    Conor Kline is the Head of Revenue at Pin.com, a next-gen sourcing automation platform trusted by top recruiters. With roots in sales and a rare blend of product intuition, Conor previously helped scale Interstellar through its acquisition before reuniting with its founder to build Pin. His background includes scaling teams at Greenhouse and Attention.com, and fun fact, he’s also a former professional ultimate frisbee player with a national championship to his name. Conor is based in New York City and deeply passionate about helping recruiters work smarter, not harder.

    Connect with Conor on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/conorkline/

    Stop wasting money on lead-gen tools that don’t work. Learn how top recruiters are winning on LinkedIn with content, messaging, and automation—without spamming.  Get live coaching, ongoing support, and a proven system to drive revenue inside Digital Recruiter Bootcamp. Join now: DigitalRecruiter.io/bootcamp

    Get the best and most current digital recruiting insights, tips, and strategies every Sunday—straight to your inbox, for free: https://www.digitalrecruiter.io/drnewsletter

    For more information about Digital Recruiter, click HERE ---> https://linktr.ee/thedigitalrecruiter

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    17 min
  • #85- Redefining ATS with AI: The Human-Centric Blueprint Behind Perfect Hire

    EPISODE SUMMARY

    When Matt Schalsey, CEO of Perfect Hire, faced a costly hiring mistake in a previous company, he realized the real issue wasn’t just the candidate, it was the broken hiring process. That experience ignited the vision for Perfect Hire, a next-generation applicant tracking system (ATS) built not just to organize workflows, but to empower recruiters and People Ops teams to operate as revenue drivers.

    In this episode, Matt joins Clark to unpack how he's tackling two big objections in recruiting tech: “Not another ATS” and “AI is scary.” He shares how Perfect Hire’s platform avoids automation overreach by keeping humans in control of decision-making, while still streamlining admin and sourcing with smart AI tools. The conversation dives into how recruiters can incorporate AI as an assistant, not a replacement, and use it to eliminate repetitive tasks, refine candidate quality, and drive more meaningful hiring conversations.

    Beyond the tech, Matt brings decades of experience in sales enablement to the conversation, drawing parallels between go-to-market and talent acquisition functions. Whether you’re a solo recruiter, agency founder, or hiring leader, this episode offers a clear and compelling vision of how recruiting can be more human, more efficient, and more strategic in 2025 and beyond.

     

    MATT'S BIO

    Matt Schalsey is the CEO and co-founder of Perfect Hire, a modern applicant tracking system designed to elevate recruiters by removing admin burdens and improving hiring quality through AI-powered workflows. With a deep background in sales enablement, Matt has led product education, go-to-market execution, and operational strategy across several high-growth SaaS companies. Before founding Perfect Hire, he helped go-to-market teams design hiring funnels, train recruiting teams, and define candidate profiles, all of which laid the foundation for the platform he's building today.
    Matt believes recruiting is revenue, when recruiters are equipped like sellers, companies scale smarter. He lives at the intersection of tech, hiring, and enablement. 

    You can connect with Matt and book a demo at theperfecthire.co or find him on linkedin.com/in/matt-schalsey

    Stop wasting money on lead-gen tools that don’t work. Learn how top recruiters are winning on LinkedIn with content, messaging, and automation—without spamming.  Get live coaching, ongoing support, and a proven system to drive revenue inside Digital Recruiter Bootcamp. Join now: DigitalRecruiter.io/bootcamp

    Get the best and most current digital recruiting insights, tips, and strategies every Sunday—straight to your inbox, for free: https://www.digitalrecruiter.io/drnewsletter

    For more information about Digital Recruiter, click HERE ---> https://linktr.ee/thedigitalrecruiter

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    41 min
  • #84- Future-Proofing Your Tech Stack: Jack Shirley on Why Lean Recruiting Teams Need a Smarter ATS

    Episode Summary

    Jack Shirley didn’t set out to become a thought leader in recruiting tech, but his journey from SaaS sales to leading strategy at TA Tracker has made him one. In this episode, Clark Wilcox sits down with Jack to unpack the nuance behind picking the right ATS, especially for boutique and founder-led recruiting firms.

    Jack shares how TA Tracker was designed to serve lean, high-touch teams overlooked by bloated, overpriced legacy ATS platforms. With clarity and candor, he explains why most small teams are overpaying for features they don’t use, how clutter slows down productivity, and what it really means to future-proof your business without overengineering it.

    The conversation also digs into deeper strategic insights: the critical role of owning your candidate data, how AI amplifies value when layered on clean databases, and what best practices top firms follow when it comes to data integrity, outreach, and CRM usage. Whether you’re a solo recruiter or scaling an agency, this episode is packed with actionable advice.


    Jack's Bio
    Jack Shirley is the Chief Revenue Officer at TATracker, an intuitive, AI-powered applicant tracking system built specifically for lean, founder-led recruiting firms. With a background in SaaS sales and recruiting tech, Jack has worked closely with executive search firms across the country, bringing a rare mix of strategic insight and hands-on experience to his role.
    Before joining TATracker, Jack worked at Clockwork, where he helped shape how boutique search firms use technology to improve placements and scale smart. He’s also a certified scuba diver, a triplet, and a former soccer captain, yes, all true.

    You can connect with Jack on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-shirley-sales-pro/ or at https://www.tatracker.cloud/

    Stop wasting money on lead-gen tools that don’t work. Learn how top recruiters are winning on LinkedIn with content, messaging, and automation—without spamming.  Get live coaching, ongoing support, and a proven system to drive revenue inside Digital Recruiter Bootcamp. Join now: DigitalRecruiter.io/bootcamp

    Get the best and most current digital recruiting insights, tips, and strategies every Sunday—straight to your inbox, for free: https://www.digitalrecruiter.io/drnewsletter

    For more information about Digital Recruiter, click HERE ---> https://linktr.ee/thedigitalrecruiter

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    59 min
  • #83- Using Content and Curiosity to Build a Business with Purpose with Jessica Oliver
    Episode Summary

    When Jessica Oliver left her full-time job in late 2023, she didn’t just go out on her own, she reinvented her entire career. In less than a year, Jessica has launched an agency, built an AI-driven GovCon platform, and become a standout voice in the recruiting space through strategic content and intentional outreach.

    This episode is a crash course in how to build a solo recruiting business that actually scales.


    Jessica shares how years of agency and in-house recruiting led to disillusionment with corporate America, what finally pushed her to bet on herself, and the mental rewiring it took to go from salaried recruiter to entrepreneur. From the mindset work that keeps her grounded to the tech tools she stopped overcomplicating, she breaks down what worked, what didn’t, and what helped her stand out in a noisy market.

    We also dig deep into Jessica’s discovery of the GovCon world, how a coffee meeting turned into a seed investment, and how she leveraged her recruiting background to build Clara, an AI-powered federal procurement tool. Whether you’re new to recruiting or thinking about your next business leap, this episode is a masterclass in action, alignment, and building what you wish existed.

     

    Jessica's Bio

    Jessica Oliver is a veteran tech recruiter turned entrepreneur and innovator in the GovCon space. After 15 years in both agency and in-house roles, including a stint recruiting full desk at Disney, she launched her own agency and quickly followed with Clara, an AI-powered federal procurement platform. She's passionate about ethical recruiting, modern sourcing, and building real relationships in an AI-saturated market. Jessica is also a proud mom of three, an advocate for veteran-owned business, and a rising voice in the Digital Recruiter community.


    Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaolivertechconnect/ or at https://www.olivertechconnect.com/

    Stop wasting money on lead-gen tools that don’t work. Learn how top recruiters are winning on LinkedIn with content, messaging, and automation—without spamming.  Get live coaching, ongoing support, and a proven system to drive revenue inside Digital Recruiter Bootcamp. Join now: DigitalRecruiter.io/bootcamp


    Get the best and most current digital recruiting insights, tips, and strategies every Sunday—straight to your inbox, for free: https://www.digitalrecruiter.io/drnewsletter

    For more information about Digital Recruiter, click HERE ---> https://linktr.ee/thedigitalrecruiter

     

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    59 min
  • #82- No Job ADS, No Chasing: Travis Janko’s Blueprint for High-Trust SAAS Recruiting

    EPISODE SUMMARY

    In this episode, Clark Wilcox reconnects with longtime friend and Digital Recruiter OG, Travis Janko, for a deep dive into what it really takes to scale a recruiting business in 2025. Travis shares how he went from frustrated sales leader to founding a high-performing recruiting firm focused exclusively on helping SaaS founders hire top 5% sales talent.
    They cover the hard truths about qualifying clients, why most recruiters waste time chasing the wrong business, and the systems Travis uses to stay consistent with marketing, content, and client results. Travis doesn’t just talk the talk, he’s built a multimillion-dollar operation by focusing, saying no, and putting process over panic.
    You'll also hear why AI is accelerating his workflow (without writing his content), how he uses partnerships to drive revenue, and the exact mindset shifts that helped him build a business he actually enjoys, one that runs on boundaries, consistency, and value, not burnout.

     

    TRAVIS’ BIO

    Travis Janko is the founder of a boutique recruiting firm that helps SaaS founders hire elite sales talent fast. With over 25 years as a sales leader, he brings deep operational insight and a no-BS approach to recruiting. Travis and his partner Angie run a process-obsessed firm that prioritizes fit, consistency, and long-term partnerships over quick wins.
    He’s also a recurring guest on the Digital Recruiter Podcast, a speaker, and soon-to-be author of Flipping the Script on Recruiting, set to launch in 2026. When he’s not building pipelines, he’s walking the walk: protecting his time, sticking to boundaries, and having lunch tech-free with his wife.
     
    Connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisjanko/ or at https://www.linkedin.com/company/gsd-coach-recruiting/

    Stop wasting money on lead-gen tools that don’t work. Learn how top recruiters are winning on LinkedIn with content, messaging, and automation—without spamming.  Get live coaching, ongoing support, and a proven system to drive revenue inside Digital Recruiter Bootcamp. Join now: DigitalRecruiter.io/bootcamp

    Get the best and most current digital recruiting insights, tips, and strategies every Sunday—straight to your inbox, for free: https://www.digitalrecruiter.io/drnewsletter

    For more information about Digital Recruiter, click HERE ---> https://linktr.ee/thedigitalrecruiter

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 hr 2 min
  • #81- Brian Hunt on Outsourcing Smarter: How Recruiters Can 3x Their Production Without Burning Out

    EPISODE SUMMARY

    In this episode, Clark Wilcox sits down with Brian Hunt, CEO of Kore RPO and Kore BPO, to unpack the art and strategy behind outsourcing in recruiting. Brian didn’t start in recruiting, he came from tech consulting and software implementation but his passion for solving complex problems led him to build teams across continents and eventually into staffing. After acquiring a staffing agency in 2010, Brian realized that much of a recruiter’s desk could be reimagined by blending offshore support with high-touch recruiting.

    Brian walks us through how breaking down the recruiter workflow unlocked massive gains: one top recruiter quadrupled her gross profit by handing off sourcing to a dedicated offshore team. This isn't about replacing recruiters, it’s about enabling them to focus on what they do best: conversations, connections, and closing.

    They discuss the psychology of performance, how agency owners can better support top billers, and the biggest mistakes firms make when trying to scale. From setter/closer frameworks to AI’s role in recruiting, this is a masterclass in strategic execution for firms ready to evolve.


    BRIAN’S BIO

    Brian Hunt is the founder and CEO of Kore RPO and Kore BPO, companies built to help recruiting agencies scale through dedicated offshore teams. With a background in software consulting at Deloitte and Accenture, Brian has spent over a decade solving operational bottlenecks through outsourcing. He specializes in building bespoke support structures that let top recruiters thrive. A champion of both efficiency and empathy, Brian brings systems thinking to a deeply human business.

    Connect with Brian on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhuntkore1/ or on https://korebpo.com/ or https://korerpo.com/


    Stop wasting money on lead-gen tools that don’t work. Learn how top recruiters are winning on LinkedIn with content, messaging, and automation—without spamming.  Get live coaching, ongoing support, and a proven system to drive revenue inside Digital Recruiter Bootcamp. Join now: DigitalRecruiter.io/bootcamp


    Get the best and most current digital recruiting insights, tips, and strategies every Sunday—straight to your inbox, for free: https://www.digitalrecruiter.io/drnewsletter

     

    For more information about Digital Recruiter, click HERE ---> https://linktr.ee/thedigitalrecruiter

     

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    58 min
  • #80- From $1M to $4M: How Greg Fischer Used Offshore Teams to Explode His Recruiting Firm

    SUMMARY

    Greg Fisher didn’t set out to be a recruiting entrepreneur, he started as the first hire for a solo recruiter in Los Angeles and helped scale their healthcare firm from a modest team to a $4M powerhouse. But that journey wasn’t easy. They were stuck at $1M in revenue for years until Greg cracked the code: building a high-performing offshore team that actually worked. After cycling through bad RPO vendors and flaky freelancers, he built his own internal offshore system, applying the same KPIs, training, and culture that made his U.S. team effective. The results were explosive, 40 team members and a 4x growth in revenue.

    Now as the founder of Well Oiled Machine, Greg helps recruiting firm owners do the same. In this episode, he breaks down the biggest mistakes recruiters make when offshoring, what model works best, and how AI is changing the game for global teams. From real-world implementation to hiring strategies and tools like Clay and JobStreet, this is a masterclass in systems-driven growth. Greg also opens up about the mindset shifts required to scale and how being intentional about values like energy, integrity, and impact has shaped his work and life.


    GREG'S BIO
    Greg Fisher is the founder of Well Oiled Machine, a consulting firm that helps recruiting agencies build scalable, high-performance offshore teams. After scaling a healthcare recruitment agency from $1M to $4M and managing a 40-person team (half of whom were offshore), Greg developed a battle-tested system that now powers recruiting firms across the U.S. He’s known for being direct, strategic, and obsessed with both process and people. When he’s not helping agency owners scale, you’ll find Greg hiking the mountains of Colorado with his dogs or talking systems over SaaS.

    Connect with Greg on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/offshoreisasuperpower/


    Stop wasting money on lead-gen tools that don’t work. Learn how top recruiters are winning on LinkedIn with content, messaging, and automation—without spamming.  Get live coaching, ongoing support, and a proven system to drive revenue inside Digital Recruiter Bootcamp. Join now: DigitalRecruiter.io/bootcamp


    Get the best and most current digital recruiting insights, tips, and strategies every Sunday—straight to your inbox, for free: https://www.digitalrecruiter.io/drnewsletter


    For more information about Digital Recruiter, click HERE ---> https://linktr.ee/thedigitalrecruiter

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 hr 1 min
  • #79- The Tool Recruiters Actually Love Using with Conor Kline

    EPISODE SUMMARY

    In this episode, Clark Wilcox chats with Conor Kline, Head of Revenue at Pin.com, a fast-rising tool shaking up the recruiting tech world. The two first connected at the ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit, bonding over their UMass Amherst roots and quickly diving into a bigger conversation about quality tech, real relationships, and what’s broken in today’s recruiting stack.

     

    Conor shares the story behind Pin: born from the original Interstellar team, built by battle-tested engineers, and designed to simplify sourcing without sacrificing depth. He opens up about the company’s unusual path, from bootstrapped beginnings to a full-circle comeback led by the same core crew. For recruiters tired of overhyped AI tools and bloated CRMs, Pin offers a refreshingly practical take: automate the painful parts, but keep the human in the loop.

     

    The episode unpacks what great leadership looks like in a startup, how to sell with integrity in a skeptical market, and why recruiters who embrace AI, not fear it, are the ones thriving. Conor also reveals how feedback (even the harsh kind) shapes their roadmap and why being obsessed with user experience is their secret weapon. Whether you're a solo recruiter or running a team, this episode is a masterclass in product-market fit, BD, and building something that actually works.

    CONOR'S BIO

    Conor Kline is the Head of Revenue at Pin.com, a next-gen sourcing automation platform trusted by top recruiters. With roots in sales and a rare blend of product intuition, Conor previously helped scale Interstellar through its acquisition before reuniting with its founder to build Pin. His background includes scaling teams at Greenhouse and Attention.com, and fun fact, he’s also a former professional ultimate frisbee player with a national championship to his name. Conor is based in New York City and deeply passionate about helping recruiters work smarter, not harder.

     

    Connect with Conor on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/conorkline/


    Stop wasting money on lead-gen tools that don’t work. Learn how top recruiters are winning on LinkedIn with content, messaging, and automation—without spamming.  Get live coaching, ongoing support, and a proven system to drive revenue inside Digital Recruiter Bootcamp. Join now: DigitalRecruiter.io/bootcamp

     

    Get the best and most current digital recruiting insights, tips, and strategies every Sunday—straight to your inbox, for free: https://www.digitalrecruiter.io/drnewsletter

     

    For more information about Digital Recruiter, click HERE ---> https://linktr.ee/thedigitalrecruiter

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 hr 2 min

About Digital Recruiter Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to the Digital Recruiter Podcast, where we dive deep into the recruiting world and share valuable insights and strategies for success in the digital landscape. Join our host, Clark Willcox, as he interviews industry experts, thought leaders, experienced recruiters, and agency owners to uncover what’s working, what’s not, and what’s on the horizon in the ever-evolving field of recruitment. Whether you’re a seasoned recruiter or just starting out, this podcast is your go-to resource for staying ahead of the curve and maximizing your recruiting efforts. Tune in and level up your recruitment game with us.