Recruiting Future with Matt Alder - What's Next For Talent Acquisition, HR & Hiring?

For the podcast this year I’m committed to searching far and wide for the most interesting stories and ideas in recruiting and HR.  Change is now a constant in our world and the people who are prepared to strike out from the norm and experiment are the ones driving innovation. My guest this week is a brilliant example of what is possible when you think about things differently.

Larry Hernandez is currently a Talent Scout for ThoughtWorks having formerly worked for both Rackspace and Zappos. By working while driving round America in an “RV” he is bringing a whole new meaning to mobile recruiting.

In the interview we discuss:

    •    Why Larry choose his unique approach to work life balance

    •    What it is like to source and recruit on the road

    •    How his alternative lifestyle is helping build connections with candidates

    •    His experiences of working in the unique culture at Zappos where his team were the beta test for the much talked about move to holocracy.

Larry also talks about recruiting innovation and his predictions for where things are going (including him and his RV!) in 2016

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Work with Matt Alder

Matt Alder talks to Brad Cook of Informatica

One of the most common themes I hear in conversations with in house recruiters is their frustration at the failings of their recruitment technology. A decade and a half on from the online recruitment revolution many employers are finding that their technology is holding them back rather than being the enabler it should be.

My guest this week is Brad Cook, Global VP of Talent Acquisition for Informatica. Over the last five years Informatica have harnessed their CRM and ATS to win the battle against the global skill shortages in the talent markets where they operate proving that recruitment technology can be used strategically rather than just reactively.  

In the interview we discuss:

    •    Brad’s philosophy of capturing data once and using it many times

    •    Why you need an SEO mindset to attract active candidates

    •    The importance of analytics

    •    How Informatica have reduced friction in their apply process to capture data from 45k applicants a year

    •    Why candidate experience is critical

    •    The one piece of data you must collect from each prospect

    •    The current revolution in the ATS market that is driving a move away from legacy vendors


Brad also empathises the importance of humans at all stages of the recruitment process and makes it very clear that recruitment is not just a science it is also an art.

Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes

Matt Alder talks to Brad Cook of Informatica

One of the most common themes I hear in conversations with in house recruiters is their frustration at the failings of their recruitment technology. A decade and a half on from the online recruitment revolution many employers are finding that their technology is holding them back rather than being the enabler it should be.

My guest this week is Brad Cook, Global VP of Talent Acquisition for Informatica. Over the last five years Informatica have harnessed their CRM and ATS to win the battle against the global skill shortages in the talent markets where they operate proving that recruitment technology can be used strategically rather than just reactively.  

In the interview we discuss:

    •    Brad’s philosophy of capturing data once and using it many times

    •    Why you need an SEO mindset to attract active candidates

    •    The importance of analytics

    •    How Informatica have reduced friction in their apply process to capture data from 45k applicants a year

    •    Why candidate experience is critical

    •    The one piece of data you must collect from each prospect

    •    The current revolution in the ATS market that is driving a move away from legacy vendors


Brad also empathises the importance of humans at all stages of the recruitment process and makes it very clear that recruitment is not just a science it is also an art.

Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes

In this episode Matt Alder speaks to John Vlastelica from Recruiting Toolbox

One of the most critical success factors for any in house recruitment team is the quality of relationship they have with their hiring managers. Despite being a key issue for pretty much every employer it is not something that gets written or spoken about in public very often.

I’m delighted to have John Vlastelica from Recruiting Toolbox as my guest for this episode. Before founding Recruiting Toolbox John was Director of Recruiting at Amazon and Head of Global Recruiting at Expedia. He is passionate about helping recruiters to improve hiring manager engagement and now trains in house recruiting teams all over the world.

In the interview we discuss:

    •    Why hiring manager engagement is the secret sauce to recruiting success

    •    How to influence hiring managers by speaking their language and pressing the pain button

    •    The two most important things hiring managers care about

    •    Common mistakes recruiters make when trying to influence hiring managers

    •    The one key factor that drives the improvement of the candidate experience

John also share his thoughts on the differences in recruiting behaviour across different industries as well as the changes and innovations we can expect to see during 2016.

Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes

In this episode Matt Alder speaks to John Vlastelica from Recruiting Toolbox

One of the most critical success factors for any in house recruitment team is the quality of relationship they have with their hiring managers. Despite being a key issue for pretty much every employer it is not something that gets written or spoken about in public very often.

I’m delighted to have John Vlastelica from Recruiting Toolbox as my guest for this episode. Before founding Recruiting Toolbox John was Director of Recruiting at Amazon and Head of Global Recruiting at Expedia. He is passionate about helping recruiters to improve hiring manager engagement and now trains in house recruiting teams all over the world.

In the interview we discuss:

    •    Why hiring manager engagement is the secret sauce to recruiting success

    •    How to influence hiring managers by speaking their language and pressing the pain button

    •    The two most important things hiring managers care about

    •    Common mistakes recruiters make when trying to influence hiring managers

    •    The one key factor that drives the improvement of the candidate experience

John also share his thoughts on the differences in recruiting behaviour across different industries as well as the changes and innovations we can expect to see during 2016.

Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes

In this episode Matt Alder talks to Dave Drury

I’ve recently returned from HR Tech Fest in Sydney and while I was in Australia I was planning on interviewing my good friend Dave Drury, a thought leader in Experience Design for HR. However Dave had other ideas and when I got to his office he decided that he wanted to interview me instead!

Our conversation covers a lot of ground and some of the topics we discuss include:

    •    The three revolutions we have seen during our careers in recruitment

    •    The talent centric future of the industry

    •    Key trends for the next five years

    •    The biggest problem with HR Technologies

I also talk about what I’ve learned from doing the podcast this year, who my favourite guests have been and give some hints about some exciting developments in 2016

Link to the Tech Recruiting Whitepaper I mention in the interview

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes

In this episode Matt Alder talks to Dave Drury

I’ve recently returned from HR Tech Fest in Sydney and while I was in Australia I was planning on interviewing my good friend Dave Drury, a thought leader in Experience Design for HR. However Dave had other ideas and when I got to his office he decided that he wanted to interview me instead!

Our conversation covers a lot of ground and some of the topics we discuss include:

    •    The three revolutions we have seen during our careers in recruitment

    •    The talent centric future of the industry

    •    Key trends for the next five years

    •    The biggest problem with HR Technologies

I also talk about what I’ve learned from doing the podcast this year, who my favourite guests have been and give some hints about some exciting developments in 2016

Link to the Tech Recruiting Whitepaper I mention in the interview

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes

Matt Alder talks to Iain Wills from Powermeeter

Back in 2013 I researched and wrote a market report on video interviewing and I’ve been tracking the space every since. This year I’ve noticed video interviewing get some significant traction in a number of recruitment markets and I was keen to get an update from the front line.

My guest this week is Iain Wills the MD of Powermeeter, an emerging provider of video interviewing products.

In the interview we discuss:

    •    Where video interviewing is currently fitting into the recruitment process

    •    How the candidates are reacting

    •    The market fit for video interviewing

    •    Video interview as a potential solution to the technology problems in mobile   recruitment

    •    Video in recruitment at a more general level

Iain also tells us about the most unexpected thing he has learned about video interviewing since joining Powermeeter and gives us his thoughts on the future of the space

Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes

Matt Alder talks to Iain Wills from Powermeeter

Back in 2013 I researched and wrote a market report on video interviewing and I’ve been tracking the space every since. This year I’ve noticed video interviewing get some significant traction in a number of recruitment markets and I was keen to get an update from the front line.

My guest this week is Iain Wills the MD of Powermeeter, an emerging provider of video interviewing products.

In the interview we discuss:

    •    Where video interviewing is currently fitting into the recruitment process

    •    How the candidates are reacting

    •    The market fit for video interviewing

    •    Video interview as a potential solution to the technology problems in mobile   recruitment

    •    Video in recruitment at a more general level

Iain also tells us about the most unexpected thing he has learned about video interviewing since joining Powermeeter and gives us his thoughts on the future of the space

Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes

Matt Alder talks to William Uranga from GoDaddy

Over the last few weeks I’ve been deep in research mode looking in detail at how the best in house recruiters are finding tech talent in increasingly competitive marketplaces.

The most competitive market of all for tech talent is Silicon Valley and it is always interesting to get an insight into the strategies its most successful tech business are using to keep ahead of the pack.

My guest this week is William Uranga, Director of Technical and Corporate Recruiting at GoDaddy.

In the interview we discuss:

    •    Why Employer Brand should be every recruiting team’s secret weapon

    •    The collaboration and creativity required to craft the compelling stories the recruiting team use to engage with top talent

    •    What specifically motivates people to join GoDaddy

    •    How his team use technology as a force multiplier and the tools that are working for them.

William also gives us his future vision and discusses the pivotal role their employees social media presence is playing in GoDaddy’s success

Links from this episode:

How To Rech Tech Talent Whitepaper


Papirfly Website


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