Growing from 30 employees to over 130 in under two years is remarkable — doing it without any investors is even more uncommon. In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, Joel sits down with Tristan Mackrory, VP of People & Talent at Almeida, to explore one of the most impactful scaling stories in tech.

Tristan shares how a warning from veteran teachers pushed him into recruiting, how he rose quickly in a global agency, and how early exposure to AI-driven hiring shaped his approach long before ChatGPT. He also talks about nearly ignoring the LinkedIn message that led him to Almeida — one that casually began with “Do you want to make free cash?” — and how he convinced its 21-year-old founder to approve a full company rebrand immediately after joining.

The conversation covers his experience scaling a Silicon Valley–backed startup from Europe during hypergrowth, surviving its collapse, and then helping Almeida grow from 30 to 130+ employees with no outside funding. Tristan explains what it really takes to build high talent density, the role of branding in recruiting, and how his team managed 22,000 applications in just three months. He also highlights how hiring a full-time data analyst transformed their talent operations from reactive to strategic — and why recruiters must evolve into business-focused problem solvers.

In this episode:

[00:00] Introduction

[00:28] Tristan's background

[01:54] About Almedia

[02:27] From teaching to recruiting

[04:08] Landing the first recruiting role

[05:22] Rapid career progression in agency recruiting

[06:17] Early exposure to AI in hiring

[08:17] Consulting for European startups

[09:50] Relocating to Berlin to scale a venture-backed company

[11:54] The reality of hypergrowth work life

[13:57] How Tristan vets resilience in recruiters

[17:35] Scaling to 250 employees before the collapse

[18:33] From unicorn valuation to mass layoffs

[19:48] The “free cash” message that changed everything

[21:55] Joining a 21-year-old founder’s bootstrapped company

[22:55] Rebranding the entire company for credibility

[24:25] Hiring at scale in a difficult global market

[26:47] Managing 22,000 applications in 3 months

[27:26] Why each recruiter hires only one person per month

[29:47] Why every talent team needs a data analyst

[32:05] Using AI to build salary bands and hiring workflows

[37:12] Why recruiting must shift from reactive to strategic

[38:12] What the recruiter role looks like in 2026

[41:01] Tristan’s top advice on referrals and outreach

[41:52] Closing and where to connect

About Tristan Mackrory

Tristan Mackrory is the VP of People & Talent at Almedia, a bootstrapped adtech startup. With over ten years of experience, he has scaled high-growth tech companies across San Francisco, Tel Aviv, and Europe. Known for stepping into chaos and building the structure, culture, and systems that allow teams to scale quickly without breaking, Tristan is a passionate advocate for high talent density, clear performance expectations, and a culture of ownership. He joined Almedia when it was 30 people and $90M in revenue and has helped scale it to 130+ employees and over $350M in revenue, all without external funding.

About Joel Lalgee 

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1 billion times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.

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Think about how wild this is. Starting out as a wedding planner and ending up as an HR executive responsible for 450 people. Most people work their way into HR through recruiting. Almost nobody begins in sales or customer success and rises to lead talent. A career pivot like that isn’t just unusual. It is rare, bold, and seriously inspiring.

In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, Joel sits down with Erin McCann, an HR leader with one of the most unexpected career journeys you will ever hear. Erin did not rise through the classic recruiting pipeline. She started as a wedding planner, shifted into hotel catering, moved into corporate sales, then customer success, and only later found her way into HR. Strangely enough, every twist in that path ended up giving her the perfect toolkit for leading people teams in fast-moving startups.

Erin opens up about how she transitioned into HR, why she took a pay cut to reinvent her career, and how her sales and customer success background now give her a major advantage in understanding the business side of people operations. She also explains how she taught herself compliance, built processes from scratch, and built confidence through community, mentorship, and asking the beginner questions most people are afraid to ask.

The conversation then gets real about the state of recruiting today, from bot candidates using AI voice tools to the growing difficulty of spotting fake resumes. Erin shares the red flags she is seeing, how her team is adjusting, and why human judgment is still irreplaceable even in an AI driven hiring world.

Erin also talks about stability, layoffs, candidate trust issues, and what she believes HR’s real responsibility will be in the year ahead: being the steady, honest voice that keeps teams grounded and supported during uncertain times.

In this episode:

[00:00] Introduction

[00:54] Erin’s background and career path

[03:42] Transition to HR and early challenges

[04:40] Comparing wedding planning and HR stress

[05:41] Learning HR on the fly

[07:46] Applying customer success skills to HR

[10:00] Becoming a strategic business partner

[12:32] Networking strategies and community involvement

[16:18] Current recruiting challenges: spam and AI

[19:27] Mitigating bot candidates and application fraud

[22:14] AI in recruitment processes

[24:13] Personalization vs. automation in outreach

[25:59] Current job market sentiment

[28:25] Evaluating company stability when job searching

[31:21] Building custom GPTs for HR and sales

[34:25] AI governance and best practices

[36:10] Predictions for HR and recruiting

[39:52] Closing and where to connect

About Erin McCann

Erin McCann is an executive HR and People leader with over 12 years of experience, currently leading the function at Genomenon, a global biotech company. With a first career in high-stakes sales, marketing, and customer success, she brings rare business acumen and a commercial mindset to building people strategies. Aaron is known for her practical, operational approach to scaling teams, her advocacy for strategic HR partnerships, and her early, hands-on experimentation with AI to solve real business challenges.

About Joel Lalgee 

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1 billion times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.

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Have you ever wondered what separates recruiters who stay sharp in chaos from those who fold under pressure? Or why, even in a world full of AI tools and automation, the human touch still wins?

In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, Joel sits down with recruiting veteran Nicole Hirsch, who brings nearly two decades of agency and in-house experience across shifting markets—from the 2008 financial crisis to today’s AI-driven landscape. Nicole gets real about what’s changed, what’s repeating itself, and what recruiters must understand to stay relevant.

She shares stories from her early days recruiting mortgage underwriters during the recession, how that shaped her resilience, and what pushed her to transition in-house. Nicole also breaks down how she built high-performing recruiting teams and why her agency roots still influence her approach.

The conversation gets even better when they tackle AI. Nicole is pro-AI, but she gives a bold take: recruiters need to stop relying on generic AI outreach and bring back real, thoughtful, human messaging. She explains how authenticity drives stronger response rates and builds trust, referrals, and long-term career equity.

Nicole also walks through how her team uses tools like BrightHire to improve interview quality, reduce bias, and elevate candidate experience—while keeping recruiter judgment at the core.

If you’re trying to balance tech and humanity in today’s hiring world, this episode brings clarity, practical insight, and real-world perspective. Let’s dive in.

In this episode:

[00:01] Introduction

[00:59] Nicole’s 17+ year recruiting journey and how 2008 shaped her

[02:25] AI tools, market uncertainty, and the noise candidates face

[03:59] Why personalized outreach still outperforms AI sequences

[09:29] The agency mindset vs. the in-house mindset

[13:10] Representing your company and yourself in the market

[16:27] Referrals, relationships, and long-term trust building

[19:01] Where AI belongs in recruiting (and where it doesn’t)

[21:03] Nicole’s experience with one-way video interviews

[22:12] The tech she actually uses: BrightHire + interview intelligence

[26:44] The real risks: compliance, bias, and regulation

[29:47] Job seekers, volume, and the reality of 2025 hiring

[32:11] AI interviewers, bias, and candidate perception

[34:49] Using AI for internal operations, Slack agents, and comp data

[39:01] How Lattice links interview performance to quality-of-hire

[47:00] The unsexy truth: candidate experience = prep + communication

[49:46] Why transparency and phone calls never go out of style

[52:02] Where to find Nicole and opportunities at Lattice

About Nicole Hirsch

Nicole Hirsch is a senior recruiting leader with 18 years of experience across agency, edtech, marketing tech, and HR tech. She currently leads recruiting at Lattice, where she specializes in interview intelligence, candidate experience, hiring strategy, and creating deeply human recruiting processes at scale. Nicole is known for her relationship-first approach, her operational rigor, and her belief that great recruiting will always center on people, not automation.

About Joel Lalgee 

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1 billion times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.

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In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, Joel Lalgee sits down with Jeremy Lyons, co-founder of Rec Ops Collective and one of the most influential voices in the Rec Ops world. Together they unpack the nuances of recruiting operations (rec ops), the impact of AI and automation, and the importance of demonstrating business value in talent acquisition.

Jeremy shares how his unconventional path into recruiting began long before his first official job. Influenced by his mother’s career in executive recruiting and shaped by early experiences in cheerleading and ballet, he learned the art of selling a vision and rallying people around a mission. That foundation guides everything he does today.

Joel and Jeremy dig into the explosion of AI tools, the flood of point solutions, and why the real power lies not in mastering every platform but in understanding the principles behind them. They discuss the pressure on recruiters to quantify their business impact, the shift in ATS architecture toward data-driven design, and why Jeremy keeps his widely read newsletter free of sponsorship to protect its neutrality and credibility.

Jeremy also reflects on reinvention, personal growth, and the importance of letting go of old personas. He talks about navigating uncertainty, the emotional weight of recruiting, and why genuine relationships will always matter more than automation.

This episode is both practical and deeply human. If you work in Rec Ops, talent acquisition, or leadership, it is a powerful reminder that the future of recruiting depends as much on curiosity, adaptability, and connection as it does on any emerging technology.

In this episode:

[00:01] Introduction and guest welcome

[00:59] Jeremy’s background and Rec Ops Collective origin

[02:25] AI tools in recruiting and market uncertainty

[03:59] Rec Ops Collective newsletter: purpose and growth

[09:29] Content sponsorship and neutrality

[13:10] Business impact and recruiting as a business function

[16:27] Measuring impact and resume advice

[19:01] Evolution of ATS and in-house vs. agency tools

[21:03] Creativity and tech in talent teams

[22:12] Jeremy’s entry into recruiting and early influences

[24:32] Recruiting as relationship building

[26:44] Family influence and corporate values

[29:47] Human relationships vs. tech in recruiting

[32:11] AI tools, job hopping, and career evolution

[41:11] Rebranding yourself and embracing change

[43:07] Uncertainty and the future of work

[44:45] Closing and where to find Jeremy

About Jeremy Lyons

Co-founder of RecOps Collective, creator of the weekly RecOps Roundup newsletter, and a respected leader in recruiting operations, automation, process design, and TA systems strategy. Jeremy has worked across companies from 10 employees to 100,000+, helping teams scale, optimize, and rethink the architecture of recruiting. He is known for his neutral, insight-first approach to industry analysis and his commitment to making RecOps accessible and understood.

About Joel Lalgee 

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1 billion times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.

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Did you know that recruiting has drastically evolved since the mid-1990s? In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, Joel sits down with talent acquisition leader Julia Levy to explore how recruiting has evolved and what still matters most. With more than two decades inside Fortune 500 companies, leading global TA operations and navigating major ATS implementations, Julia has seen every phase of the industry up close.

She walks through her journey from career-counseling grad student to agency recruiter, to TA operations, and eventually to leading enterprise hiring teams responsible for more than 120,000 employees. Julia explains how recruiting shifted from relationship-driven phone sourcing to a landscape shaped by LinkedIn, automation, and AI, while reminding listeners that genuine human connection remains essential.

She and Joel unpack why job descriptions often feel outdated, why resumes have become AI-optimized guesses, and how auto-apply tools are overwhelming recruiters and damaging the candidate experience. They also discuss fast-apply culture, what early-career job seekers are struggling with, and how Gen Z can navigate today’s competitive market.

Julia highlights why understanding your ATS matters, how process decisions impact every part of the hiring cycle, and why data now drives modern TA. She also shares the motivation behind her new book From Hi to Hired, written for interns and new grads entering a challenging job market.

Julia’s message is simple: great recruiting still depends on real connection, smart systems, and people who understand the work.

In this episode:

[00:57] Julia’s background 

[03:05] Current projects and consulting work

[04:03] AutoZone role and scope of hiring

[04:53] Origin story: entering recruiting

[06:09] What recruiting looked like in the 90s

[07:12] Evolution of digital recruiting

[10:44] Transition to internal roles and TA operations

[13:12] Career progression across major companies

[16:01] Importance of TA operations knowledge

[18:11] What hasn’t changed in recruiting

[19:29] Job descriptions vs actual job needs

[22:17] Candidate experience and the application black hole

[26:41] Strategic job search and candidate education

[28:12] Defining qualifications and application strategy

[29:49] What recruiters look for in resumes

[33:21] Industry experience and risk in hiring

[35:49] Julia’s book: From Hi to Hired

[39:06] Advice quality and social media misinformation

[40:45] Challenges for new grads in today’s job market

[43:16] Where to find Julia + Coach Julia AI

About Julia Levy

Julia Levy is a veteran Talent Acquisition executive with a background in career counseling. She has led global TA teams at Fortune 500 companies like AutoZone and MetLife, specializing in transforming clunky recruitment processes into efficient, candidate-friendly experiences. Now recovering from corporate life, she is an author, advisor to HR tech companies, and a passionate advocate for job seekers. Her new book, "From High to Hired" provides a strategic roadmap for college students to land their first job.

About Joel Lalgee 

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1 billion times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.

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In this live episode of Recruiting is No Joke, recorded at RecFest 2025 inside the Purple Acorn Tent, Joel Lalgee sits down with two powerhouse recruiting leaders, Caroline Kiesler, Director of HR at Workwear Outfitters, and Kearstin McGinnis, Recruitment Leader at TekSynap, to explore what it really takes to stay relevant in today’s rapidly evolving talent landscape.

Caroline shares her inspiring journey from staffing recruiter to HR executive and breaks down how recruiters can transition into broader people roles by understanding compensation philosophy, succession planning, and leadership development. She challenges recruiters to stop chasing time-to-fill metrics and start building strategic credibility with hiring managers by leading with insights, not just job requisitions.

Then, Kearstin dives into how AI is reshaping the recruiting process inside government contracting and why keeping the human touch matters more than ever. From nurturing long-term candidate relationships to adapting outreach for Gen Z talent, she offers real-world advice on personalization, conference networking, and building meaningful connections in a noisy digital world.

In this episode:

[00:00] Welcome to RecFest 2025

[00:34] Meet Caroline Kiesler: HR director at Workwear Outfitters

[01:00] Caroline’s journey from recruiting to HR

[01:48] Advice for transitioning from TA to HR

[03:10] The importance of compensation philosophy

[04:22] Reflections on RecFest

[05:27] Fireside chat preview: TA through the lens of HR

[08:20] Building credibility with hiring managers

[12:58] Connecting with Caroline Kiesler

[14:16] Introducing Kearstin McGinnis: recruitment for GovCon IT

[14:41] Biggest changes and growth in AI

[15:09] Implementing AI in recruitment

[16:46] Maintaining human connection in recruitment

[17:38] Engaging with candidates on social media

[23:05] Maximizing conference experiences

[25:28] Choosing the right vendors

[27:13] Connecting with Kearstin McGinnis

[27:54] Final thoughts

About the Guests

Caroline Kiesler is the Director of Human Resources at Workwear Outfitters, overseeing global HR strategy across talent acquisition, engagement, and development. With a foundation in recruiting, Caroline is passionate about building cultures that invest in people and long-term growth.

Kearstin McGinnis leads recruitment for TekSynap, a government contracting IT firm operating across five countries. Known for her relationship-first approach, she focuses on humanizing candidate experience and embracing AI with authenticity and care.

About Joel Lalgee 

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1 billion times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.

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This episode is brought to you by Basic Capital. As a leader in innovative retirement solutions, Basic Capital helps companies empower their employees through a new kind of 401(k). Visit basiccapital.com to explore a customizable plan that engages your team, strengthens retention, and helps them grow their retirement savings up to five times faster.

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In this special live episode of Recruiting is No Joke, recorded at RecFest 2025 in Nashville, Joel Lalgee brings you raw, unfiltered conversations from the front lines. We go beyond the hype to tackle the real challenges and opportunities facing recruiters and HR leaders today.

Joel chats with Nate Taylor from Basic Capital and Casey Timorason from Service Professionals, who reveal how a reimagined 401(k) has become a secret recruiting advantage—helping offers stand out, build loyalty, and transform how companies attract and retain talent.

Next, Jennifer Beckman from Long Building Technologies talks about the skilled trades shortage and how a family-driven culture gives her company its edge. She shows what real innovation looks like when it’s built on connection—and why parents and new grads should rethink what a “safe” career really means.

Finally, Kaysha Kruger, VP of People at AWC, brings a human perspective to the AI conversation—sharing why setting boundaries matters, why people leaders need a seat at the strategy table, and how the rise of small business acquisitions could create new opportunities for future entrepreneurs.

This episode is part inspiration, part wake-up call—a reminder that the future of work isn’t just about technology, but about people who stay curious, adaptable, and bold enough to shape what’s next.

About the Guests

Nate Taylor Head of Growth at Basic Capital, a company creating a new type of 401(k) that amplifies employees' investing power.

Casey Timorason leads Growth (Recruiting & Marketing) at Service Professionals, a residential home services company recruiting plumbers, electricians, and HVAC technicians.

Jennifer Beckman HR Director at Long Building Technologies, an HVAC and building automation specialist focused on authentic connections and family culture.

Kayshia Kruger VP of People & OD at AWC, an organizational psychology expert focused on the human side of business and AI integration.

About Joel Lalgee 

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on LI. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1B times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.

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The world of work is spinning fast. The gold rush of 2021 is over, money’s tighter than ever, and everyone’s trying to figure out what’s next. Are we adapting or just hanging on?

In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, Joel Lalgee sits down with Cassandra Rose, a powerhouse HR leader and Fractional Chief People Officer with one of the most unexpected career paths you’ll hear, from inner-city missionary to the C-suite. Together, they unpack what Cassandra calls “the rinse cycle”, this messy middle where companies are right-sizing, employees are job-hugging, and everyone’s redefining what stability really means.

This episode isn’t just about surviving, it’s about evolving. Cassandra challenges listeners to think like entrepreneurs, build your personal brand, understand your company’s goals, and use AI not as a threat but as a tool to amplify your impact. Her “lamplighter” analogy will make you see technology and your career in a whole new light.

If you’ve been feeling uncertain about your path, questioning your next move, or wondering how to stay relevant in a world that won’t stop changing, this conversation is your reset. Because the future of work isn’t waiting for anyone. It rewards the curious, the adaptable, and the ones brave enough to learn, unlearn, and lead through change. Let’s dive in!

In this episode:

[00:00] Podcast intro and guest welcome

[01:09] Who is Cassandra Rose? From New Yorker to Fractional Chief People Officer

[01:41] What “fractional” really means and why it’s on the rise

[03:01] Cassandra’s unexpected path from missionary work to HR

[04:48] Falling in love with people operations

[06:21] What surprised her most about HR and how social media changed everything

[07:50] Salary transparency and the end of gatekeeping

[09:03] The recruiter’s dilemma: pay equity vs. lowball culture

[10:52] The state of the job market in 2025

[12:00] How to evaluate companies before you apply

[14:50] “The rinse cycle” of the workforce and what’s next

[17:40] Why people are “job hugging” and how it’s affecting the market

[19:30] The entrepreneurial mindset every worker needs

[21:48] Redefining “value” in your role, how to link your work to business goals

[24:20] The rise of intrapreneurship and cross-functional awareness

[26:00] The future of work: Gen Z, AI, and brand-building at work

[30:37] Embracing uncertainty and leading with curiosity

[33:18] Cassandra’s “Lamplighter” analogy for AI resistance

[36:26] Trust, humanity, and progress

[39:33] The lighter side of HR, finding community and joy outside work

[42:07] Her favorite professional networks and how to find your tribe

[44:42] Where to connect with Cassandra online

[45:13] Closing thoughts 

About Cassandra Rose

Cassandra Rose is a seasoned HR leader and Fractional Chief People Officer at Fringe. With two decades of experience in HR, benefits strategy, and people operations, she helps growing companies design scalable people systems that empower both performance and wellbeing. Cassandra is also a thought leader on HR tech, DEI, and the future of work, sharing digestible insights on LinkedIn and Instagram

About Joel Lalgee 

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1 billion times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.

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What does it really take to recruit, hire, and support more than 800 employees across 16+ restaurant locations with just one person running HR? Sounds impossible, right? In the fast-paced world of high-volume hiring, speed, structure, and community aren’t just nice to have; they’re everything.

In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Preston Sharpston, the one-man HR and recruiting powerhouse behind MWB Restaurants, the Whataburger franchisee for Tennessee and Alabama. With over a decade in HR and talent acquisition, Preston pulls back the curtain on what it’s really like to build and scale a recruiting function in one of the toughest industries out there.

Preston also gets real about his love for automation. Using tools like Workstream and Zapier, he’s built workflows that handle everything from employment verification to leave requests, freeing up time to focus on what actually matters: people.

If you’ve ever wondered how one person can keep an entire organization hiring at full speed without burning out, this episode is a masterclass in making recruiting smarter, faster, and more human. Because sometimes the most innovative talent work isn’t happening in tech, it’s happening in the drive-thru.

In this episode:

[00:00] Podcast intro and guest welcome

[01:06] Preston’s career journey and current role at MWB Restaurants

[02:04] Inside Whataburger’s hiring model and structure

[03:42] What makes restaurant recruiting unique

[04:35] The end-to-end hiring process, fast, lean, and high-volume

[06:46] Opening a new location: how they attract and hire locally

[08:35] Grassroots recruiting and community engagement

[09:23] Dealing with application overload and automation tools

[11:24] Key interview questions & identifying top candidates

[13:30] Interview training and leadership development

[15:17] Advice for recruiters pivoting into high-volume or hospitality

[17:40] The metrics, dashboards, and tools driving recruiting ops

[18:44] Auditing costs and improving retention

[20:05] Hiring retirees, students, and diverse candidate profiles

[22:44] Generational trends and managing younger workers

[24:14] Tech stack breakdown: Workstream, Manyview, Zapier

[27:31] Automating HR processes and knowing what not to automate

[29:30] Scaling a company from 400 to 1,000 employees

[30:19] Staying up to date and building community on LinkedIn

[31:53] Launching the “Recruiting Stack” newsletter

[33:00] Events and conferences: Prep for Breakfast in Nashville

[34:29] Closing thoughts and takeaways

About Preston Sharpston

He leads Recruiting Operations and HR at MWB Restaurants, franchisee for Whataburger in Tennessee and Alabama. With over ten years in HR, recruiting ops, and business partnering, he’s passionate about using automation and enablement to make hiring fast, efficient, and human. Preston is also the creator of Recruiting Stack, a monthly newsletter packed with templates, tools, and insights for recruiters and TA professionals.

About Joel Lalgee 

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1 billion times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.

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Did you know that at Sage, just three people power a recruiter enablement team that supports 30 recruiters around the world? So how do they manage to help a global crew hire top talent across countries without dropping the ball?

In this episode of "Recruiting is No Joke," host Joel Lalgee sits down with Molly Sly, leader of the Talent Acquisition Enablement team at Sage, to explore the vital but often overlooked role of recruiter enablement. Molly explains that enablement focuses on empowering recruiters by removing barriers providing the right processes, tools, and training so they can focus on engaging talent instead of administrative tasks.

With over 20 years in recruiting, Molly shares how her team supports a global group of recruiters by creating regional playbooks, optimizing AI tools like Copilot for efficiency, and maintaining a central resource hub. She discusses the challenges of adapting to different hiring regulations and candidate expectations across countries, and emphasizes the importance of continuous training for both recruiters and hiring managers.

Molly also offers advice for those looking to enter enablement or implement it on their own teams, stressing curiosity, a desire to improve processes, and a focus on the “human” side of recruiting especially as AI automates more routine tasks. Tune in for actionable insights on building a supportive, efficient, and globally-aware recruitment function.

In this episode:

[00:00] Podcast introduction

[00:36] Guest introduction: Molly Sly

[03:07] What is recruiter enablement?

[05:58] The origin of the enablement team at Sage

[08:20] Recruiter enablement vs. rec ops

[08:54] AI tools and job description optimization

[11:00] Global recruiting challenges

[13:33] Building and maintaining regional playbooks

[15:24] Playbook creation process

[17:48] Continuous improvement and communication

[20:14] Hybrid vs. remote work trends

[22:17] Global candidate preferences and employer branding

[26:30] Recruiter retention at Sage

[28:06] Advice for aspiring enablement professionals

[29:56] Resources and networking for enablement

[30:28] Implementing enablement without a team

[33:04] Change management and adoption challenges

[36:35] The human element in recruiting and AI

[38:34] Upcoming conferences and speaking engagements

[39:30] How to connect with Molly

About Molly Sly

Molly Sly is a veteran recruiter and leader in Talent Acquisition Enablement at Sage, where she and her team support global recruiting operations across 13+ countries. With over 20 years in recruitment, she’s passionate about building systems, playbooks, and training that make recruiters more effective and engaged. Molly is also a frequent conference speaker on enablement strategy and the future of recruiting operations.

About Joel Lalgee 

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1 billion times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.

Molly Sly

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