Do you know if the jobs your company is hiring for today will even exist in three years? Or if your recruiters are spending too much time filling seats instead of creating strategic talent pipelines? In this eye-opening conversation, Jess VonBank, part of the HR Digital Transformation practice at Mercer, shares unfiltered truths about the inefficiencies plaguing recruiting and the bold steps needed to fix them.

You’ll hear how Jess went from door-to-door insurance sales to niche executive headhunting, to leading high-volume hiring for 28,000 people in a year — and why she believes most TA leaders should be fired for wasting resources. Jess explains why AI isn’t just changing recruiting; it’s redefining what jobs will even exist, what skills will matter, and how companies must design hiring systems with precision, personalization, and long-term impact in mind.

We also dive into urgent industry challenges, from healthcare staffing shortages to manufacturing’s generational shift. Jess offers actionable strategies for reframing the talent conversation with business leaders, using tech to solve real everyday problems, and overcoming what she calls “failure fatigue” in transformation projects. If you’re a recruiter, TA leader, or job seeker wanting a raw look at the future of work — this episode delivers.

In this episode:

00:19 – Introducing Jess VonBank

02:36 – From Insurance Sales to Executive Headhunting
05:00 – The Art and Science of Recruiting Before Social Media
09:34 – Why Most TA Leaders Should Be Fired
13:19 – Moving From Reactive to Proactive Talent Strategy
15:50 – Preparing Talent for AI Disruption
20:25 – Who Owns the Future of Workforce Planning
24:58 – AI’s Mimicry Problem and Responsible Use
30:08 – How AI Will Reshape the Corporate Pyramid
35:48 – Rebranding Healthcare and Frontline Work
39:42 – Failure Fatigue vs. Change Fatigue
42:13 – Transformation Starts with Obsessing Over Problems
45:14 – Where to Connect with Jess

About Jess Von Bank

Jess VonBank is part of the HR Digital Transformation practice at Mercer, where she helps organizations reimagine their talent strategies and workforce design in the age of AI. With a career spanning executive headhunting, high-volume corporate recruiting, and technology advisory, Jess has led initiatives hiring tens of thousands while maintaining quality at scale. She is a frequent speaker at major HR and tech conferences and also runs Diverse Daisies, a nonprofit empowering girls through mentorship and growth experiences.

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.

Jess Von Bank

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What does it really take to recruit and keep great talent in the fast-moving world of retail? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Giorgio Benassi, Global TA Director at Sephora, to dig into the unique challenges of high-volume hiring. We’re talking more than 30,000 hires a year at Sephora, plus Giorgio’s past experience at H&M, so he knows a thing or two about balancing speed with a top-notch candidate experience.

Giorgio shares how Sephora is using AI and even gamified assessments (instead of the traditional CV screen) to spot personality traits that align with the brand’s values. He’s big on transparency too, making sure candidates know both the perks and the pressures of retail roles right from the start, a key move to cut down on turnover.

The conversation also dives into how the recruiter’s role is changing, moving away from being just gatekeepers and leaning more into building real relationships. Giorgio points out that authenticity matters more than ever in candidate interactions. And for those looking to break into recruiting, he’s clear: professionalism and constant learning are non-negotiables. Don’t just rely on AI tools, master your craft.

If you want a no-BS take on talent strategy, retention, and the future of retail recruitment, this episode is a must-listen.

In this episode:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:56) Giorgio’s background  and what he does

(01:18) Sponsor message

(02:29) Sephora’s scale: hiring 30,000 people a year

(03:28) Giorgio’s career path: from H&M to Sephora

(04:34) Why retail recruiting is underestimated

(06:36) The retention challenge: cutting first-year turnover

(08:59) Replacing CVs with gamified assessments

(11:58) How Sephora attracts candidates across regions

(15:41) Screening for “service-mindedness”

(18:07) Balancing transitional vs. career hires

(20:22) The recruiter’s new role: from gatekeeper to relationship builder

(23:31) Advice for early-career recruiters on building authentic relationships

(28:53) How to build credibility with hiring managers

(30:47) Why recruiters can’t just rely on AI tools

(32:41) Where to connect with Giorgio + upcoming events

This episode is brought to you by HeyMilo AI, the conversational AI built for high-volume hiring. HeyMilo helps recruiters save hours by automating initial screens while delivering smooth, two-way interviews at scale. Book a demo at⁠ HeyMilo.ai⁠ and see why top teams trust it to elevate their brand.

About Giorgio Benassi

Giorgio is the Global Talent Acquisition Director at Sephora, overseeing hiring strategies across regions. With prior experience as Head of Talent CoE at H&M, he brings deep expertise in high-volume recruitment, talent assessment, and global TA strategy.

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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 read a resume that’s just too perfect? The kind that nails every keyword, hits all the right phrases, and somehow mirrors your job description like it was custom-built for it? Odds are, it probably was by AI. In fact, some candidates are even letting AI sit in on interviews and answer questions for them. Is this the future of hiring or a shortcut that undermines authenticity?

In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Jim Miller, Global Head of People at Ashby, to unpack what’s really changing in recruiting and why most teams are focused on the wrong problems.

Jim shares his journey from agency recruiting in the UK to running sourcing at Google, where he helped build their ATS (Ghire) from scratch in 30 days. Now at Ashby, he’s designing workflows and tools that challenge how modern recruiting operates.

They discuss why the "human in the loop" matters less as a buzzword and more as a compliance framework, how hiring manager-led recruiting is on the rise, and why the future of TA lies in process design not better prompts.

You’ll also hear how Jim uses creative application techniques (like the now-famous “broccoli question”) to outsmart AI-generated resumes, why recruiters need to think like engineers, and what the real ROI of AI tools should look like in hiring.

In this episode:

(00:36) Welcome to the Purple Acorn Network + guest intro

(01:05) Jim’s background: from agency to Google to Ashby

(03:32) How Boolean logic kickstarted Jim’s sourcing career

(05:00) The “bait-and-switch” that led him to Google

(06:25) Designing Google’s in-house ATS (G Hire) in 30 days

(07:59) Moving to the US and leading inbound at Google

(08:09) Designing inbound with a sourcing mindset

(08:23) Joining FullStory and experiencing hypergrowth

(10:10) From FullStory to Ashby: finding better tools

(12:30) Becoming Ashby’s TA leader (and power user)

(13:42) Future-proofing recruiters: think in process

(15:30) Why TA teams are being replaced by hiring managers

(17:43) You can’t just deploy AI, you need the right process

(20:24) What “human in the loop” really means

(23:42) Reviewing only 10% of resumes? You’re doing it wrong

(26:40) AI-generated resumes & the “broccoli question”/Application questions basis

(30:36) AI-Augmented candidates and assessing expertise

(32:46) Why AI is an amplifier, not a substitute for expertise

(35:10) Jim’s hot take: The passive vs. active candidate market

(38:00) Activating talent through pattern-based sourcing

(40:44) Market cycles, new skills, and the future of work

(41:45) New roles, unknown skills: how to spot opportunity

(43:05) Where to find Jim + upcoming events

About Jim Miller

Jim Miller is Head of People at Ashby, a leading ATS platform. With over 25 years in recruiting, including 15 years at Google where he helped build their internal ATS, Jim brings a rare mix of sourcing, system design, and leadership. He’s a vocal advocate for process-driven recruiting and thoughtful tech adoption.

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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Is LinkedIn still worth the price? Are fake resumes making remote hiring a nightmare? And could AI actually take over your recruiting job?

In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, Joel sits down with Tony Le, Global Head of Talent at Mission Cloud, to talk tech recruiting in 2025. Mission Cloud is a leading cloud services and AI solutions provider.

From early days in retail to leading global talent teams, Tony pulls no punches on what it really takes to stay relevant in today’s fast-evolving market.

They break down why LinkedIn’s pricing feels like a mystery box, the real deal on InMails, and how recruiters can future-proof their careers with AI, data, and tech fluency. Additionally, Tony shares what it’s like to screen 400 resumes in a day, how to spot AI-generated resumes, and why “giving your candidates an edge” might just be the new standard.

If you’re a talent, on the job market, or just trying to stay ahead in 2025, you don’t want to miss this one. 

In this episode:

(00:03) Introduction

(01:01) Introduction to Tony Le and what he does

(01:55) Sponsor message for Hey Milo AI

(03:18) Falling into recruiting: how a cousin’s career fair changed everything

(06:58) Leaving agency life: the grind of replacing 50 consultants every 18 months

(09:14) Pivoting in-house: from Ask Jeeves to influencing the whole company

(12:34) The LinkedIn pricing mystery: why no one pays the same

(16:35) Gen Z, TikTok, and the pressure to build a personal brand early

(20:03) The future of LinkedIn: moving toward creators, ads, and beyond

(21:44) Common mistakes and what recruiting teams look for in resumes

(22:58) What AI does with resumes

(24:41) The resume trick recruiters actually notice: it’s all in the headline

(26:40) The role of an account manager

(27:06) Remote work and applicant flow

(27:40) Challenges in screening resumes

(30:07) The rise of fake candidates and AI-enhanced resumes

(33:24) Interview preparation and etiquette

(36:48) Zoom etiquette, t-shirts, and what still matters in interviews

(39:48) Why great recruiters prep their candidates

(42:01) How hiring managers are changing and what they’re not doing anymore

(44:54) Tony’s advice for recruiters to stay relevant

(51:42) Where to find Tony and his favorite Slack communities

(52:16) Final thoughts

About Tony Le

Tony Le is the Global Head of Talent Acquisition at Mission Cloud, a CDW company. With 20+ years of experience in both agency and in-house recruiting, he’s seen the tech talent world from every angle. Tony is a firm believer in pairing real-world people skills with tech-forward recruiting strategies and he’s not afraid to question the status quo.

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This episode is brought to you by HeyMilo AI, the conversational AI built for high-volume hiring. HeyMilo helps recruiters save hours by automating initial screens while delivering smooth, two-way interviews at scale. Book a demo at HeyMilo.ai and see why top teams trust it to elevate their brand.

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 Drag Queen Bingo have to do with employee engagement? In this episode, Joel catches up with Tannum Sullivan, Senior Manager of People, Experience & Culture at RentSpree — a prop-tech startup that’s redefining how people rent (and how employees stay engaged). They dive deep into the real reasons engagement is hitting all-time lows and why the old HR playbook isn’t enough anymore.

Tannum shares what it’s really like building culture from the inside — not the sidelines — and why true engagement means showing up for your people in ways that matter (spoiler: drag queen bingo might be your new secret weapon). They unpack what startup life actually feels like (hint: multiple hats, daily chaos, and lots of autonomy) and why it’s not for the faint of heart.

They also get real about burnout, boundaries, and why leadership must lead by example if they want employees to take PTO guilt-free. Plus: how to talk to leadership in their language (data!) and why guiding principles are more than corporate wallpaper — if you know how to test them.

Packed with practical advice, fresh ideas, and honest takes, this episode is for anyone trying to make work work again in 2025.

In this episode:

About Tannum Sullivan

Tannum Sullivan is the Senior Manager of People, Experience & Culture at RentSpree, a fast-growing property tech startup. A true culture builder, she believes engagement can’t happen from the sidelines — it takes rolling up your sleeves, knowing the business, and sometimes hosting a drag queen bingo night to keep remote teams connected.

Resources

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.

Recruiting is No Joke Social Media

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Want to know how a global restaurant chain hires 1,500+ employees while battling an industry notorious for turnover?  In this episode, Joel chats with Chrystal Gualtieri, the Global Talent Acquisition Leader at CKE Restaurants—the powerhouse behind Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. They dive into the ins and outs of recruiting in the fast-paced hospitality world and explore how recruiters can keep things human in an age dominated by technology and templates.

Chrystal takes us through her fascinating journey, from handling high-volume nonprofit hiring to steering talent acquisition in a corporate setting. She breaks down the real reasons behind restaurant retention challenges and explains why even the smartest applicant tracking system can’t replace the warmth of genuine candidate care. Along the way, they discuss hot topics like the evolving role of hybrid work, AI’s place in the recruitment process, and even some resume red flags (yes, your email address might be giving you away!).

With a mix of practical advice and real-world insights, Chrystal also reveals how she handles the pressure of managing multiple roles with just a spreadsheet, a smile, and a lot of grit. Whether you’re a seasoned recruiter or just curious about the behind-the-scenes of hiring in hospitality, this episode is packed with valuable nuggets that can help anyone navigating the recruitment maze with too much on their plate and not enough backup.

In this episode:

This episode is brought to you by HeyMilo AI, the conversational AI built for high-volume hiring. HeyMilo helps recruiters save hours by automating initial screens while delivering smooth, two-way interviews at scale. Book a demo at HeyMilo.ai and see why top teams trust it to elevate their brand.

About Chrystal Gualtieri

Chrystal Gualtieri is the Global Talent Acquisition Leader for CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. With 1,500+ hires under her belt and nearly a decade of experience, Chrystal brings high-volume hustle and high-touch heart to every part of the recruiting process. She’s also a big believer in leading with empathy, staying tech-savvy but human-first, and celebrating every small win in a very big job.

Chrystal Gualtieri

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.

Recruiting is No Joke Social Media

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In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee welcomes Stephanie Murray, Senior Director of Talent at Brightside Health, for her first-ever podcast appearance. With nearly two decades in healthcare recruiting, Stephanie gets real about the state of the industry, the mental health hiring crisis, and what it takes to build a high-functioning, data-driven talent function.

They dig into Brightside’s massive scale—from 20 clinicians to 1,200—and why sourcing, not job posts, drives most of their hires. Stephanie opens up about postpartum depression, the personal “why” behind her work, and the game-changing strategy of turning meet-and-greets into a pipeline goldmine.

She also drops the playbook on Brightside’s award-winning Talent Collective and how adding free CEUs and wellness perks helped them build a community that actually converts. Plus, they tackle what AI, overregulation, and therapist burnout mean for the future of recruiting. Let’s jump in!

In this episode:

About Stephanie Murray

Stephanie Murray is the Senior Director of Talent at Brightside Health, a national leader in tele-mental health. With nearly 20 years of recruiting experience—most of it in healthcare—Stephanie now leads with a passion for building high-performing teams that truly care about making a difference. From launching talent communities to reducing time-to-hire through proactive engagement, she’s redefining what strategic recruiting looks like in a mission-driven, fast-growth company.

Stephanie Murray

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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Is construction the next big thing in recruiting? In the 100th episode of Recruiting is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Kala Kapahalou, Director of Talent Acquisition at W.E. O’Neil, to talk about a rarely spotlighted industry with massive opportunity: construction.

From ditching culinary school dreams to leading TA at a top national contractor, Kala shares his deeply personal and professional journey—from being told he was “too quiet” to thrive in recruiting, to proving everyone wrong. He offers a behind-the-scenes look at what hiring looks like in a world of million-dollar projects, civil engineering demands, and an ongoing talent shortage.

Joel and Kala cover everything from soft skills and culture fit, to career pivots and whether AI will ever take over construction jobs. They dig into why construction needs better branding, how soft skills have become the new superpower, and what younger talent is missing when stepping into the workforce.

In this episode:

About Kala Kapahalou

Kala Kapahalou is the Director of Talent Acquisition at W.E. O’Neil, a leading national construction firm. With over 16 years in recruiting, Kala’s career began unconventionally — starting as a recruiting assistant after pivoting from culinary school ambitions. His journey spans agency staffing, direct hire, and now corporate talent leadership in one of the most relationship-driven and complex industries: construction.

Known for his resilience, adaptability, and emphasis on soft skills as a competitive edge, Kala has helped shape recruiting strategies that balance field operations with long-term cultural fit. He's a vocal advocate for elevating the perception of construction careers and building pipelines that meet the real demands of the industry.

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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 emotional intelligence (EQ) can be a better predictor of job success than traditional hard skills? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Napoleon "Napo" Rumteen, founder and CEO of Interactive EQ, to talk about how emotional intelligence and soft skills are reshaping how we assess talent. If you've ever wondered why some candidates ace interviews but flop on the job—or how to make hiring less of a gamble—this episode is a must-listen.

Joel and Napo dive into the flaws of experience-first hiring, discuss the dangers of relying on gut instincts, and introduce new ways to measure the “intangibles” that truly make a candidate succeed. They explore the importance of reading the room, how EQ is linked to leadership, and the need for immersive evaluations that go beyond the resume.

From high-churn costs to the misalignment between talent and company culture, this episode challenges old-school hiring practices and offers fresh, research-backed solutions for the modern workforce.

In this episode:

About Napoleon "Napo" Rumteen

Napoleon "Napo" Rumteem is the founder and CEO of Interactive EQ, a platform using immersive, simulation-based assessments to measure emotional intelligence and soft skills. With years of experience interviewing thousands of candidates, Napo created Interactive EQ to close the gap between instinct-driven hiring and real-world performance.

Napoleon "Napo" Rumteen

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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AI is rewriting resumes. Candidates are deepfaking interviews. Job postings go live—and within hours? Thousands of applications flood in. So how does anyone actually hire the right person anymore?

In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, Joel Lalgee  sits down with someone who’s not just talking about the chaos—she’s living it. Meet Erin Turnmeyer, VP of People Operations at Civis Analytics, juggling HR, recruiting, and payroll all on her own. One-person team. Zero fluff.

How do you spot a fake candidate in a world of perfectly polished LinkedIn profiles and AI-generated cover letters? How do you cut through the noise and find people who really bring it?

Erin brings the receipts—from her days recruiting in counterterrorism to leading hiring at high-growth tech startups. She shares what it takes to transition from government to tech, what AI is really doing to the hiring process, and how to keep the human element front and center.

If you’re a recruiter drowning in resumes, a job seeker wondering how to stand out, or just curious about the future of work—this episode is your roadmap. Because hiring in 2025? It’s a battlefield. But Erin Turnmeyer knows how to navigate it—and she’s not holding back..

In this episode:

About Our Guest

Erin Turnmeyer is the VP of People Operations at Sybase Analytics. With roots in federal recruitment for the U.S. intelligence community, she brings rare insight into both bureaucratic systems and fast-paced startups. Erin now leads HR, recruiting, payroll, and more—solo. She’s a fierce advocate for real hiring practices, ethical AI use, and helping federal employees transition into tech.

Erin Turnmeyer Social Media

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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