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.

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Is it cheating to use ChatGPT for your job application? That’s the question many recruiters are quietly asking themselves as AI-generated résumés flood their inboxes. At first glance, a copy-paste résumé straight out of ChatGPT might feel like a shortcut or even a fake. But what if it’s not as bad as it seems?

In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Steve O’Brien, a seasoned talent acquisition leader who’s seen it all from old-school executive search to cutting-edge AI tools.

Steve shares his winding journey through recruiting, HR tech, and leadership, but he doesn’t just stop at career highlights. He gets real about the messy reality of hiring: why some candidate experiences go sideways, the myths around AI “replacing” recruiters, and the overlooked role hiring managers play in breaking or sealing the deal. Steve shares a brilliant story of spotting a fake and explains why he’s surprisingly sympathetic. The key isn’t if you use AI, but how are you a strategic copilot or just on autopilot?

The conversation also  dives deep into how recruiters need to blend social intelligence, strategy, and technology to thrive. Can AI handle an intake call as well as a recruiter? Not yet. Can it help speed up tedious tasks? Absolutely. Steve argues the future isn’t about replacing humans, but about elevating them, letting tech handle the boring parts while people lean into judgment, persuasion, and connection.

If you’ve ever wondered what really kills a hire, why resumes feel more AI-written these days, or how “soft skills” quietly shape careers, this episode is a must-listen. Because in recruiting, the stakes are high and no, it’s definitely no joke. Let’s dive in!

In this episode:

[00:00] Introduction and guest background

[00:54] Steve’s career journey and transition to Syneos Health

[03:03] Steve’s current role and team scope

[04:33] AI and recruitment: Myths and realities

[05:10] Limits of AI in recruiting processes

[08:36] The art and social intelligence of recruiting

[11:27] Common deal killers in recruitment

[13:05] Role of hiring managers in recruitment outcomes

[15:15] Automation vs. human judgment in talent acquisition

[17:00] The great restructuring and future of work

[19:24] Limitations of generative AI and LLMs

[21:44] Effective use of AI as a copilot

[24:54] Practical AI use cases and user training

[29:14] AI-generated resumes and candidate evaluation

[34:52] Interviewing for AI literacy and strategic use

[38:29] AI’s impact on customer service and job replacement

[41:39] Soft skills, career growth, and workplace politics

[45:14] Closing and where to connect

About Steve O’Brien

Steve O’Brien is a veteran talent acquisition and HR tech leader with experience spanning agency, RPO, corporate, and startup environments. Currently at Syneos Health, he leads global recruiting, HR PMO, and workforce analytics, driving thousands of hires annually while shaping the future of TA tech and strategy. Steve is passionate about how AI can elevate—not replace—the human side of recruiting.

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 happens when you’re the only recruiter at a fast-growing startup? In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, host Joel  sits down with Alexa Lane, Head of Recruiting at Placements.io, to find out.

Alexa’s path to recruiting wasn’t a straight line. She started in marketing and sales (yes, even cold-calling at Yelp) before stepping into a role where she’s now a “team of one” responsible for all hiring. When she joined Placements.io, there was no ATS, no structured interviews, no real process, just a few spreadsheets. She walks us through how she built it all from scratch: rolling out Greenhouse, creating scorecards, training interviewers, and even helping shape company values to use as a hiring compass.

The conversation digs into how the recruiter’s role has shifted from high-speed order-taking to a deeply strategic function where quality and alignment matter more than ever. Alexa shares how AI has become both a game-changer and a curveball. It is great for automating tasks like scheduling and writing job descriptions, but tricky when it comes to AI-generated resumes and fake candidates.

They also zoom out to explore bigger industry shifts: why talent from giants like Amazon and Meta are flocking to startups, the push and pull of remote and hybrid work, and what candidates expect from the hiring experience in 2025.

Packed with hands-on lessons and honest insights, this episode is a masterclass in building a recruiting function that is efficient, resilient, and most importantly human. Let’s dive in!

In this episode:

[00:00] Introduction & guest background

[01:27] Alexa’s path into recruitment

[03:22] Evolution of recruitment

[04:54] Recruiting with fewer resources

[05:56] Introduction to recruiting operations

[07:11] Building scalable recruiting processes

[09:18] Candidate feedback & process improvement

[09:57] Training hiring managers & interviewers

[11:29] AI in recruiting: Benefits & concerns

[14:17] Red flags & fake candidates

[15:41] AI-generated resumes & resume screening

[19:19] Assessing startup fit & scrappiness

[20:10] Advice for entering tech & startups

[22:17] Modern networking strategies

[25:00] Greenhouse conference takeaways

[26:14] Employer branding & candidate attraction

[27:14] Shifts in candidate preferences

[28:33] Selling office culture

[29:00] Big company to startup transitions

[31:19] Hiring mindset shifts post-2021

[32:56] Evaluating AI vs. human roles

[34:16] Advice for recruiters: Upskilling & operations

[35:58] The future of recruiting roles

[37:01] Upcoming events & conferences

[38:56] Connecting with Alexa

About Alexa Lane

Alexa Lane is the Head of Recruiting at Placements.io, a global adtech platform headquartered in Seattle. As the company’s only recruiter, Alexa has built recruiting operations from scratch, implementing ATS systems, training interviewers, and shaping employer branding. With experience spanning agency, in-house, and startup recruiting, she’s passionate about balancing efficiency and humanity in hiring.

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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Tech recruiting may grab the headlines, but some of the most exciting opportunities for recruiters are found on the factory floor. Michele Sutton, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Chobani, has built her career connecting talent with purpose driven brands like Unilever, Ferrero, and now Chobani. Her journey proves that manufacturing roles can offer stability, growth, and meaningful community impact.

In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, Joel Lalgee and Michele explore how recruiting looks different when the roles are tied to physical products millions of people consume every day. From the challenge of hiring maintenance techs to the rise of automation and AI, Michele reveals why manufacturing is a space recruiters should not ignore.

She also shares how AI tools like Copilot and Gem are reshaping her workflow, why curiosity is the most important mindset when adopting new technology, and how candidates can stand out by doing their homework. The conversation wraps with practical advice on crafting the right LinkedIn outreach that actually gets a recruiter’s attention.

The message is clear. Recruiting in manufacturing is not just alive, it is thriving. The question is whether more recruiters will step into this overlooked but rewarding arena.

In this episode:

(00:00:00) Introduction and guest introduction

(00:01:30) Michele’s career journey

(00:04:08) Perception and trends in manufacturing jobs

(00:04:46) Recruiting challenges in manufacturing

(00:07:13) Advice for recruiters considering manufacturing

(00:08:22) Growth and expansion at Chobani

(00:09:23) Technology and automation in manufacturing

(00:12:07) Balancing scarcity and cultural fit

(00:13:58) Candidate preparation and research

(00:18:23) AI tools in recruitment

(00:21:09) Adoption of AI and team mindset

(00:26:50) AI in screening and interviewing

(00:32:16) What makes a qualified candidate

(00:34:39) Best practices for candidate outreach

(00:36:45) Managing high volume of candidate messages

(00:38:26) Closing remarks and contact information

About Michele Sutton

Michele Sutton is the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition for Chobani, leading supply chain recruiting and driving talent strategy for the company’s rapid growth in manufacturing. With career stops at Stryker, Unilever, and Ferrero, Michelle brings deep expertise in connecting talent to purpose driven brands. She is passionate about community building, scaling recruitment in evolving industries, and integrating AI tools to empower recruiters and candidates alike.

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 if the perfect candidate applied for your job, but you never even saw their resume? What if the key to fixing this broken system wasn't a human, but an artificial intelligence designed to actually be more fair?

In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee tackles these very questions with Adam Stokar, co-founder of Talent Llama. They expose the modern recruiting crisis: a perfect storm where thousands of spam and AI-generated applications drown talent teams, forcing genuinely qualified candidates into a digital black hole. Isn't it a tragic irony that the tools creating this problem might also be the solution?

The conversation demystifies AI's role, framing it not as a job-replacer, but as a powerful ally. Can a machine conduct a dynamic, conversational skills assessment that rivals a harried recruiter? The answer, surprisingly, is yes. This technology efficiently identifies top talent, freeing up humans for what they do best: gauging culture fit and motivation. But do candidates actually like being screened by a bot? Astonishingly, 92% rate their AI interview experience highly, often preferring its immediate, low-stress nature over weeks of anxious silence.

So, what’s the future for recruiters? The episode concludes with a crucial mandate: embrace AI to eliminate grunt work, but hone your uniquely human skills, strategy, empathy, and creativity to become an indispensable partner. Will you adapt and thrive, or be left behind?

In this episode:

(00:00) Introduction 

(00:40) Housekeeping and guest introduction

(01:43) Adam's career journey and early ventures

(04:24) The birth of Talent Llama

(07:17) Challenges in recruitment and AI solutions

(10:00) AI in recruitment: Concerns and benefits

(17:53) Improving candidate experience with AI

(20:32) The reality of job searching

(22:49) AI in interviews: A surprising preference

(23:31) Balancing automation and human interaction

(25:17) The future of recruiting: A hybrid approach

(30:01) Advice for recruiters in the age of AI

(32:27) Embracing change and problem-solving skills

(36:10) Upcoming events and final thoughts

About Adam Stokar

Adam is the co-founder of Talent Llama, an AI-powered recruiting platform helping talent teams fairly and efficiently screen candidates at scale. With a background in software engineering, entrepreneurship, and product development, Adam has spent his career building solutions at the intersection of tech, health, and hiring.

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 some companies are hiring architects not for buildings, but for people? That’s exactly what Robert Buckley does as Chief People Architect at Envada. His job isn’t about HR buzzwords, it’s about designing workplaces where culture drives growth and people come first.

In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Robert to unpack why the future of work depends on leaders who do more than manage, they inspire, support, and develop talent at every level. Robert explains his core belief that “people create all value” and why companies can’t afford to treat culture as an afterthought.

The conversation goes deep on AI too, but not in a hype-filled way. Robert shows how smart tech should actually remove friction, not add noise like how Envada slashed a seven-day job posting process down to just three minutes.

From cutting his teeth at GE to shaping culture inside a high-growth tech bio startup, Robert shares candid lessons and practical advice for anyone who wants to thrive in today’s fast-changing workplace.

In this episode:

(00:03) Introduction

(01:14) Meet Robert Buckley and the mission of Enveda

(03:04) Why “Chief People Architect” is more than a title

(04:40) From soccer fields to HR: Robert’s career journey

(07:42) Lessons from 17 years inside GE’s HR development program

(09:34) People as the ultimate creators of value

(12:47) People leaders vs managers

(14:32) How to build leadership development with vision

(18:20) A bigger view of career growth and learning

(21:12) Engagement beyond pay and promotions

(23:26) Finding fulfillment outside of work

(25:05) Embracing discomfort and continuous learning

(29:01) AI, conjoint analysis, and lowering activation energy

(34:54) Practical AI in HR vs shiny object distractions

(38:44) When the answer isn’t technology

(39:18) Where to connect with Robert

About  Robert Buckley

Robert Buckley is the Chief People Officer atEnveda, a tech-bio startup using AI and machine learning to transform drug discovery. Known for his unique brand as a Chief People Architect, Robert has built a career on the belief that people create all value. With nearly two decades at GE and experience leading HR strategy across industries, he has become a champion of leadership development, culture building, and smart use of technology to remove barriers and help teams thrive.

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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Hiring has been called “broken” for decades, but is it actually? And if so, what does “fixed” even look like?

In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, Joel sits down with Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory, author, and HR tech analyst, to explore what’s working, what’s failing, and how talent leaders can prepare for a future shaped by AI, automation, and shifting workforce expectations.

Ben shares his journey from HR practitioner to researcher, explains why rejection and discomfort are essential for growth, and challenges recruiters to rethink how they measure success in a world where technology is everywhere but humanity is irreplaceable.

During the conversation, Joel and Ben dive into AI hype vs. reality, candidate experience, automation’s hidden costs, and why empathy, creativity, and critical thinking may be the most valuable skills of all in the future of work.

Whether you’re a recruiter, TA leader, or HR pro wondering how to stay relevant in the age of AI, this conversation will leave you with fresh insights and practical takeaways.

In this episode:

[00:03] Podcast introduction

[01:05] Introduction to Ben Eubanks 

[02:47] What does an analyst/researcher do?

[05:42] Is hiring really broken?

[09:30] Improving candidate experience

[10:36] Ben’s journey into HR & recruiting

[12:06] Transition to writing & speaking

[14:44] The human side of HR & tech

[16:17] Future of HR: Human skills vs. automation

[18:38] AI, echo chambers, and human connection

[20:17] Rejection, resilience, and growth

[23:34] AI’s impact on social interaction

[24:15] AI and grief: The limits of technology

[27:02] Adapting to AI: Mindsets and mistakes

[27:45] Candidates’ views on AI in hiring

[29:33] Automation: Value creation vs. efficiency

[33:26] Strategic HR: Building relationships

[35:02] Business value and changing mindsets

[36:28] Career growth: Getting out of your comfort zone

[39:37] Closing & where to find Ben

About Ben Eubanks

Ben Eubanks is Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory, where he leads studies on HR, recruiting, and the future of work. A former HR leader and recruiter, he’s the author of Artificial Intelligence for HR and Talent Scarcity, and a globally recognized speaker on workplace technology and strategy. Ben blends data-driven insights with a human-first perspective, helping organizations navigate the intersection of people and technology.

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 Talent Llama ,  your smart, fair, and efficient AI-powered screening partner. With Talent Llama, you can expertly screen every applicant for the skills that truly matter. Its conversational AI interview agents craft tailored two-way voice interviews, evaluate responses, provide detailed scorecards, and suggest next steps so you save time and focus only on the best fits. And with integrations into ATS platforms like Jobvite, Lever, Greenhouse, and more, it slots seamlessly into your workflow.

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How is AI shaping recruitment today? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, Joel Lalgee explores the intersection of technology and talent acquisition with Tom Lott, head of Talent Acquisition at Barry, Appleman & Leiden (BAL), a global immigration law firm. With 25+ years in the industry, Tom has witnessed recruitment evolve from fax machines to AI-driven processes. He discusses how AI at BAL reduces time-to-fill, addresses challenges hiring managers face, and combats biases in hiring decisions.

Tom also emphasizes the human side of recruiting, highlighting the importance of coaching hiring managers on interview techniques and overcoming bias. He explains why skills-based hiring is becoming crucial, particularly in law, where experience and education have historically been overemphasized. Tom shares how AI can automate repetitive tasks, freeing recruiters to focus on what they do best—connecting with candidates and hiring managers.

With deep expertise in both agency and in-house recruiting, Tom offers valuable insights for anyone in talent acquisition. From leveraging technology to maintaining the human touch, this episode will change the way you approach hiring. Don’t miss his views on AI’s future role in recruitment.

In this episode:

About Tom Lott

He leads talent acquisition at Barry, Appleman and Leiden (BAL), a global corporate immigration law firm. With 25 years of experience in recruiting across industries such as financial services and law, Tom has a wealth of knowledge in both agency and in-house roles. He brings a deep understanding of how technology, particularly AI, is reshaping recruitment, and how human connection and coaching are integral to successful hiring.

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This episode is brought to you by Talent Llama, the AI-powered platform for high-volume hiring. Talent Llama helps teams screen faster and fairer with skills-based, low-pressure voice interviews. No more resume chaos or awkward scheduling—just real conversations. Move faster and make candidates feel seen.

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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