Talent Insights

The title for this one says it all. But if you read it too fast, you may have missed the word “analysis.”

Trashing employment data is a national pastime for people who follow the labor markets. But that’s an easy thing to do…if you don’t understand what it’s telling you. Or rather, when someone else’s poor analysis led you astray.

James Hornick and Jeff Smith rip into everyone who rips into employment data in episode 97 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "Employment Data Analysis Is A Dumpster Fire”

In this episode of Beyond the Offer, hosts Rosanna Snediker and Bill Gates chat with Sonya Heer, Talent Acquisition Operations Manager at Delta Dental. Sonya reflects on her 16-year recruiting career, her shift into TA operations, and the role of communication, technology, and data. They also discuss work-life balance, inclusive benefits, and debunk common recruiting misconceptions while sharing tips for staying connected in remote work. Tune in to learn more!

Every year I keep hoping some new recruitment tech will come along and save us. And every year I’m disappointed.

Sure, a lot of cool stuff has come out. But nothing seems to knock LinkedIn (or in other sectors, Indeed) off its pedestal. The new-new is always “in addition to” not “instead of” the incumbents.

Why is that? James Hornick and Jeff Smith do a deep dive on what it will take for a fundamental shift in recruitment tech in episode 96 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "Why LinkedIn & Indeed Are So Hard To Disrupt”

In this episode of Beyond the Offer, hosts Rosanna Snediker and Bill Gates interview Michelle Lee, Senior Director of HR at Signode. Michelle discusses her transition from social services to HR, the differences between small and large organizations, and strategies for employee engagement and retention, particularly in remote settings. She highlights the benefits of global collaboration, the impact of AI on HR, and key leadership traits. Michelle also shares creative approaches to recruiting and retaining talent in plant and distribution facilities and expresses her passion for teaching future leaders. Tune in to learn more!

A client of ours recently had a leadership level finance & accounting search that got over 600 inbound applicants. That’s not the shocking part. Anyone who works in recruiting has this happen on a fairly regular basis.

The shocking part: 2/3 of them were actually good. Skill sets were all in the ballpark. This wasn't a “Easy Apply button gone wrong” situation.

And we’re talking to more and more companies in this situation. Which raises the question: who’s going to screen all these candidates when internal recruiting teams have been cut to the bone in the last 2 years?

James Hornick and Jeff Smith sound off on how no one is prepared for the hiring market to come roaring back in episode 95 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "Who’s Gonna Screen All These Candidates?”

Why is everything moving so slow in hiring right now? Every recruiter we talk to – internal and external – says the same thing. More steps in the process. More people added. Longer decision times.

Mind you, two years ago things were moving at breakneck speeds. No one could hire fast enough. What happened?

Well, a lot. And there’s more pressure than ever to get every hire right.

James Hornick and Jeff Smith do a deep dive on how the psychology of hiring has changed in in episode 94 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "The Fear of Messing Up Hiring”

In this episode of the Beyond the Offer podcast, hosts Bill Gates and Rosanna Snediker chat with Sakena Gardner, Head of Talent at Revecore. Sakena shares her journey from aspiring lawyer, inspired by her mother’s staffing agency experience, to leading in talent acquisition. The discussion touches on the importance of quality over quantity in hiring, the challenges of diversity and inclusion, the impact of private equity on recruitment, and strategies for keeping candidates engaged. Sakena also offers insights into the evolving role of remote and hybrid work in today’s job market. Tune in to get all of the insights!

We humans love to oversimplify things into binary choices. Dogs vs cats. Drake vs Kendrick. Democrats vs Republicans.

And an “Employer’s Market” vs a “Job Seeker’s Market.”

In reality, we’re never fully in one or the other. Prevailing sentiment might lead you to believe employer’s have the upper hand right now…except unemployment is 4.1% and counter offers are on the rise.

James Hornick and Jeff Smith sound off on how employment markets are more complex than an on/off switch in episode 93 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "The Fallacy of the Current Employer’s Market”

In this episode of Beyond the Offer, hosts Bill Gates and Rosanna Snediker talk with Tonya Wallach, Head of HR at Broadstreet Impact Services. Tonya shares her journey from aspiring CIA agent to leading HR at companies like Kraft Foods, Abbott, and the U.S. Soccer Federation. She discusses the evolving HR landscape, the role of technology and data, and the importance of employee experience. Topics include differences in HR management across organizations, the value of a master’s degree, remote work trends, and the impact of political events on workplace dynamics. Tonya also reflects on recruitment philosophies by leaders like Jamie Dimon and the key traits she seeks in executive recruiters.

Another day, another AI tool that promises to change the world. But won’t.

It’s not a big leap to think we’re at the peak of the AI hype cycle. But in recruitment – a sector already trailing the technology curve – what if it actually makes things worse?

Who is going to train AI on a good interview process if there isn’t already a good interview process? What happens when an AI bot breaks down and no one knows how to fix it? And why would we think taking more human involvement out of an experience often lacking human touch will be a good thing?

James Hornick and Jeff Smith break down why we shouldn’t expect a recruiting cheat code in episode 92 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "Why AI Won’t Fix Hiring.”