In this episode of Talentless, Desiree Goldey and Ashley King sit down with Ben Abear to talk about why modern hiring breaks when decisions are driven by feelings instead of facts.

Ben shares how data builds trust, strengthens partnerships with the business, and helps recruiters move from order takers to true strategic partners even on small or under-resourced teams.

We dig into what hiring metrics actually matter, how qualitative insight adds critical context, and where AI can support (but not replace) good decision-making.

What you’ll hear:

Why data is essential in today’s hiring landscape

How trust with the business is built through clarity

The role of qualitative data in better hiring decisions

How small teams can still leverage data effectively

Hiring veterans isn’t hard.Hiring veterans without understanding them is where everything falls apart.

In this episode of Talentless, Desiree Goldey and Ashley King are joined by Lee Cage Jr. (SPHR, HRIP, CSM) to break down the myths, mistakes, and missed opportunities in military hiring.

Lee brings a rare mix of experience across enterprise transformation, HR technology, and 17+ years of service in the Army National Guard, making this conversation equal parts practical, strategic, and overdue.

We get into:

The biggest misconceptions companies have about military talent

Why “they don’t have corporate experience” is usually lazy hiring

How to translate military roles into skills without oversimplifying them

What real veteran support looks like after hiring (onboarding + retention)

Where recruiters get stuck: sourcing, evaluation, and hiring manager bias

What TA leaders should do right now to build military hiring programs that actually work

If your company says “we love hiring veterans” but can’t explain what that actually means… this episode is your mirror.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts Submit your #dumdum talent stories for a shoutout

In this episode of Talentless, Ashley King and Desiree Goldey cut through the hype and talk about what AI actually does well in talent, what it does dangerously wrong, and why the biggest risk isn’t the tech. It’s the humans using it without guardrails.

We get into:

Why AI isn’t the villain, but people using it without limits absolutely are

The difference between automation vs. AI (and why most teams confuse the two)

Where AI can genuinely help recruiters: admin work, sourcing, templates, strategy prep

Why AI should never be the final decision-maker in hiring

Candidate experience: where “efficient” starts to feel cold and gross

How AI interviews and avatars can create new bias (dialect, culture, speech patterns, “presence”)

The compliance reality: it doesn’t have to “decide” to still influence outcomes

The underrated concern: environmental impact (your prompt isn’t free, babes)

A practical takeaway for TA leaders: create prompt libraries so recruiters show up as partners, not order-takers

Bottom line: AI can give TA time back. But only if the process and the people using it are ready. And right now? The class is… not ready.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts Submit your “Dum Dum” recruiting story for a shoutout (anonymous is cool too)

Data. Data. Dada. However you say it, one thing is clear: not all data is created equal.

In this episode of Talentless, Ashley King and Desiree Goldey break down what data actually matters in talent acquisition and why most TA teams are stuck reporting numbers that don’t move the business forward.

This is a practical, no-fluff conversation about data literacy, business impact, and why knowing how to interpret data is the real leadership unlock for recruiters.

We cover:

Why data literacy is the real glass ceiling in TA

The difference between symptoms and root causes in recruiting data

Why attrition and retention matter more than time-to-fill

How pass-through ratios expose alignment (or misalignment) with hiring managers

Why volume-based recruiting metrics are misleading

How to monetize recruiting activity so executives actually listen

Using qualitative + quantitative data together to drive better hiring outcomes

If you’ve ever felt like TA is stuck at the “reporting numbers” stage instead of influencing decisions, this episode is for you.

 Listen wherever you get your podcasts
 Subscribe for more recruiter real talk, minus the corporate nonsense

What if the problem with talent acquisition isn’t recruiters… it’s how we set them up?

In this episode of Talentless, Ashley King and Desiree Goldey dig into recruiter enablement and why it’s quickly becoming the difference between TA teams that survive and those that actually move the business forward.

We unpack what recruiter enablement really means (spoiler: it’s not just more tools), why measuring ROI in recruiting is long overdue, and how TA leaders can build smarter partnerships with the business instead of operating like an internal agency no one fully understands.

We also get into:

Why most recruiting tools never prove their value

What recruiter performance should be measured on

How data can help or hurt, depending on how it’s used

The role of psychological safety in unlocking high-potential talent

Why education and strategic scaffolding matter more than hustle culture

This is one of those episodes that might make you rethink how your TA org is built and why recruiters burn out when enablement is missing.

If you care about outcomes, not just activity, this one’s for you.

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 Subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next

We talked about the realities of recruiting right now, what actually makes this industry fun again, and why relationships still matter more than whatever new tool launched this week. There were laughs, hot takes, and a few “did we really just say that?” moments that make live conversations so damn good.

It was candid. It was chaotic. It was very RecFest.

"HR Conferences” is our love letter and side-eye to the events that are supposed to move this industry forward. Desiree and Ashley break down what conferences should be about – community, real education, and true innovation – and why too many of them have turned into overpriced vendor parades with celebrity keynotes no one asked for.

We talk about safety (especially for women), inclusion, accessibility, and what it actually looks like to come home with something you can use at your desk on Monday, not just a hangover and a swag bag.

Catch the full episode below and hear how Desiree and Ashley are challenging HR conferences to do better for the people who keep this industry running.

Jim Miller is a global People Operations leader with over 20 years of experience scaling recruiting and people teams across tech giants and hyper-growth startups including Google, FullStory, and now Ashby, where he serves as VP of People & Talent.

From leading 200+ recruiters worldwide to advising on product, process, and people tech, Jim has built his career around one central truth: productivity in recruiting isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing smarter.

In this episode, Jim joins Talentless to break down what productivity really looks like for recruiters in 2025, the data, the burnout, and the brutal myths we keep telling ourselves about “hustle.”

Tune in as we unpack:

Why recruiter productivity has become a broken metric

How tech and tooling (like Ashby) can elevate, not replace human judgment

What real efficiency looks like when hiring at scale

The future of People Ops leadership in an AI-driven world

Smart, funny, and deeply experienced, Jim brings clarity to a conversation most of us are too busy to have.

Katrina Kibben is a leadership speaker, LinkedIn Top Voice, and founder of Three Ears Media known for transforming how companies attract talent and build healthy team cultures. With over 15 years at global brands like Monster.com and Randstad, Katrina brings real talk on leadership, belonging, and what it means to show up as yourself at work.

In this episode, Katrina joins Talentless to talk about leading with authenticity, navigating change, and why hiring should always start with empathy.

Tune in for a smart, human conversation with one of the boldest voices in the talent industry.

“Clockout with Julia Arpag” is a story about building something meaningful at work and at home. Julia shares how she turned her love for connecting people into a business rooted in purpose, faith, and high-performance recruiting.

As founder of Aligned Recruitment, she’s proof that you can lead with heart, hire with intention, and still build world-class teams.

Catch the full episode below and hear how Julia redefined what a career in recruiting can look like.