Open Role Triage with Gynger Head of Talent Jonathan Graber
Talk Talent To Me
Summary In this episode, Rob interviews Jonathan Graber, the head of talent at Gynger, discussing his journey from agency recruiting to in-house talent acquisition. They explore the challenges and rewards of transitioning roles, the importance of setting deadlines in hiring, and the diverse responsibilities that come with working in a startup environment. Jonathan shares insights on managing priorities, the significance of people operations, and how to navigate the complexities of talent acquisition in a fast-paced setting. Takeaways The 10 80 10 rule illustrates how people respond to...
info_outline
Betting On Yourself with Metropolis CPO John-Paul Sukkar
Talk Talent To Me
JP, Chief People Officer at Metropolis, emphasizes the need to reframe the return to office narrative, highlighting the irreplaceable value of human connection and collaboration that cannot be replicated through remote work alone. He shares insights on fostering a culture of access and the responsibilities that come with managing a large workforce post-acquisition. In this conversation, John-Paul Sukkar discusses the challenges and strategies involved in integrating a large organization after a significant acquisition. He emphasizes the importance of cultural shifts, change management, and the...
info_outline
Endless Insight via Succession Planning with Elizabeth Egan
Talk Talent To Me
Elizabeth explains how succession planning reveals far-reaching insights about the state of talent in an organization. As Director of Talent Management and Organizational Development at Cerence AI, Elizabeth has prioritized generating individual development plans (IDPs) for all employees. Elizabeth emphasizes that employees should take ownership of their careers and seek out opportunities for growth, while companies must create supportive environments to retain top talent. The conversation highlights the need for open communication, feedback mechanisms, and the role of managers in...
info_outline
Detecting Interview Cheaters with Mike Mroczka
Talk Talent To Me
Mike Mroczka is an interview coach, author, software engineer, and consultant specializing in helping hiring organizations eliminate cheating in their interview processes. Mike shares the challenges posed by AI tools in coding interviews, the distinction between using resources and cheating, and the necessity of evaluating candidates' foundational knowledge. Mike shares insights on how organizations can design interviews to deter cheating and the tools available for monitoring candidates. The discussion concludes with a hopeful outlook on the future of technology in hiring, emphasizing the...
info_outline
AI-Proof Your Interviews with Replicate's Lia Economos
Talk Talent To Me
Lia Economos discusses the evolution of interview processes, particularly in the context of integrating AI tools and adapting to the changing landscape of technical interviews. She emphasizes the importance of structured interviews as companies grow and the need to design interview questions that challenge candidates beyond the capabilities of AI. The discussion also touches on the ethical implications of over-employment and the necessity for candidates to network effectively during their job search. Key Points From This Episode: A brief overview of her background and what...
info_outline
Leadership & Career Growth with Pernod Ricard Chief People Officer Lani Montoya
Talk Talent To Me
In today’s fast-paced world where candidates are always looking for the next opportunity, it’s rare to find someone dedicated to growing within one organization. As today’s guest Lani Montoya demonstrates, internal growth may be the best way to develop exceptional people leaders. Lani is the Chief People Officer at Pernod Ricard, the world leader in premium international wines and spirits, and she begins by explaining her path to joining the company and why she chose to grow in it instead of seeking opportunities elsewhere. We discuss how to rise above workplace complacency, the value...
info_outline
Runway Head of People Anna Chalon
Talk Talent To Me
What does it take to build a people-first hiring culture from the ground up, without sacrificing speed or scale? In this episode of Talk Talent to Me, returning guest Anna Chalon, Head of People at Runway, shares how she intentionally navigated her career from startup to acquisition and back again, fueled by a love for building and a clear sense of purpose. She unpacks her criteria for choosing the right company, the power of gut instinct balanced with measurable data, and how candidate experience can be both human and scalable. Anna also offers insights into how she assesses founders during...
info_outline
Director of TA & Employer Brand for Manscaped Molly Minczeski
Talk Talent To Me
What do the Sunday scaries have to do with how happy you are at work? Today we sit down with Molly Minczeski, the Director of Talent Acquisition & Employer Brand at MANSCAPED, the global men’s lifestyle consumer brand and male grooming category creator trusted by over 12 million men worldwide. Molly unpacks what the Sunday scaries really mean and why work-life balance looks different for everyone. She takes us inside MANSCAPED’s thriving remote culture, shares her journey into talent acquisition, and explains how she positions herself as a strategic business partner. Plus, she offers...
info_outline
AssemblyAI's Senior Talent Pro Kenzie Hoelscher
Talk Talent To Me
Kenzie discusses her tansition from big tech to an AI startup, and how positive hiring manager relationships are more important than specific AI upskilling. Key Points From This Episode: Welcoming Kenzie (Keller) Hoelscher to the show. Kenzie tells us about herself and how she got into recruitment. A little bit about Kenzie’s fascinating career. The importance of building relationships with your hiring managers. The role AI is going to play in recruiting in the future. How she landed up at AssemblyAI and what it’s like working there. ...
info_outline
GM Financial VP of Global TA Neeti Upreti
Talk Talent To Me
Referrals are an active, internal marketing campaign that recruitment leaders need to leverage alongside their external marketing campaigns. Today, global talent leader Neeti Upreti joins the show to discuss the power and importance of referrals in the recruitment industry. Hear all about Neeti’s incredible career, why recruiting isn’t only a push but also a pull, the importance of senior leadership roles in recruitment, handling referrals, and so much more! Neeti’s experience in various industries has helped her identify the dos and don’ts of recruiting and in this conversation, she...
info_outlineExplaining the resilience of modern talent acquisition pros is Brandon Jeffs, the Director of People and Talent at TLDR – one of the largest newsletters in the world with daily summaries of the most interesting stories in startups, tech, and programming. Brandon’s career is focused on empowering the employee-employer relationship, and he walks us through the best practices for cultivating lasting relationships in the talent ecosystem. We discover why he started The Revol•TA Podcast and what he’s learned from the guests on his show before unpacking the doggedness of modern recruiters, how recruiters can improve their job security, whether it’s better to be a generalist or specialist, and what it takes to be an exceptional talent acquisition specialist. We also learn more about TLDR, Brandon’s protocol for making really fast hires, and the role of AI in the future of talent and recruiting.
Key Points From This Episode:
-
Brandon Jeffs explains what inspired him to start his show, The Revol•TA Podcast.
-
The best practices for forging meaningful relationships in the talent ecosystem.
-
What Brandon has learned from the guests who’ve appeared on his show.
-
Why recruiters are willing to do gritty and often thankless work.
-
Whether there’s a way for recruiters to be recession-proof in the likelihood of being laid off.
-
An age-old debate: Generalists versus specialists.
-
The characteristics of a great job offer
-
His protocol for understanding a candidate’s motivations, and why this matters.
-
Insight into the markings of a great recruiter.
-
Where preparation meets opportunity and the importance of timing.
-
The ins and outs of TLDR, with details on a particular serendipitous role fill.
-
Understanding Brandon’s method for making really fast hires.
-
How the future of talent acquisition is linked to the possibilities of large language models.
Quotes:
“The main driver for me is what can I give back to other people?” — Brandon Jeffs [04:50]
“The community is what brings us together. If you show up for other people, they will show up for you.” — Brandon Jeffs [11:52]
“If you have the fundamentals and the curiosity to learn new things, you can apply those to ways and roles that you may not think of.” — Brandon Jeffs [17:57]
“It’s really interesting to see how we position brand and prestige and pedigree in this larger game of capitalism.” — Brandon Jeffs [24:10]
“A great recruiter can fill roles on time but an exceptional one can create moments of serendipity.” — Brandon Jeffs [29:47]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: