The Hidden Truth About Candidate Experience

We say we’re “people first”, but candidates can tell when we’re not. This conversation is a reality check for how hiring actually feels in 2025.

In this episode, Marie Chaproniere reveals how she fell into HR from performing arts and why great Talent Acquisition is far more than filling roles. We unpack what a real candidate experience looks like today, the mess, the honesty, and why transparency beats polish every time.

You’ll learn:

The difference between recruitment and true TA and why strategy wins over speed

What “good” candidate experience looks like now (and the red flags to kill immediately)

How to stay human with ATS and AI, you can’t automate empathy

Practical inclusion: accommodations, the “cafeteria” model, and why truth-telling attracts the right people

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Chapters

00:00:00 — From Dance Studio to HR

00:00:29 — Falling Into TA by Accident

00:02:57 — TA vs Recruitment: The Real Difference

00:04:11 — What “Good” Candidate Experience Means in 2025

00:05:39 — Tech’s Limits: You Can’t Automate Empathy

00:07:16 — Public Call-Outs & Why Brand Behaviour Matters

00:08:34 — Small Wins in Hypergrowth Hiring

00:09:56 — Radical Transparency in Job Ads

00:11:43 — Attracting for Fit, Not Volume

00:13:28 — Truth-Telling Cultures Beat Perfect Stories

00:14:43 — Inclusion by Default: Real Accommodations

00:16:41 — The “Cafeteria” Model for Interviews

00:19:30 — Where to Communicate Adjustments (Beyond JDs)

00:21:33 — What Great Looks Like: Real Examples

00:24:33 — Start With an Audit: Language, Process, Data

00:26:38 — Map the Bad to Design the Good

00:27:17 — Sharing Interview Questions Ahead of Time

00:28:44 — Safe to Fail: Culture That Grows People

00:30:36 — Using AI Well (Without Losing Yourself)

00:31:15 — Metaview, Notes & Better Feedback Loops

00:32:39 — Advice to My Younger Self

00:33:58 — Choosing Authenticity (Even When Scary)