10x Recruiting Recruiting tech OG, Jon Bischke, on AI agents, proof of work, and raising the bar
Jan 8, 2026
Jon Bischke, founder of Entelo and now leading ZoomInfo's recruiting efforts, dives into the transformative world of hiring technology. He shares why a strong pipeline is essential for successful hiring and emphasizes the growing importance of 'proof of work' over traditional profile metrics. Bischke forecasts a future where AI agents communicate with each other in recruiting, discusses regulatory hurdles slowing AI adoption, and provides insights on raising hiring quality with personalized strategies and robust benchmarks.
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Pipeline Is Hiring's Ultimate Leverage
- A strong candidate pipeline prevents desperate, low-quality hiring decisions by giving you real alternatives.
- Treat pipeline strength like BATNA in negotiation to maintain hiring leverage.
Entelo's Three-Act Founding Story
- Jon describes founding Entelo in 2010 to index signals from GitHub and other networks to outcompete LinkedIn data.
- He ran Entelo for nine years and framed its journey in three acts: product-market fit, rapid growth, and contraction.
Agents Will Own Top-Of-Funnel
- Top-of-funnel work will be heavily automated within 12–18 months, shifting humans away from initial sourcing.
- Over five years, agent-to-agent matching could replace most human-to-human inbound interactions.