
Talent Acquisition Leaders Podcast - Recruiting, Staffing, Human Resources
On the Talent Acquisition Leaders Podcast, your host Ryan Dull of SageMark HR interviews today’s industry leaders in talent acquisition to discuss challenges, best practices, and what the future holds.
If you are working in talent acquisition and have always wanted to sit down with your peers at other companies and pick their brain, this show is the next best thing.
Topics for the show will include: recruiting, talent acquisition, recruiting technology, HR tech, and recruiting innovation..
Join us each week as we bring you a new talent acquisition interview and extract their expertise.
Latest episodes

Sep 5, 2023 • 13min
Leveraging Apprenticeship Programs with Vicki Tung at Goldman Sachs
On this episode, host Ryan Dull is joined by Vicki Tung, Global Head of Talent Acquisition at Goldman Sachs, to hear about the firm’s approach to apprenticeship and how it differentiates the organization’s approach to recruiting.
In their conversation, Ryan and Vicki discuss the following:
- How Goldman Sachs’ TA function is structured and distributed globally to provide the best experience for recruits.
- The importance of staying agile and creating intentional programming when faced with a challenge and changing environment.
- Apprenticeship programs develop future talent through real-world experiences, networking opportunities and the ability to learn from industry leaders directly.
- Creating many pathways to an industry through differentiated recruiting strategies can yield impressive results for candidates with nonlinear career paths.
- A strong organizational culture is a powerful recruiting tool.
- Every challenge provides an opportunity to learn something new.
Goldman Sachs’ approach to talent acquisition leverages development opportunities, proximity to leadership and workplace culture to draw in the best and brightest talent from around the world.
Vicki Tung - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicki-tung-53175931/
Goldman Sachs - https://www.linkedin.com/company/goldman-sachs/
Goldman Sachs | Website - https://www.goldmansachs.com/
Goldman Sachs People Strategy Report - https://www.goldmansachs.com/our-commitments/sustainability/2022-people-strategy-report/multimedia/report.pdf
Ryan Dull - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dull-743a8b4/
Sagemark HR | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sagemark-hr/about/
Sagemark HR can help you:
✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.
After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.
✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices, but also deliver tangible business results.
We understand every organization is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.
✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.
We believe recruiting, talent, and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me at:
www.sagemarkhr.com
✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com
#Talent #Recruiters #Recruiting #HRTech

Aug 16, 2023 • 19min
Humanizing the Hiring Process with Tara Storms at Best Buy
On this episode, host Ryan Dull is joined by Tara Storms, Talent Acquisition Director at Best Buy, for some insight into the initiatives Tara is spearheading to improve her organization’s recruitment process.
Tara discusses the following as it relates to improving the talent acquisition team:
- Remember that talent acquisition is a relationship-oriented industry, and TA functions should help cultivate those relationships.
- The hiring experience should be positive for both the candidate and the recruiter.
- Hiring practices, from recruitment to onboarding and beyond, should be inclusive of all candidates.
- Partnering with business leaders and collaborating across departments creates a more effective TA function.
- Horizontal mobility is as important as vertical mobility for expanding existing hires’ skill sets and providing development opportunities.
- Successful talent leaders not only build meaningful relationships within their organization but within the broader industry as well.
- Always be open to learning new things, and look for ways to take on responsibilities outside your normal job scope to help facilitate that development.
A focus on the human nature of hiring leads to a more positive hiring experience, thus improving both candidate conversion and retention.
Best Buy - https://www.bestbuy.com/
Ryan Dull - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dull-743a8b4/
Sagemark HR | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sagemark-hr/about/
Sagemark HR can help you:
✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.
After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.
✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices, but also deliver tangible business results.
We understand every organization is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.
✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.
We believe recruiting, talent, and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me at:
www.sagemarkhr.com
✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com
This episode is brought to you by Sagemark HR.
#Talent #Recruiters #Recruiting #HRTech

Aug 2, 2023 • 19min
Values-Based Recruiting with Beth Michele Greenberg at Integral Ad Science
On this episode, host Ryan Dull is joined by Beth Greenberg, Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition at Integral Ad Science, to hear how she transformed her organization’s recruiting process to align with company values.
To adopt this values-based recruiting approach, Beth offers these guiding principles:
- Values-based recruiting starts with understanding what your organizational values actually are. You can’t lean into a cultural vision if you don’t have one in the first place.
- Pre-briefs and debriefs ensure the whole team is aligned on what the must-haves are when interviewing a candidate.
- Even recruiters who don’t conduct interviews should be trained in the interview process to fully immerse them in the values they should look for in candidates.
- Spend time with the team you’re recruiting for, like sales or finance, to better understand their needs, operations and standard procedures.
This hiring approach brings in candidates who are not only competent in their skills, but fit the organizational culture and who can drive company growth.
Beth Greenberg - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethmichelegreenberg/
Integral Ad Science - https://www.linkedin.com/company/integralads/
Integral Ad Science | Website - https://integralads.com/
Ryan Dull - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dull-743a8b4/
Sagemark HR | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sagemark-hr/about/
This episode is brought to you by Sagemark HR.
Sagemark HR can help you:
✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.
After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.
✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices, but also deliver tangible business results.
We understand every organization is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.
✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.
We believe recruiting, talent and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me at:
www.sagemarkhr.com
✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com
#Talent #Recruiters #Recruiting #HRTech

Jul 25, 2023 • 22min
A Skills-Based Recruiting Philosophy with Julie Flowers at Chevron
On this episode, host Ryan Dull is joined by Julie Flowers, Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Chevron, to hear about the changes in recruiting philosophy she’s championing.
When discussing skills-based hiring, Julie shared the following advice:
- Collaboration between departments is essential for TA leaders to implement an effective strategy.
- There is no one-size-fits-all recruiting approach, as every candidate is unique.
- Global hiring and synergies are critical to scale; however, organizations should still retain a local focus, with each region leveraging a global strategy while creating a customized approach locally, as appropriate.
- Evaluating a candidate’s experience should always be done from the perspective of what skills that experience developed in the candidate and what skills are transferable.
- Skills-based hiring helps TA leaders more effectively meet their organization’s unique talent needs.
- Technology is a significant aid that helps TA professionals streamline candidate screening and matching candidates.
- As technology talent acquisition leaders should strive to comprehend the added value of emerging digital tools in order to purposefully acquire technology that can effectively appeal to, attract and select the best talent.
- Talent acquisition is a community-driven industry, and TA leaders should be quick to learn from each other.
With organizational collaboration, the right technology and a skills-based recruiting strategy, TA leaders can maintain a competitive edge in discovering and retaining the best talent.
Julie Flowers - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-flowers-936b2753/
Chevron - https://www.linkedin.com/company/chevron/
Chevron | Website - https://www.chevron.com/
Ryan Dull - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dull-743a8b4/
Sagemark HR | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sagemark-hr/about/
This episode is brought to you by Sagemark HR.
Sagemark HR can help you:
✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.
After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.
✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices, but also deliver tangible business results.
We understand every organization is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.
✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.
We believe recruiting, talent, and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me at:
www.sagemarkhr.com
✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com
#Talent #Recruiters #Recruiting #HRTech

Jun 27, 2023 • 30min
Improving Opportunity Visibility with Shannon Taylor at JCPenney
On this episode, host Ryan Dull is joined by Shannon Taylor, Director of Talent Acquisition at JCPenney, to hear about some of the initiatives he’s spearheading to highlight the opportunities for growth and advancement that his organization offers.
For fellow talent acquisition leaders, Shannon offers advice from his experience with JCPenney:
- In a rapidly changing recruiting landscape, recruiters must evolve with changing candidate and business needs.
- Branding is a talent acquisition function. You have to be able to tell your organizational story effectively to candidates.
- The consumer-facing organizational image may need tweaking to highlight opportunities and promote internal growth.
- Look at the candidate experience the same way you evaluate the customer journey. What obstacles would prevent a job seeker from maintaining momentum through the hiring process?
- Be intentional in showcasing the room for both horizontal and vertical growth for new hires.
Showcasing the opportunities for advancement and development is a great way to improve candidate conversion and longevity.
Shannon Taylor - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sstaylor/
JCPenney - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jcpenney/
JCPenney | Website - https://www.jcpenney.com/
Ryan Dull - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dull-743a8b4/
Sagemark HR | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sagemark-hr/about/
Sagemark HR can help you:
✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.
After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.
✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices but also deliver tangible business results.
We understand every organization is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.
✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.
We believe recruiting, talent, and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me at:
www.sagemarkhr.com
✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com
#Talent #Recruiters #Recruiting #HRTech

May 30, 2023 • 20min
Adapting to New Technology with Carrie Losch at Johnson Controls
On this episode, host Ryan Dull is joined by Carrie Losch, Director of Talent Acquisition at Johnson Controls, to hear how she’s helping her organization adopt new digital tools without leaning too heavily on technology to do the heavy lifting of recruiting.
When it comes to implementing new technology, Carrie offers several principles for maintaining an organization’s current strengths through a digital transition:
- Don’t view technology as an end in itself. It’s just another tool in a lineup of existing resources.
- Technology is best used as a time-saving tool to free up team members to do tasks that require a human touch.
- The best digital resource is only as good as the system that functions on top of it. Poor process planning can’t be made up for by technology.
- Talent Acquisition is a human industry. Use technology to enhance that, not detract from it.
- Effective onboarding, training and professional development require human relationships, not technological streamlining.
As the technological landscape continues to be in flux, talent leaders have to maintain the flexibility that allows them to implement new assets without undermining their organization’s current strengths.
Carrie Losch - https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrielosch/
Johnson Controls - https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/
Ryan Dull - https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/
Sagemark HR | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sagemark-hr/about/
This episode is brought to you by Sagemark HR.
Sagemark HR can help you:
✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.
After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.
✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices but also deliver tangible business results.
We understand every organization is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.
✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.
We believe recruiting, talent, and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me at:
www.sagemarkhr.com✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com
#Talent #Recruiters #Recruiting #HRtech

Apr 3, 2023 • 27min
Developing Current and Future Talent with Nick Mailey at Equinix
Nick Mailey, Vice President of Talent Acquisition at Equinix, has a long history of tech industry recruiting, but he began that path after a short political career pursuing social justice. That early political experience gave him a values-driven approach to recruiting that he lives by to this day.
Chief among Nick’s talent acquisition values is a willingness to invest in his people. He encourages his fellow leaders to lean into this concept, his advice is to:
- Provide opportunities for development after a candidate joins your organization.
- Encourage organizational leaders to be part of an ongoing development structure both for themselves and their teams.
- Seek out candidates that are in career transitions and provide the skills training they need to effectively change roles.
- Veterans, refugees and immigrants are often avid job-seekers who can be effective team members given the right onboarding and training.
Current hires lay the groundwork for future organizational leaders. Investing in those hires ensures that your company builds a pathway toward continued growth and success.
Nick Mailey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/realworkrealimpact/
Equinix - https://www.linkedin.com/company/equinix/
Equinix | Twitter - https://twitter.com/Equinix
Ryan Dull - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dull-743a8b4/
Sagemark HR | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sagemark-hr/about/
Sagemark HR can help you:
✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.
After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.
✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices but also deliver tangible business results.
We understand every organization is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.
✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.
We believe recruiting, talent, and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me at:
www.sagemarkhr.com
✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com
#Talent #Recruiters #Recruiting #HRtech

Mar 28, 2023 • 22min
Implementing Successful Strategies with Jonathan Robbins at Evoke
On this episode, host Ryan Dull is joined by Jonathan Robbins, Managing Director of Talent Acquisition at Evoke, for a conversation about integrating policy ideation and implementation.
Jonathan recommends the following principles for successfully turning ideas into action:
- A skills-and-capabilities-based TA sourcing strategy creates more opportunity to focus on key business drivers, build wider candidate pools, bring in more diverse profiles and collectively scale our teams.
- Don’t lose sight of ROI. Creativity and innovation are only helpful if they produce a meaningful return.
- Even good ideas can fail if there’s insufficient organization and structure to drive their implementation. Talent Acquisition thrives as a partnership model, not a service model.
- TA leaders should learn the ins and outs of their whole organization to understand their capacity for certain TA practices and strategies and to understand the skills and capabilities that drive growth.
- Don’t be afraid to try new things and challenge operational assumptions, but don’t get too attached to innovations if they don’t seem to be working. Work with agility and support when working with data.
The best talent leaders know how to turn good ideas into revenue-generating operations.
Jonathan Robbins - https://twitter.com/jnathnrobbins
Evoke - https://www.evokegroup.com/
Ryan Dull - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dull-743a8b4/
Sagemark HR - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sagemark-hr/about/
Sagemark HR can help you:
✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.
After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.
✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices but also deliver tangible business results.
We understand every organization is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.
✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.
We believe recruiting, talent, and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me at:
www.sagemarkhr.com
✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com
#Talent #Recruiters #Recruiting #HRtech

Mar 21, 2023 • 18min
Supporting Diversity and Belonging with Kumari Williams at Workday
On this episode, host Ryan Dull is joined by Kumari Williams, Global Head of Programs and Operation, Belonging and Diversity/Atlanta Site Leadership at Workday.
Kumari has a wealth of knowledge and experience in not only HR and talent acquisitions but also in creating diverse and inclusive workspaces. She offers wisdom to TA leaders pursuing more equitable representation in their organizations:
- Data is an important tool in understanding how to best implement DEI initiatives.
- DEI shouldn’t just be an organizational program, it should be baked into the company strategy and vision.
- Equity means more than just equal representation in the workplace, but also equal responsibility, compensation and access to opportunities within an organization.
- In a global organization, DEI initiatives should be tailored to fit within different cultural contexts.
- Creating a sense of belonging requires a leadership alignment around the shared value of inclusion.
When talent leaders and C-suite leadership share DEI values, belonging is a natural outflow of organizational culture.
Workday - https://www.workday.com/
Ryan Dull - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dull-743a8b4/
Sagemark HR | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sagemark-hr/about/
Sagemark HR can help you:
✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.
After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.
✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices but also deliver tangible business results.
We understand every organization is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.
✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.
We believe recruiting, talent, and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me at:
www.sagemarkhr.com
This episode is brought to you by Sagemark HR.✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com
#Talent #Recruiters #Recruiting #HRtech

Mar 14, 2023 • 19min
Maintaining Human Connections with Annie Carolla at Gensler
On this episode, host Ryan Dull is joined by Annie Carolla, Global Director of Talent Acquisition at Gensler, for a conversation about the impact of relationships on talent acquisition functions.
Human connections are the backbone of successful recruiting, which is why Annie approaches her role as a TA leader according to the following principles:
- Intentional talent branding efforts are foundational to telling your organizational story to potential candidates.
- Internal connections with colleagues and departments outside of HR are as important as external connections with candidates and talent pools.
- Recruiting and retention are two sides of the same coin, and TA leaders should still focus on a candidate’s experience after they’re hired.
- Open communication between a team and its leaders is foundational to successful recruiting.
- The recruiting experience should be tailored to each individual candidate.
Having a people-centered view of TA functions creates an approach to recruiting that improves both conversion and retention.
Annie Carolla - https://www.linkedin.com/in/annie-carolla-62063329/
Gensler - https://www.gensler.com/
Gensler | Twitter - https://twitter.com/gensler_design
Ryan Dull - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dull-743a8b4/
Sagemark HR | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sagemark-hr/about/
This episode is brought to you by Sagemark HR.
Sagemark HR can help you:
✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.
After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.
✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices but also deliver tangible business results.
We understand every organization is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.
✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.
We believe recruiting, talent, and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me at:
www.sagemarkhr.com
✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com
#Talent #Recruiters #Recruiting #HRtech