The Recruiting Brainfood Podcast

Automate or Augment? Quarterly Spot Check on the State of AI in TA   With ChatGPT5 round the corner, as well as the release of ChatGPT Agent by Open AI, we are soon to see mass distribution of the next generation of AI. The innovation rate is cycling too fast for any one of us to accurately keep pace so I am going to do a regular quarterly check in on AI adoption in TA / HR and Recruitment use cases which are actually happening, and what can be achieved with AI in reality.     We will learn:   - Current state of General AI Agents - what can it do, can it not do - Current state of Verticalised AI Agents or Agent-ike AI? - Key areas of Hiring funnel which can be automated or augmented - Who decides what is automated or augmented - are humans consciously making these decisions? - What level of AI-literacy do you need to 'make AI work'? - AI Operations Lead ...are we going to be seeing this role in TA? - Where will be in 3 months time (where we will reprise show review!)   All this and more with Alla Pavlova, Tech & Art Recruiter (Riot Games), Marcel van der Meer, AI Automation Expert (Klikwork Talent), Leandro Gomes da Silva, Head of AI Operations (Nobel Recruitment)& Tony de Graaf, Founder (Gusto Consulting)   We are on Friday 15th Aug, 2pm BST - follow the channel here (recommended) and save your spot for this demo by clicking on the green button.     Ep324 is sponsored by our friends at Hire   Hire.inc is an AI-powered recruitment platform that streamlines hiring with advanced AI sourcing agents, automated AI interview notes, bulk resume screening, and a collaborative ATS. Designed for startups & staffing agencies, Hire.inc helps recruitment teams find, evaluate, and engage top talent faster while integrating into existing workflows.   Question for all recruiters: how much is your time worth??   Answer: a lot more than you think   Demo and try for free here

RecOps & AI: TECHNIQUES TO ACCELERATE AI ADOPTION   Recruitment Operations developed as a distinct function with Talent Acquisition with a purpose of ensuring the entire recruiting function operated as efficiently and as resiliently as possible. This was BEFORE the advent of Artificial Intelligence, so what is the situation in 2025 when AI powered efficiency are the No1, 2 and 3 priorities for almost every business?   We're going to be speaking with Ops leaders to find out how RecOps teams have helped TA functions accelerate their adoption of AI.   - What is RecOps in 2025? - What is the relationship between RecOps and the other functions in Talent Acquisition? - Order business: what are the items of work RecOps professionals do? - What makes a RecOps function a high performing one? - Can we measure RecOps efficacy from the performance of those they are supporting? - How does having an independent RecOps function accelerate technology? - What are the unique differences between AI adoption and adoption of other categories of technology? - How do you ensure tech implementation is a success? - How do you increase utilisation of tech products? - Do you get involved in decision making as to what gets automated? - What are the skills required to be an effective RecOps professional? - How do you see the function evolve in a future of workforce where humans are augmented by AI colleagues?   All this and more with Mark Harman, Global Head of Recruitment Operations (Wise), Victoria Murphy,Global Head TA Operations (JLL) & Stephen Collopy, Head of Talent Operations & Enablement (Delivery Hero)   We are on Friday 8th August, 2pm BST / 9ET - follow the channel here (recommended) and save your spot for this demo by clicking on the green button.     Ep322 is sponsored by our friends Teamtailor   Great teams start with great hiring — and that’s exactly what Teamtailor is built for.   Loved by companies like Happy Socks, OneFlow, Oatly, and Five Guys, Teamtailor is the all-in-one recruitment platform trusted by over 10,000 businesses and 150,000 recruiters worldwide.   It combines a powerful ATS with fully customizable, AI-powered tools to elevate your employer brand and deliver a standout candidate experience.   From career sites to collaboration workflows, Teamtailor helps talent teams move faster, work smarter, and create hiring journeys that people actually enjoy — candidates and hiring managers alike.   See how top teams are hiring better with Teamtailor:   Experience the magic today!

HUMANS REQUIRED: CRITICAL MOMENTS IN THE HIRING PROCESS   How many times have we heard the comforting phrase 'but recruitment will always need the human touch'?   Intuitively, I believe this is true at least for non-volume, permanent hiring but but do we really understand why, when, who and how? We probably need to find out because if we rely on comforting homilies, we might find the CFO won't quite get it ;-)   - Why do we think the 'human touch' matters? - When we think about the human touch, what scenarios come immediately to mind? - AI / Automation has proven to improve CX in many cases, so is the case being made that more AI / Automation should mean further improvements in CX? - Does the source of the candidate matter when thinking about the 'human touch' - When do we think are the most important moments in the hiring funnel for the human beings to be involved? - Can sometimes 'more human' make things worse? - What does it look like when we have the perfect blend of AI driven efficiency and human delivered empathy? - Do we need to quantify the human touch? If so how does that connect with OKR / KPI's? - What do we - as humans - need from a recruitment experience?   All this and more with Jean-Marie Caillaud, Founder (WorkMeTender), Carrie Brophy, Senior Director Talent Acquisition (Marriott International) & Mark Kunaseelan, Head of Resourcing (University of Arts, London)   We are on Friday 1st August, 2pm BST / 9ET - follow the channel here (recommended) and save your spot for this demo by clicking on the green button.     Ep321 is sponsored by our friends Willo   Recruiting for high-volume positions in a global, diverse workforce is increasingly challenging, especially when relying on traditional methods and the limitations of written CVs. Managing thousands of applications manually is not only exhausting and inefficient, it can also prevent you from finding the top talent your organization needs to thrive.   Enter Willo. The award-winning team is transforming the hiring process with a dynamic candidate screening solution that users love, backed by an NPS score to prove it!   Their web-based, human-centric platform enables candidates to record responses to a predefined set of questions at their convenience. With over 5,000 secure integrations, Willo makes it easy to supercharge your recruitment process, reduce bias, and support diversity, equity, and inclusion goals—all while helping you tap into a larger, more exciting pool of global candidates.   Book a demo at willo.video this month to get 10% off—just use the coupon code "brainfood”. That's W-i-l-l-o dot video.

CANDIDATE FRAUD: HARDENING THE HIRING FUNNEL WITH INFOSEC TECHNIQUES   Candidate fraud is already a problem for some today but it will soon be a huge problem for everyone tomorrow. The uncomfortable truth is that AI will undermine trust in all digital communications and we need to rethink our recruitment approaches with security much higher in the priority list. It might even be said that security may become one of the main values human recruiters will perform as AI transforms the way we work today.   We will learn   - Line between legitimate AI use vs Fraud? - Is this fixed today or can we expect this to change tomorrow? - What is the international consensus on this line? - Taxonomise candidate fraud - what are the techniques, how they are using these techniques - Motivations for candidate fraud: material gain, desperation for job opportunity, IP theft? - Input from InfoSec: what practices will become standard? - Isn't trusting 3rd party verifiers just delegating the security responsibility? - What about bias - racial profiling, IP location bias etc? - Relationship between Candidate Fraud vs Remote working - Gender: fraudsters mainly male...?     All this and more with Daniel Chait, CEO (Greenhouse) & friends   We are on Wednesday 30th July, 12 Noon ET - follow the channel here (recommended) and save your spot for this demo by clicking on the green button.     Ep323 is sponsored by our friends Greenhouse   Hiring is hard, and getting it right is even harder. It’s a core business-building function with high stakes that takes a lot of moving parts to see real success. You need workflows that accommodate how you function given your company size and goals. You need a user experience that hiring managers actually buy into. And you need an application process that locks talent in.   Only Greenhouse gives you all that in one platform.   Learn more

STRATEGIC WORKFORCE PLANNING IN AN AGENTIC WORLD   Recruiters have long said that stronger SWP would solve all recruitment problems - if the business only told us with a bit more notice what they were looking for! But now with AI Agents becoming a population in the workforce, can we really know what the right size for a team is anymore?   We're taking a deep dive into the world of talent intelligence and trying to figure out how exactly we can plan for a future workforce of AI-abled human workers, perhaps alongside Human-empathetic AI workers...   - How has AI changed the demand Strategic Workforce Planning? - What have employers been looking for, what can we learn from their demands on TalentNeuron? - What types of company are doing what things - how does demand intersect with sector & region? - Real talk: are companies getting smaller or planning to get smaller? - What type of work previous exclusively done by humans, is likely to be done partly or wholly by AI? - How does SWP work when considering AI...how it takes to ramp up / train? - How do companies think about managing KPI's of Agentic workers? - What is the future of Talent Acquisition / HR in this context? - TA / HR Transformation: define the work that future TA / HR should be doing?     All this and more with Dave Wilkins, Chief Product & Strategy Officer, TalentNeuron     We are on Friday 25th July, 2pm BST / 9ET - follow the channel here (recommended) and save your spot for this demo by clicking on the green button.     Ep320 is sponsored by our friends Ashby   There’s no shortage of AI in recruiting. The hard part is finding what’s actually useful. Ashby’s one of the few building practical tools that make recruiters’ lives better.   Their latest Ashby One release shows what thoughtful AI looks like:   AI Notetaker that automatically captures transcripts, summaries, and feedback prompts AI‑Assisted Report Builder uses plain English to ask questions of your data AI Candidate Assistant to help you understand candidate histories and next steps at a glance Plus AI‑Generated Feedback Tokens that let you send polished rejection or update emails in seconds No AI for AI’s sake. Just practical tools that reduce busywork and help teams move faster.   See what’s new   Not on Ashby yet? Get a demo today.

Forget Filters: 1,000 AI Recruiters On-Demand - ENDORSED LIVE DEMO   It should go without saying that finding suitable candidates is the primary purpose of recruiting. The promise of Artificial Intelligence is enabling more companies to do that more effectively than ever before. What does next generation sourcing tech actually look like?   We're continuing our Live Demo series by challenging the founders of the business to come on screen to show what their tech can do. Next up, David Head, CEO of Endorsed!   - When did you know Endorsed was going to be a thing? - Why this problem to tackle? - What advantage do recruiters who use Endorsed have over the competition? - FAQ's from buyers who say yes vs FAQ's from prospects who say no - Can we carry out some live searches? - How does application review work? - How do you handle questions on bias on candidate ranking? - Fraud detector - what caused you to build this feature? - Can you explain how this works? - How do you see this feature integrating with other software tools?   Any questions for David? Let me know in the comments below.     We are on Tuesday 22nd July, 10am PT / 1pm ET - follow the channel (recommended) and save your spot for this demo by clicking on the green button.     Ep316 is sponsored by our friends Endorsed     Endorsed.com is the AI recruiting agent platform for rapidly building talent-dense teams.   Rapidly growing companies like Quince, Eight Sleep, and Prokeep rely on Endorsed to surface hidden stars, combat candidate fraud, and streamline sourcing and applicant review workflows. Endorsed increases quality-of-hire, reduces time-to-fill by up to 75%, and boosts recruiter role capacity by up to 2x.   Get 10% off your subscription with the code BRAINFOOD   See Endorsed instantly triple your number of gold medal candidates on your real role by booking a demo.

COMPANY CULTURE: AI FIRST VS HUMAN CENTRED?   We know the right answer is 'both' but really - when push comes to shove - what is the driving principle in how you build your business? Two emerging philosophies are driving the decision making in companies - lets use Brainfood Live to figure out which one is going to be the right one when it comes your business   - What is AI First? - What is Human Centred? - What are the main points of both / either? - In what points do they overlap, and which points are they fundamentally in tension? - What can we learn from the companies that use these philosophies? - What difference does it make to TA decision making when operating under one of these principles? - AI First companies have been innovative but have also rolled back from experiments - what does this tell us? - How do we assess for technology when operating under either of these principles? - Can Human Centred by characterised by 'human-in-the-loop' / humans-always-in-the-loop decision making? - Which principle ultimately is best suited for which sector?   All this and more with Jessie Schofer,Founder (Stakkd), Anna Ott, VP of People (HV Capital), Carrie Brophy, Senior Director Talent Acquisition (Marriot International) & Sammi Abdoh, People Technology Manager (ARM)     We are on Friday 18th July, 2pm BST - follow the channel here (recommended) and save your spot for this demo by clicking on the green button.     Ep319 is sponsored by our friends Teamtailor   Great teams start with great hiring — and that’s exactly what Teamtailor is built for.   Loved by companies like Happy Socks, OneFlow, Oatly, and Five Guys, Teamtailor is the all-in-one recruitment platform trusted by over 10,000 businesses and 150,000 recruiters worldwide.   It combines a powerful ATS with fully customizable, AI-powered tools to elevate your employer brand and deliver a standout candidate experience.   From career sites to collaboration workflows, Teamtailor helps talent teams move faster, work smarter, and create hiring journeys that people actually enjoy — candidates and hiring managers alike.   See how top teams are hiring better with Teamtailor: Experience the magic today!

STATE OF TALENT ACQUISITION: THE RECFEST REVIEW 2025   Recfest is the largest in person event for Talent Acquisition professionals and the perfect barometer for the state of the market. Let's see what we learn from the 100+ talks and conversations with 1000's of delegates who will have attended the industry's premier event.   We will review   - RecFest main themes - UK Economy vs Global Macro - AI-enablement and the AI First Movement - Where are we with DEI? - Employer branding when the Internet is dominated by AI slop - All we need to know about bias - Organisational agility - can we train for this? - Update on AI legislation in TA / HR - Expanding scope beyond Permanent Hiring - Expanding scope beyond Recruiting - New Metrics for the AI Era - Core skills for Future Fit Recruiters - AI leaving TA Leaders Behind - TA transformation: Moving from cliche to confirmation   All this and more with Jamie Leonard, Founder (RecFest), Clair Bush, Fractional CMO (AM-Bush), Bas van de Haterd, Founder (Digitaal-Werven & friends)   We are on Friday 11th July, 2pm BST - follow the channel here (recommended) and save your spot for this demo by clicking on the green button.     Ep318 is sponsored by our friends Ashby   There’s no shortage of AI in recruiting. The hard part is finding what’s actually useful. Ashby’s one of the few building practical tools that make recruiters’ lives better.   Their latest Ashby One release shows what thoughtful AI looks like:   AI Notetaker that automatically captures transcripts, summaries, and feedback prompts AI‑Assisted Report Builder uses plain English to ask questions of your data AI Candidate Assistant to help you understand candidate histories and next steps at a glance Plus AI‑Generated Feedback Tokens that let you send polished rejection or update emails in seconds No AI for AI’s sake. Just practical tools that reduce busywork and help teams move faster.   See what’s new   Not on Ashby yet? Get a demo today.

HOW TO ASSESS JOB CANDIDATES FOR AI LITERACY?   There is no company in the world that is not interested in becoming more AI-enabled. One of the ways to do this is directly relevant to us - recruit new people who can bring up the level of AI literacy in the workforce. In a direct analogy to the digitisation wave of the early 2000's, we now have the AI wave of the 2020's - becoming AI-enabled by hiring AI-enabled employees.   Question is...how do we assess for this? This is the topic of Brainfood Live   - What is AI-literacy? - How close are we to an industry consensus on levels of capability? - Can we identify AI literacy on CV / background? - If so, what signals? - If not, can we do so via any other online method? - What is the best interview technique to assess candidates AI-fluency? - How do we assess in a non-interview based way? - What assessment tech assists that can help us with this? - Does AI fluency correlate with traits or attributes in any way? - For recruiter roles - what kind of assessments should we undertake to hire AI-fluent candidates?   All this and more with Martyn Redstone, Founder, Eunomia HR, Johannes Sundlo, FullStack HR & friends   We are on Friday 4th July, 2pm BST - follow the channel here (recommended) and save your spot for this demo by clicking on the green button.     Ep315 is sponsored by our friends BrightHire   BrightHire is the leading Interview Intelligence platform, used by teams at Canva, Hubspot, Ramp, Webflow, and 500+ other organizations to:   Scale structured interview planning   Improve interview quality   Speed up feedback   Level up quality of hiring decisions   Optimize with powerful insights   Learn why world class companies choose BrightHire to drive significant efficiency while raising the bar.   👉 Get a demo

RECRUITER SKILLS PROFILE: HOW AI CHANGES THE GAME   We all know that AI is going to change every job, but we don't know precisely how or when, much less the implications on the type of skills we need to be hiring when recruiting for 'AI first' employers.     - What do we know about the impact of AI / Automation in knowledge work? - What skills are going to be insulated and valued from this impact? - Do we 'design out' job roles which have high component of these insulated skills? - How do humans uniquely add value to any process, for any outcome? - Do we actually do this? - If AI takes on admin, logistics, note taking, CV screening etc - what other activities remain? - Will these remain valuable for the business or simply disappear if the scaffolding that holds up the rest of the job disppears? - What do we know are the skill we WON'T need on future TA? - What are the skills which we will need going forward? - How do we assess for those skills - with AI or without AI? - Do we go back to attribute based hiring? - Can incumbent employees improve their attributes in order to be future fit? - How do companies ensure that you have the right skills / capability mix in your recruiting team? - What do leaders themselves need to do to be future fit?   All this and more, with Brainfood Live On Air.   We're with the one and only Tom Sayer, Global Recruiting Strategy (Accenture)   We are on Friday 27th June, 2pm BST   Click on the Save My Spot button to attend for free, and follow the channel here (recommended) to be notified for this and all future Brainfood Lives   Ep314 is sponsored by our friends Teamtailor   Great teams start with great hiring — and that’s exactly what Teamtailor is built for.   Loved by companies like Happy Socks, OneFlow, Oatly, and Five Guys, Teamtailor is the all-in-one recruitment platform trusted by over 10,000 businesses and 150,000 recruiters worldwide.   It combines a powerful ATS with fully customizable, AI-powered tools to elevate your employer brand and deliver a standout candidate experience.   From career sites to collaboration workflows, Teamtailor helps talent teams move faster, work smarter, and create hiring journeys that people actually enjoy — candidates and hiring managers alike.   See how top teams are hiring better with Teamtailor: Experience the magic today!