Explaining 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:

Brandon Jeffs on LinkedIn

The Revol•TA Podcast

TLDR

LHH Recruitment Solutions

How is AI reshaping the recruitment landscape, and what does it take to implement it effectively? Today, we sit down with returning guest Marcus Sawyerr to delve into the potential of AI-powered recruitment. Marcus is the Founder and CEO of EQ app, an AI-driven platform designed to connect people and knowledge to drive business growth. Marcus is a pioneer in leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance sales, marketing, and recruitment processes. Recognized as one of the top influential leaders in the staffing industry, Marcus has also served as an advisor to prominent venture capital firms and startups. In our conversation, we delve into the intricacies of deploying AI into an HR tech stack and how AI-powered recruitment strategies are shaking up the industry landscape. We discuss the reasons behind AI becoming front and center in the recruitment industry, explore the different use cases of AI in recruitment, and unpack the fundamentals of implementing AI in HR workflows. Marcus also explains the essential considerations of implementing AI, the paradigm shifts AI is creating in the industry, and what companies get wrong about it.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Recent trends in AI and why the recruitment industry is beginning to embrace it.

• The different potential use cases of AI within the overall hiring workflow.

• Common misconceptions of AI in recruitment and missed opportunities within the industry.

• How AI is disrupting traditional recruitment workflows and enhancing productivity.

• Why AI is not a "silver bullet" for problems and why a deep understanding of it is vital.

• The hype cycle around AI and its role in connecting people to the technology.

• Ways to distinguish between valuable AI solutions and overhyped tools.

• Insight into the internal and external company aspects of implementing AI.

• Marcus’ approach to identifying workflow gaps and building trust with teams and the C-suite.

• The potential of AI to enhance workflows and help grow small businesses.

• Recommendations for recruitment leaders to begin deploying AI strategies.

• Final takeaways and an update on the EQ AI Community.

Quotes:

“The difference now is that AI allows a new workflow and a new way of doing things, which you may not have considered [before].” — @Marcussawyerr [0:07:55]

“The way that we work and interact with machines — is evolving at a rapid pace that we haven’t seen before.” — @Marcussawyerr [0:15:46]

“It’s really about thinking how you use AI technology to perform better in real life.” — @Marcussawyerr [0:29:00]

“If you are inside of an organization, you’ve got to figure out how can you drive [AI] proactively or do something else on the side to help you do extra and do more.” — @Marcussawyerr [0:32:14]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Marcus Sawyerr on LinkedIn

Marcus Sawyerr on X

EQ app

EQ AI Community

The Adecco Group

'EQ Community Founder Marcus Sawyerr'

LHH Recruitment Solutions

Christine shares how her background has enabled her to treat with the most technical talent in the market, and details her approach of developing young talent as well as luring niche talent away from academia.

Key Points From This Episode:

• A bit about Christine’s career and how she landed at Quantum Motion.

• Christine tells us about the engineering company she was part of.

• Her opinion on being a generalist versus specializing in something.

• A breakdown of Quantum Motion, what they do, and their hardware search.

• Christine tells us about the kinds of people they hire at Quantum Motion.

• The two very different ways of hiring for a startup (academia and industry).

• How they develop the talent that they need on their own as well.

• Christine tells us how she can tell if someone has used ChatGPT.

• Some advice for anyone wanting to apply for a role in quantum.

• What they are looking for when recruiting at Quantum Motion.

Quotes:

“The reality is, if there’s no hardware, there is no quantum computing.” — @xtine08 [0:20:28]

“It’s tricky to hire because we do get a lot of interest.” — @xtine08 [0:31:06]

“Stay tuned! I think in the next two or three years there will be a lot more opportunities in the [quantum] space.” — @xtine08 [0:32:06]

“If you’re applying for a role in quantum, really think about what about quantum that excites you because there’s so much hype around this area as well.” — @xtine08 [0:33:09]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Christine Ng on LinkedIn

Christine Ng on X

Quantum Motion