Recruiting is No Joke

Recruiting is No Joke

Welcome to "Recruiting is No Joke" with your host, Joel Lalgee – the realest recruiter. Get ready for raw, no-BS conversations that delve into the latest trends in the recruiting space. Joel holds nothing back, providing a fresh and entertaining take on the world of recruitment. With no filter, Joel gives you an inside look at the industry like never before. If you're craving to be part of the conversation with leaders in the field, this podcast is your ticket. Discover the ins and outs of talent acquisition trends, hear the captivating stories of top talent thought leaders, and gain valuable perspectives on current industry happenings. You will also learn what talent and HR leaders actually care about, bridging the gap between job seekers and talent leaders. With a decade of recruiting experience, Joel's content has made waves, generating over 200 million views. Joel brings you insights that matter, resonating with both recruiters and job seekers alike. Tune in and join the conversation!

Episodes

October 1, 2025 45 mins
Is it cheating to use ChatGPT for your job application? That’s the question many recruiters are quietly asking themselves as AI-generated résumés flood their inboxes. At first glance, a copy-paste résumé straight out of ChatGPT might feel like a shortcut or even a fake. But what if it’s not as bad as it seems? In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Steve O’Brien, a seasoned talent acquisition lea...
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What happens when you’re the only recruiter at a fast-growing startup? In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, host Joel  sits down with Alexa Lane, Head of Recruiting at Placements.io, to find out. Alexa’s path to recruiting wasn’t a straight line. She started in marketing and sales (yes, even cold-calling at Yelp) before stepping into a role where she’s now a “team of one” responsible for all hiring. When she joined Placements...
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Tech recruiting may grab the headlines, but some of the most exciting opportunities for recruiters are found on the factory floor. Michele Sutton, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Chobani, has built her career connecting talent with purpose driven brands like Unilever, Ferrero, and now Chobani. Her journey proves that manufacturing roles can offer stability, growth, and meaningful community impact. In this episode of Recru...
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What if the perfect candidate applied for your job, but you never even saw their resume? What if the key to fixing this broken system wasn't a human, but an artificial intelligence designed to actually be more fair? In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee tackles these very questions with Adam Stokar, co-founder of Talent Llama. They expose the modern recruiting crisis: a perfect storm where thousands of spam an...
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Did you know some companies are hiring architects not for buildings, but for people? That’s exactly what Robert Buckley does as Chief People Architect at Envada. His job isn’t about HR buzzwords, it’s about designing workplaces where culture drives growth and people come first. In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Robert to unpack why the future of work depends on leaders who do more than manag...
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Hiring has been called “broken” for decades, but is it actually? And if so, what does “fixed” even look like? In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, Joel sits down with Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory, author, and HR tech analyst, to explore what’s working, what’s failing, and how talent leaders can prepare for a future shaped by AI, automation, and shifting workforce expectations. Ben sha...
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How is AI shaping recruitment today? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, Joel Lalgee explores the intersection of technology and talent acquisition with Tom Lott, head of Talent Acquisition at Barry, Appleman & Leiden (BAL), a global immigration law firm. With 25+ years in the industry, Tom has witnessed recruitment evolve from fax machines to AI-driven processes. He discusses how AI at BAL reduces time-to-fill, addresses cha...
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Do you know if the jobs your company is hiring for today will even exist in three years? Or if your recruiters are spending too much time filling seats instead of creating strategic talent pipelines? In this eye-opening conversation, Jess VonBank, part of the HR Digital Transformation practice at Mercer, shares unfiltered truths about the inefficiencies plaguing recruiting and the bold steps needed to fix them. You’ll hear how Jes...
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What does it really take to recruit and keep great talent in the fast-moving world of retail? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Giorgio Benassi, Global TA Director at Sephora, to dig into the unique challenges of high-volume hiring. We’re talking more than 30,000 hires a year at Sephora, plus Giorgio’s past experience at H&M, so he knows a thing or two about balancing speed with a top-notch c...
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Have you ever read a resume that’s just too perfect? The kind that nails every keyword, hits all the right phrases, and somehow mirrors your job description like it was custom-built for it? Odds are, it probably was by AI. In fact, some candidates are even letting AI sit in on interviews and answer questions for them. Is this the future of hiring or a shortcut that undermines authenticity? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke,...
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Is LinkedIn still worth the price? Are fake resumes making remote hiring a nightmare? And could AI actually take over your recruiting job? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, Joel sits down with Tony Le, Global Head of Talent at Mission Cloud, to talk tech recruiting in 2025. Mission Cloud is a leading cloud services and AI solutions provider. From early days in retail to leading global talent teams, Tony pulls no punches o...
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What does Drag Queen Bingo have to do with employee engagement? In this episode, Joel catches up with Tannum Sullivan, Senior Manager of People, Experience & Culture at RentSpree — a prop-tech startup that’s redefining how people rent (and how employees stay engaged). They dive deep into the real reasons engagement is hitting all-time lows and why the old HR playbook isn’t enough anymore. Tannum shares what it’s really like buildin...
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Want to know how a global restaurant chain hires 1,500+ employees while battling an industry notorious for turnover?  In this episode, Joel chats with Chrystal Gualtieri, the Global Talent Acquisition Leader at CKE Restaurants—the powerhouse behind Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. They dive into the ins and outs of recruiting in the fast-paced hospitality world and explore how recruiters can keep things human in an age dominated by technol...
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In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee welcomes Stephanie Murray, Senior Director of Talent at Brightside Health, for her first-ever podcast appearance. With nearly two decades in healthcare recruiting, Stephanie gets real about the state of the industry, the mental health hiring crisis, and what it takes to build a high-functioning, data-driven talent function. They dig into Brightside’s massive scale—from 20 c...
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Is construction the next big thing in recruiting? In the 100th episode of Recruiting is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Kala Kapahalou, Director of Talent Acquisition at W.E. O’Neil, to talk about a rarely spotlighted industry with massive opportunity: construction. From ditching culinary school dreams to leading TA at a top national contractor, Kala shares his deeply personal and professional journey—from being told he wa...
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Did you know that emotional intelligence (EQ) can be a better predictor of job success than traditional hard skills? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, host Joel Lalgee sits down with Napoleon "Napo" Rumteen, founder and CEO of Interactive EQ, to talk about how emotional intelligence and soft skills are reshaping how we assess talent. If you've ever wondered why some candidates ace interviews but flop on the job—or how to ma...
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AI is rewriting resumes. Candidates are deepfaking interviews. Job postings go live—and within hours? Thousands of applications flood in. So how does anyone actually hire the right person anymore? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, Joel Lalgee  sits down with someone who’s not just talking about the chaos—she’s living it. Meet Erin Turnmeyer, VP of People Operations at Civis Analytics, juggling HR, recruiting, and payroll al...
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When you’re applying to jobs in 2025, the world feels a little upside down. AI is everywhere. Remote work is under debate. And recruiters? They’re being asked to do more with less—again. So, how do we make sense of it all? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, Joel Lalgee sits down with Logan Marsh, Head of Talent Acquisition at Calendly, to unpack the realities of hiring in a rapidly evolving landscape. With nearly two decades...
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Let’s be honest: recruiting is rarely simple—and in high-turnover, high-volume environments, it’s downright relentless. But what if we stopped overcomplicating it and focused on what really matters: clear expectations, streamlined systems, and actually respecting people’s time? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, Joel Lalgee sits down with Matt Lowney, Managing Director of Talent Acquisition at CoreCivic, a corrections and re...
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How many times have you opened that dreaded email—“We’ve decided to move forward with someone else”? Was it even written by a real person? An AI bot, maybe? Rejection stings, but silence stings more. So here’s the real question: do candidates deserve better? And are hiring teams truly prepared to give it? In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, Joel Lalgee is joined by Trisha Degg, Head of Talent Acquisition at Rush Street Intera...
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