The Changing State of Talent Acquisition
The Changing State of Talent Acquisition cuts through the noise in the crowded world of recruitment marketing, employer branding, workforce intelligence, and AI.
Hosted by Graham Thornton, President of Consulting & Growth at Talivity, this podcast brings you unfiltered conversations with industry founders, practitioners, and the occasional contrarian who's actually doing the work – not just selling you on it.
We're not here to hype the next big thing. We're here to help you separate signal from noise, understand what's actually working (and what's just well-marketed), and make smarter, data-backed decisions about your talent strategy.
You'll hear from TA leaders navigating real hiring challenges, founders building solutions worth paying attention to, and experts who see around corners before the rest of us catch up.
Whether you're navigating the AI arms race, trying to figure out your tech stack, or just trying to hire better people faster – this is the podcast for people who care more about ROI than buzzwords.
Episodes
71 episodes
#71: Process First, Tools Second: Real AI Results from Healthcare Recruiting
Yvette Hansen has spent nearly two decades leading talent acquisition at major health systems: UnitedHealth Group, Optum, Amedisys, and most recently as Director of TA & Belonging at Baylor Scott & White Health. In that time, she's lear...
#70: Signal vs. Noise: Navigating the Crowded TA Tech Landscape
Fresh off conference season, Mark Tomasino and I break down what we actually saw on the show floor. The net out: If your differentiator is "AI-powered," you've already lost.We dig into the feedback loop nobody's talking about: job seeker...
#69: Recruitment Is Marketing: The Evolution of Talent Acquisition
In this episode of The Changing State of Talent Acquisition, hosts Graham Thornton and Martin Predd welcome Maria Christopoulos Katris, Founder and CEO of Built In. Maria shares her 15-year journey growing Built In from a Chicago...
#68: The AI Skills Gap: How Educational Institutions and Employers Can Prepare Workers for the Future
In this thought-provoking episode, we welcome Alex Swartsel, leader of JFF Labs Insights Practice at Jobs for the Future, to explore the growing AI skills gap and its implications for the future of work. Alex shares eye-opening research showing...
#67: Building Human-Centric AI in HR Tech: From Fear to Adoption
In this episode, Kyle Lagunas of Aptitude Research discusses the crucial distinction between "human-in-the-loop" and truly "human-centric" AI approaches in HR. Drawing from his extensive 15-year career studying innovation cycles in HR tech, Kyl...
#66: Hiring Humans in the Age of AI
In this episode of The Changing State of Talent Acquisition, we sit down with Craig Fisher—CEO of TalentNet Media, author of Hiring Humans, and one of the most respected voices in the HR tech space. From his early days in staf...
#65: The Future of Work: How AI, Gig Economy, and Fractional Employment Are Redefining Careers
In this episode of The Changing State of Talent Acquisition, we sit down with Rishad Tobaccowala—author, speaker, and strategist with 37 years of leadership experience at Leo Burnett and Publicis Groupe—to explore the shifting dynamics...
#64: Rethinking Upskilling: On Building Resilient Careers in an AI-Driven World
In this episode of the Changing State of Talent Acquisition, hosts Graham Thornton and Martin Predd are joined by Matthew J. Daniel, Senior Principal of Talent Strategy at Guild, for a deep dive into the evolving nature of skills and career dev...
#63: Workforce Risk – On Navigating Demographics, AI & the Changing American Dream
This week Graham and Marty sit down with Cole Napper, VP of Research and Innovation at Lightcast and host of the Directionally Correct Podcast, to dive into groundbreaking research on workforce risk. Cole draws on his extensive people analytics...
#62: The Promise of AI – Aligning Efficiency with the Candidate (and Recruiter) Experiences
This week we welcome David Ellis to the podcast. David started his career as a recruiter in New Zealand, before relocating to Europe to work as a talent consultant. After earning his PhD, he moved to Boston to join Korn Ferry, where he currentl...
#61: State of the Industry – On The Trends That Will Shape Talent Acquisition in 2025
#60: On the Frontline – How AI is Shaping the Future of High Volume Recruiting
#60: On the Frontline – How AI is Shaping the Future of High Volume Recruiting This week we welcome Sean Behr to the podcast. Sean is a successful entrepreneur spanning multiple industries, including e-commerce, advertising and auto...
Change State Methods & Practices #1: Where to Start When Building an Employee Value Proposition
Change State is thrilled to introduce a new recurring “mini” feature on the Changing State of Talent Acquisition podcast. In “Change State Method and Practices”, we’ll periodically share practical tips, frameworks, tools, and strategies we rely...
#58: The Coming Storm – Interest Rates & Workforce Readiness in a Persistently Tight Labor Market
This week we welcome William Sims to the podcast. Before joining Lightcast as SVP of Professional Services, Williams held a number of leadership positions in talent acquisition and sales at Qualtrics, Jani-King Gulf Coast, and Career Builder, w...
#57: Employer Branding With Purpose – On Fostering Communal Relationships Across the Talent Lifecycle
This week we welcome Susan LeMotte to the podcast. Before starting exaqueo, Susan held a number of leadership positions in talent acquisition and employer branding, including as an HR consultant for Home Depot, Director of Talent Acquisition at...
#56: Employer Branding From the Top Down – How To Move Beyond Tactics and Leverage Your Employer Brand as a Strategic Asset
This week we welcome Heather Tenuto to the podcast. Before taking on her current role as CEO of The Muse Group (owners of The Muse and Fairygodboss), Heather spent her early career as a public school teacher before pivoting to a range of sales ...
#55: State of the Industry – How Modern Workforce Intelligence is Shaping the Future of Work
This week we welcome Ben Zweig to the podcast. With a Ph.D. in Economics, Ben currently teaches a course on “the Future of Work” at NYU’s Stern School of Business, and serves as CEO of Revelio Labs, a workforce intelligence consultancy he found...
#54: Recruiter Enablement—Optimizing TA Operations Using Values-Driven Recruiting
This week we welcome Rachel Gulley to the podcast. Rachel started as a recruiter at staffing agencies before taking on a variety of recruiting operations management roles at WilsonHCG, Asurion, and FanDuel, where she currently serves as Directo...
#53: Talent Acquisition for Start-ups: The Wisdom of NOT Hiring
This week we welcome Carina Clingman to the podcast. With a PhD in biochemistry, Carina’s early experiences looking for jobs in the biotech space led her to start Recruitomics, a TA consulting group that helps small and startup biotechnology an...
#52: David and Goliath – How Non-Technical Companies Can Compete with Tech Titans for Talent
This week we welcome Heather Dunn to the podcast. Passionate about HR from an early age (16!), Heather brings more than 15 years of experience has an HR leader in technology companies, having held senior roles at Microsoft and Dropbox before jo...
#51: The Promises We Make — Maintaining an Employer Brand Through Times of Change
This week we welcome Gretchen Huestis to the podcast. Passionate about human potential and purpose-led change, Gretchen has more than 20 years of experience as a management consultant and holder of senior HR leadership roles. She honed her skil...
#50: Understanding the Labor Market—Inflation, Pay Equity, and Employees as “Free Agents”
This week we welcome Jay Denton to the podcast. An expert in labor market analytics, Jay spent time at Bell Partners and Axiometrics before joining LaborIQ as Chief Analytics Officer. Topics include: the current status of the labor ...
#49: Conversations at Scale — Employer Branding in a Quick Apply World
This week we welcome Adam Godson to the podcast. An HR technology veteran, Adam spent more than eight years at Cielo Talent before assuming his current role as President & Chief Product Officer at Paradox, a conversational AI platform for t...
#48: Workforce Development – How Trust and Authenticity Foster Stronger Teams
This week we welcome Becky Chung to the podcast. Passionate about HR, organizational design, and workforce development, Becky honed her skills in a range of industries, including health care, financial services, and software, before assuming he...
#47: 2023 Talent Trends – Skills-Based Hiring, Employer Branding, and the Rise of AI in Making Layoff Decisions
Co-hosts Graham and Marty return for The Changing State of Talent Acquisition Season 3 debut. They share how the agency business has evolved in the past year and discuss key trends that will shape the talent acquisition landscape in 2023 and be...