Recruiting Future with Matt Alder - What's Next For Talent Acquisition, HR & Hiring?

Every platform, every feed, every channel is packed with posts and videos that increasingly look and sound like they were produced by the same machine. For employers trying to attract talent, corporate messaging already struggled to feel trustworthy, and AI-generated content has made the problem significantly worse. Candidates and consumers want to hear from real people, not polished brand accounts.

That's fuelled growing interest in employee-generated content, where real employees share their own authentic experiences of working at a company. The potential is enormous, but so is the risk of doing it badly and simply creating more forgettable noise. 

So how do employers tap into employee voices in a way that genuinely builds trust?

My guest this week is Rhona Barnett-Pierce, Founder of Workfluencer Media. In our conversation, she shares what separates effective employee content from scripted corporate messaging and how companies can get started.

In the interview, we discuss:

Why employee-generated content builds trust

How AI content is eroding authenticity

Shifts in communication preferences

Showing the work, not just the workplace

The employers who are doing employee content well.

Finding the existing content creators in your workforce.

The future of content marketing

Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Over the past year, AI features in recruiting tools have seen significant adoption.  But if you ask TA Teams whether AI has changed how they actually hire, most of them will say no. Individual productivity is up, but organizational transformation hasn't followed.

At the same time, AI tools on the candidate side are flooding employers with credible applications from candidates who may not be seriously interested. So what needs to shift for AI to genuinely transform recruiting for employers and candidates alike?

My guest this week is Nikos Moraitakis, Co-Founder and CEO of Workable. In our conversation, he shares why productivity gains haven't driven real change, how AI agents could take over sourcing and screening, why the recruiter role faces a dramatic shift, and what all this means for candidate experience.

In the interview, we discuss:

Why AI adoption hasn't yet driven significant transformation

AI-driven applications with low candidate intent

How AI capabilities have advanced in the last few months

Using agentic AI like a staffing agency

AI automates tasks, not jobs.

Why recruiters need to focus on the bottom of the funnel, not the top

Trust, transparency, and human oversight

What hiring looks like in the future

Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Follow this podcast on Spotify.

I've recently returned from a long trip to Las Vegas, where I attended both the UNLEASH and Transform conferences. Unsurprisingly, AI dominated every session and every vendor booth at both events. The promise is huge, but the reality on the ground is a lot more complicated. Some teams are seeing genuine value from new tools. Others are finding that technology is creating as many problems as it solves. For many people, the sheer volume of options is making it harder, not easier, to know what to invest in. 

So what is actually happening with AI in talent acquisition right now?

My guest interview from UNLEASH is Meredith Johnson, Chief Product Officer at Greenhouse and my guest interview from Transform is Nicki Paterson, Chief Growth Officer at Solutions Driven. They share their honest perspectives on AI adoption, the human skills that matter more than ever, and what the future might look like.

In the interview, we discuss:

AI hype versus the current reality on the ground

The balance between humans and machines

Trust, control, and transparency

The shift from quantity and speed to quality and value in hiring

Aligning HR and TA with critical business objectives

The confusing vendor landscape

What does the future look like?

Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Application volumes have surged in recent years, and many talent acquisition teams are struggling to keep up. Candidates apply and disappear into a black hole, never hearing back, never getting a real chance to show what they can do. When volumes reach into the millions, the traditional recruiting model simply breaks. There aren't enough recruiters to give everyone a fair hearing.

Some organisations are now rethinking this entirely, using AI not to replace human decision-making, but to open the door wider than any human team ever could. So what does it actually look like when a company goes AI-first across every stage of hiring?

My guest this week is LJ Brock, Chief People Officer at Coinbase. In our conversation, he explains how they've deployed AI across five core areas of recruiting, why they now assess every candidate on AI fluency, their focus on talent density to constantly raise the quality bar, and what hiring will look like in the future.

In the interview, we discuss:

The shift from volume to quality and value

What does talent density mean at Coinbase?

AI first recruiting to democratize access to the company

Evaluating candidates on AI fluency

Human connection in the hiring process

Augmenting recruiters, not replacing them.

Will all recruiting look like executive search in the future?

Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Follow this podcast on Spotify.

A full transcript will appear here shortly.

The role of talent acquisition is changing fast. AI and automation are transforming what's possible, while CFOs and CEOs are demanding a different kind of conversation. They want to understand the value talent acquisition creates for the business and how it delivers returns that directly tie to strategic goals. The old transactional language of efficiency no longer cuts it. TA leaders who can connect what they do to business impact are the ones building a successful case for investment. The problem is, with vendor capabilities increasingly overlapping, knowing where to put that investment has never been harder.

So what does it take to reposition talent acquisition as a truly strategic function?

My guest this week is Jason Cerrato, SVP of Global Talent at Amentum. In our conversation, he shares how the TA conversation has evolved, why business acumen matters more than ever, and how to cut through the technology noise to make the right investment decisions.

In the interview, we discuss:

How the TA conversation has changed

Telling a story of impact, not efficiency

Speaking the language of the CFO

The new criteria for tech investment

Moving from a cost centre to a strategic function

Changing the way organizations think about talent.

Balancing AI with human connection

Navigating similarity and sameness in tech products

Choosing the right fit, not just the best tool

The future of talent acquisition

Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Follow this podcast on Spotify.