Hiring On All Cylinders

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May 2026

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About the show

Tune in with Talentful's founder and CEO Chris Abbass each month as he speaks with innovative talent acquisition and tech leaders. Get ready for some powerful conversations from Chris and his guests as they share insights on the recruitment industry, leadership, and successfully scaling businesses.

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60 recent

May 28, 2026Episode 453 min

Employer Brand in the Age of LLMs with Duarte Mendonca (Director, Talent Acquisition at PayPal)

Candidates aren't clicking on your carefully curated career site anymore. Instead, they’re asking ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude what it’s really like to work at your company—and the answers might surprise you.In this episode of Hiring On All Cylinders, host Matt Staney sits down with Duarte Mendonça, Director of Global Talent Systems and Operational Enablement at PayPal, to unpack a massive behavioral shift: the transition from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to AI Optimization (AIO).Duarte shares startling data on how LLMs source employer data, why third-party sites like Reddit control 40% of the narrative, and how TA leaders can structurally adjust their infrastructure to fight back.

April 2, 2026Episode 346 min

Why Human Judgment Still Rules the Recruiting Process with Mary Price (VP TA at OneTrust)

Efficiency in recruiting isn’t just about working faster; it’s about working smarter by knowing where to let the machines take over and where to double down on human connection. In this episode, Mary Price, an enterprise talent leader with experience at LinkedIn and Apple, reveals how her teams are leveraging AI to reduce administrative burnout while driving a 32% decrease in attrition through better candidate-to-role matching.

March 12, 2026Episode 237 min

Beyond Hiring: The Evolution of Talent Acquisition with Barbara Gaillard

When a company scales from 5,000 to 17,000 employees overnight, the traditional HR playbook doesn't just need an update—it needs a total transformation. Barbara Gaillard shares how she moved TA from a purely transactional function to a "People as a Product" model that balances rapid execution with deep long-term strategy.

February 19, 2026Episode 142 min

Scaling the White-Glove Experience: High-Touch Hiring for Every Role with Neil Crumpton (TransUnion)

How can corporate talent acquisition teams replicate the high-stakes, "white-glove" service of executive search for every role in an organization? Join host Matt Staney and Neil Crumpton, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at TransUnion, as they discuss transforming recruitment from a reactive function into a strategic partnership powered by human judgment and AI efficiency.In this episode, Neil shares his journey from executive recruiting to corporate leadership, revealing how to build high-touch experiences for candidates and hiring managers alike.

December 18, 2025Episode 1416 min

The Best of Hiring on All Cylinders 2025

The holiday season is here, and we're taking a look back at some of our favorite podcast moments of the year.We hear from some of the TA leaders who have joined us in 2025: James Lafferty, Manjuri Sinha, James Footman, Jocelyn S. Lai, Lars Schmidt, Kobi Ampoma, Jonathan Beaney, Jamie Edwards, Tracy St. Dic, Jerome Leclerq, Tommy Hansen, Samantha Perlman, Karen Arnold and Anastasia Pshegodskaya.Discussion topics include:Human connections in hiringAuthenticity in employer brandingDefining quality of hireWhat makes a 5-star recruiter?We've got so many great guests lined up for the podcast next year. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss out!

December 11, 2025Episode 1327 min

Global Expansion Secrets: Lessons from 5,000 Global Hires with Kathrin Holzfurtner

Hosted by Kathryne Friend, VP Community at HIGHER, this episode of Hiring on All Cylinders features Kathrin Holzfurtner, a 3× Regional and Global Head of Talent who has led hiring at Google, Microsoft, and Ideals.With more than 5,000 hires across 40+ countries and new-market launches on three continents, Kathrin reveals why global hiring breaks when companies treat it like copy-paste recruiting — and what high-growth teams should do instead.Together, Kathryne and Kathrin unpack the pillars of successful international scaling: how to use talent intelligence to shape location strategy, how to choose the right operating model when entering new markets, how to build TA capacity and enablement ahead of demand, and how to avoid the common pitfalls that derail global growth.Required listening for any TA leader driving global expansion in 2026 and beyond.

November 24, 2025Episode 1249 min

How Fruitist Used AI Storytelling to Win Over Tech Talent

Join host Matt Staney, (VP Community, HIGHER) on Hiring on All Cylinders as he sits down with Lars Schmidt, the innovative Head of Talent at Fruitist, to unpack one of the most creative employer brand campaigns of the year. Lars shares the origin story behind The Quest for Fruitist—a wildly inventive, AI-generated video series starring Barry, a blueberry-obsessed Bigfoot—built on a production budget of under $500.In this episode, Matt and Lars dive into how generative AI is transforming employer branding, why humor and storytelling win candidates’ attention, and how TA leaders can leverage creativity and personal brand to elevate their impact across the business. A must-listen for talent leaders looking to break the mold and build awareness in bold new ways.

October 30, 2025Episode 1144 min

How Revolut Made 10k Hires in Just Two Years — Jonathan Beaney (Revolut)

How do you scale from 3,000 to 13,000 employees — and raise the bar on quality while doing it?In this episode of Hiring on All Cylinders, host Kathryne Friend (VP of Community, EMEA) speaks with Jonathan Beaney, Global Head of Talent Acquisition at Revolut, about how the company built a high-performance hiring engine designed for hyperscale.Jonathan shares how Revolut developed its own ATS, embedded Quality of Hire as a measurable, operational metric, and built a data-driven model that balances speed, precision, and excellence.Tune in for practical insights on redefining TA efficiency, elevating hiring quality, and designing systems that scale without compromise.

October 9, 2025Episode 1034 min

Inside Jennifer Kaufman’s Playbook for Modern, Data-Led Talent Acquisition

Host Matt Staney, VP Community at HIGHER, sits down with Jennifer Anker Kaufman, VP of Talent Acquisition at Illumio, for a rich, honest conversation about how recruiting becomes a trusted business partner. Jennifer shares her unexpected start as a dolphin trainer, how she built credibility across hyper-growth tech companies, and why she believes in “talent partners,” not “order takers.”They discuss Illumio’s shift to Ashby, how data reshapes executive conversations, and the future of AI and capacity planning in TA. Along the way, Jennifer reveals her NICE framework and the leadership lessons that turn small wins into lasting impact.

September 24, 2025Episode 937 min

Redefining Global TA: From Order-Takers to Strategic Partners with James Lafferty of Epicor

In this episode of Hiring on All Cylinders, Matt Staney talks to James Lafferty, VP of Global Talent Acquisition and Mobility at Epicor. James shares how he’s built a global TA function that makes 1,200+ hires a year across 32 countries—while staying consistent, human, and adaptable.They discuss what it really takes to lead modern TA: building systems that scale, earning trust across cultures, and finding the right balance between tech and the human touch.Highlights:Building a global TA model that works across time zones and teamsWhy recruiters need to be partners, not just process ownersHow AI is changing the role—but not replacing itLeading through acquisitions without losing what makes teams great