RecTalk Podcast - Explore Recruitment Insights

Hosted by Nitin Sharma, founder of rectools.io

Business

Website RSS feed YouTube

Episodes

320

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-GB

About the show

Welcome to RecTalk, the UK's biggest recruitment industry podcast on YouTube and a Top 15% Video Podcast on Spotify! Hear from trailblazers in the recruitment industry who want to have their say on all things recruitment - unbiased, unfiltered, unscripted.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 4, 202632 min

RecTalk at RecFest: AI, Authenticity, Parental Leave & The Future of Recruitment

RecTalk is back at RecFest UK — and this time Nitin Sharma is joined by Sean Kennedy for a very candid conversation with two returning guests: Alexandra Hunt , Senior Recruiter at Highspot , and Chris Woods , Global Employer Reputation Technology Lead at Mars . After a hilarious catch-up about last year’s RecFest, chocolate disasters and life outside recruitment, the conversation quickly moves into some much bigger questions about how the recruitment industry has changed — and where it is heading next. Alex shares her experience of balancing a career in recruitment with family life, including her upcoming arrival, while the group discusses parental leave, paternity benefits and whether employers are genuinely creating more family-friendly workplaces. The conversation also takes a brutally honest look back at some of the toxic behaviours that have historically existed within recruitment agencies — from aggressive KPIs and public humiliation to cultures where taking time off could make people question your commitment. The group considers whether the industry is finally moving away from those practices as recruiters increasingly expect better pay, flexibility, reasonable targets and a healthier working environment. Chris brings the employer-brand perspective, explaining how his role sits at the intersection of technology and employer reputation. That leads into one of the biggest themes of the episode: how organisations can use technology and AI without losing the human element. AI is everywhere at RecFest, but Alex and Chris question the idea that automation will simply replace recruiters. Instead, they discuss the importance of keeping humans "in the lead" — using technology where it genuinely improves the experience rather than automating for automation’s sake. The episode also captures the atmosphere of RecFest UK itself, including the event's content, strategic transformation in TA, getting Talent Acquisition a seat at the table, and a few observations about queues, seating and the overall festival experience. And, naturally, the conversation goes off on plenty of entertaining tangents along the way. GUESTS Alexandra Hunt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrahuntrecruiter/ Chris Woods: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marschris/ HOSTS Sean Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanthetaguy/ Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ SPONSORED BY NOVA by Dweet — Define what good looks like. Screen, source, and shortlist talent automatically. Nova works with your hiring team to build structured scoring criteria for each role, then screens every applicant, resurfaces past candidates, and finds new ones automatically. https://nova.dweet.com/ Zyverno — builds Frontline Hiring Intelligence for logistics, care, hospitality and retail: the sectors where a single vacancy can attract hundreds of applications that never get properly assessed. Its AI agent, Lina, conducts structured screening interviews against manager-defined criteria and returns ranked, scored shortlists. Lina screens and ranks. Hiring managers make every decision. https://www.zyverno.app/ Screenloop — is the all-in-one ATS built for SMEs. Replace your scattered stack of tools, from ATS to interview intelligence, scheduling, scorecards, and note-taking tools with one intuitive platform. Backed by AI time-saving features and an award-winning support team. That way, you save time, cut tooling costs, and make smarter hiring decisions faster. https://www.screenloop.com/ Find out more about RecFest UK : https://recfest.com/uk/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ Listen to RecTalk on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/ #RecTalk #RecFestUK #Recruitment #TalentAcquisition #RecruitmentTechnology #EmployerBrand #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfRecruitment #RecruitmentIndustry #HRTech #EmployerReputation #RecTech #RecruitmentPodcast

September 2, 202641 min

RecTalk at RecFest: AI, Application Floods & the Future of Talent Acquisition with Oleeo

RecTalk is live from RecFest UK 2026 at Knebworth Park, where Nitin Sharma sits down with Oleeo founder and CEO Charles Hipps , Police Scotland’s Lorna Allison and Sopra Steria’s Richard Burgess-Kelly to unpack one of the biggest challenges facing Talent Acquisition right now: how do you use AI to deal with a huge increase in applications without losing quality, fairness or the human element? The conversation follows the group’s session on AI in Talent Acquisition and explores the practical realities of AI adoption — from recruiters and hiring managers who are nervous about AI, to organisations dealing with application volumes that have exploded as candidates increasingly use AI to create and improve CVs and applications. The discussion covers AI-driven application screening, candidate authenticity, AI compliance and fairness, human-in-the-loop decision making, and how recruitment teams can use AI to reduce repetitive administration while spending more time on candidate engagement and strategic work. Lorna shares Police Scotland’s approach to starting small with AI, including the use of an AI chatbot to handle repetitive candidate enquiries and build organisational confidence. Richard discusses the realities of recruitment technology across government, police and defence, while Charles explains Oleeo’s approach to standalone AI tools, AI upskilling and helping organisations find quality candidates within increasingly large application volumes. A key theme throughout is that AI adoption is as much a people and change-management challenge as it is a technology challenge. The group also discusses why candidates should be given clear guidance on acceptable AI use, the importance of transparency and fairness, and why human judgement remains critical. WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Talent Acquisition and recruitment leaders exploring AI, recruitment technology buyers, HR tech and RecTech professionals, recruiters dealing with rising application volumes, and anyone trying to understand how AI can improve recruitment without removing the human element. ABOUT OLEEO Oleeo is the leader in human-centric AI-powered ATS & AI add-ons that supercharge your recruitment. Their intelligent, automated tools handle the heavy lifting – AI screening of candidates and skills assessment, eliminating bias, and engaging candidates 24/7 with conversational chatbots. Intelligent automation, human connection. https://www.oleeo.com/ GUESTS Charles Hipps: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleshipps/ Lorna Allison: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorna-allison-82b69a23a/ Richard Burgess-Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardburgesskelly/ HOST — Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ Find out more about RecFest UK : https://recfest.com/uk/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ Listen to RecTalk on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/ #RecTalk #RecFest #RecFestUK #Recruitment #TalentAcquisition #RecruitmentTech #RecTech #HRTech #AIRecruitment #ArtificialIntelligence #RecruitmentAI #TalentTech #CandidateExperience #RecruitmentTechnology #FutureOfRecruitment #Oleeo

September 1, 202628 min

RecTalk at RecFest: How AI Agents Are Changing Recruitment with Metaview

What happens when AI moves beyond taking interview notes and starts doing real recruiting work? In this special live episode of RecTalk, filmed at RecFest UK, Nitin Sharma and Sean Kennedy (Sean the TA Guy) sit down with Siadhal Magos and Stephanie Bowker from Metaview to explore how AI is reshaping recruitment — and why the future of recruiting technology could look very different from the ATS-driven model we know today. Siadhal and Stephanie discuss Metaview’s evolution from an interview note-taker into a broader AI recruiting platform, with agents supporting areas such as sourcing, application review and reporting. A major theme is the growing capability of AI agents. As LLMs become more powerful, the challenge isn’t simply building another AI feature — it’s turning that intelligence into useful, compliant and effective workflows that recruiting teams can actually trust and adopt. The conversation also explores why Metaview believes its competitive advantage goes beyond the underlying AI models. With increasingly powerful tools becoming available directly through products such as Claude and other AI platforms, recruitment technology companies need to build more than intelligence under the hood. For Metaview, that means combining agents, data, collaboration, guardrails and recruiting-specific workflows. The team talks as well about the changing role of humans in the recruiting process. Rather than humans checking every individual AI output, the goal is increasingly to give people oversight of autonomous agents and focus their attention on objectives, outcomes and orchestration. There’s also plenty of RecFest banter, including Metaview’s winning merch, the importance of authentic marketing, and why the team sees events like RecFest as valuable opportunities to connect with customers, AI-native talent and the wider recruitment community. GUESTS Siadhal Magos: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siadhal/ Stephanie Bowker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-bowker-b8172717/ Learn more about Metaview: https://www.metaview.ai/ HOSTS Sean Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanthetaguy/ Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ SPONSORED BY NOVA by Dweet — Define what good looks like. Screen, source, and shortlist talent automatically. Nova works with your hiring team to build structured scoring criteria for each role, then screens every applicant, resurfaces past candidates, and finds new ones automatically. https://nova.dweet.com/ Zyverno — builds Frontline Hiring Intelligence for logistics, care, hospitality and retail: the sectors where a single vacancy can attract hundreds of applications that never get properly assessed. Its AI agent, Lina, conducts structured screening interviews against manager-defined criteria and returns ranked, scored shortlists. Lina screens and ranks. Hiring managers make every decision. https://www.zyverno.app/ Screenloop — is the all-in-one ATS built for SMEs. Replace your scattered stack of tools, from ATS to interview intelligence, scheduling, scorecards, and note-taking tools with one intuitive platform. Backed by AI time-saving features and an award-winning support team. That way, you save time, cut tooling costs, and make smarter hiring decisions faster. https://www.screenloop.com/ Find out more about RecFest UK : https://recfest.com/uk/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ Listen to RecTalk on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/ #RecTalk #RecFestUK #Recruitment #TalentAcquisition #RecruitmentTechnology #EmployerBrand #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfRecruitment #RecruitmentIndustry #HRTech #EmployerReputation #RecTech #RecruitmentPodcast

August 28, 202618 min

RecTalk at RecFest UK: Gen Z Aren’t Lazy - How Leaders Can Motivate the Next Generation

Welcome to a special RecTalk episode filmed live at RecFest UK, hosted by Nitin Sharma and Sean Kennedy. This time, Nitin and Sean are joined by Aisha Lysejko for a lively and challenging conversation about one of the biggest debates in the modern workplace: are Gen Z really “lazy, entitled and difficult” — or are employers failing to understand what motivates the next generation? Aisha challenges the stereotypes around Gen Z and argues that every generation entering the workforce has been accused of changing things for the worse. The conversation explores why younger workers have different expectations, how social media has transformed access to information, and why traditional ideas around working hard, earning promotion and respecting authority don't necessarily resonate anymore. The discussion also looks at the impact of COVID-19 on young people's education and social development, the soft skills employers say younger workers are missing, and whether businesses should be taking more responsibility for developing those skills. One of the biggest themes is leadership. If younger employees don't automatically trust authority, leaders have to earn that trust through relationships, curiosity, respect and genuine recognition. Aisha explains why the relationship between a manager and employee can have a direct impact on performance and retention. Nitin, Sean and Aisha also debate whether employers are increasingly choosing not to hire younger people — and the long-term consequences that could have for talent pipelines, innovation and business growth. They discuss Gen Z's relationship with technology and AI, including the argument that growing up with technology doesn't necessarily mean having the same technical understanding as previous generations who had to learn how systems worked from the ground up. Most importantly, the conversation moves beyond the Gen Z debate and asks a bigger question: should businesses embrace the changes younger generations are demanding rather than resist them? The episode is full of honest disagreement, challenging opinions and some important reminders about what it actually takes to lead people from different generations. GUEST — Aisha Lysejko: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aisha-l/ HOSTS Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ Sean Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanthetaguy/ SPONSORED BY NOVA by Dweet — Define what good looks like. Screen, source, and shortlist talent automatically. Nova works with your hiring team to build structured scoring criteria for each role, then screens every applicant, resurfaces past candidates, and finds new ones automatically. https://nova.dweet.com/ Zyverno — builds Frontline Hiring Intelligence for logistics, care, hospitality and retail: the sectors where a single vacancy can attract hundreds of applications that never get properly assessed. Its AI agent, Lina, conducts structured screening interviews against manager-defined criteria and returns ranked, scored shortlists. Lina screens and ranks. Hiring managers make every decision. https://www.zyverno.app/ Screenloop — is the all-in-one ATS built for SMEs. Replace your scattered stack of tools, from ATS to interview intelligence, scheduling, scorecards, and note-taking tools with one intuitive platform. Backed by AI time-saving features and an award-winning support team. That way, you save time, cut tooling costs, and make smarter hiring decisions faster. https://www.screenloop.com/ Find out more about RecFest UK : https://recfest.com/uk/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ Listen to RecTalk on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/ #RecTalk #RecFest #RecFestUK #GenZ #GenZAtWork #FutureOfWork #WorkplaceCulture #Leadership #Recruitment #TalentAcquisition #RecruitmentIndustry #HR #PeopleLeadership #EarlyCareers #EmployeeExperience #RecruitmentPodcast #RecTech

August 26, 202617 min

RecFest UK: AI Adoption, Recruitment’s Human Element & What Comes Next

Hosted live from RecFest UK by Sean Kennedy, host of Talking Talent, this episode of RecTalk brings together Jamie Jay Lyons , Joe Atkinson and Darren Bush for a candid conversation about AI, talent acquisition and how recruitment teams can actually make AI work in the real world. The conversation explores a key question for modern TA teams: as AI becomes embedded in recruitment workflows, do we need to put more emphasis on the human element? Jamie, Joe and Darren discuss the reality behind the rapid adoption of AI across recruitment and HR, including why simply giving everyone an AI licence isn't an AI strategy. They explore the importance of understanding where AI genuinely adds value, identifying the right use cases, measuring ROI and creating the infrastructure needed to scale AI safely. The panel also gets into some of the biggest mistakes organisations are making with AI adoption, including: • Jumping onto tools because everyone else is using them • Building AI solutions without understanding the underlying business problem • Running before teams have properly understood what AI can actually do • Lack of visibility and consistency when individuals build their own AI workflows • GDPR, compliance, data governance and quality-control risks • Failing to give recruiters enough time to experiment and learn • Trying to build overly complicated solutions when simpler, safer use cases may deliver more value • The challenge of operationalising AI across an entire business rather than leaving it as isolated experiments There is also discussion around the future of recruitment technology, from the potential of conversational data generated through candidate and hiring-manager interactions to Darren’s prediction that AI interviewing is coming – and may become increasingly normal as consumers become more comfortable interacting with AI elsewhere. The overall message? AI adoption isn't simply about buying tools. It's about curiosity, experimentation, governance, infrastructure, time, ROI and knowing where technology should augment people rather than simply replacing human interaction. GUESTS Jamie Jay Lyons: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiejaylyons/ Joe Atkinson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-atkinson1/ Darren Bush: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taunboxed/ HOST — Sean Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanthetaguy/ SPONSORED BY NOVA by Dweet — Define what good looks like. Screen, source, and shortlist talent automatically. Nova works with your hiring team to build structured scoring criteria for each role, then screens every applicant, resurfaces past candidates, and finds new ones automatically. https://nova.dweet.com/ Zyverno — builds Frontline Hiring Intelligence for logistics, care, hospitality and retail: the sectors where a single vacancy can attract hundreds of applications that never get properly assessed. Its AI agent, Lina, conducts structured screening interviews against manager-defined criteria and returns ranked, scored shortlists. Lina screens and ranks. Hiring managers make every decision. https://www.zyverno.app/ Screenloop — is the all-in-one ATS built for SMEs. Replace your scattered stack of tools, from ATS to interview intelligence, scheduling, scorecards, and note-taking tools with one intuitive platform. Backed by AI time-saving features and an award-winning support team. That way, you save time, cut tooling costs, and make smarter hiring decisions faster. https://www.screenloop.com/ Find out more about RecFest UK : https://recfest.com/uk/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ Listen to RecTalk on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/ #RecTalk #RecFest #RecFestUK #Recruitment #TalentAcquisition #RecruitmentAI #AIinRecruitment #HRTech #RecruitmentTechnology #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfRecruitment #TA #TalentTech

August 25, 202647 min

The RecFest UK Merch Review – What Recruitment Event Swag Actually Works?

Welcome back to RecTalk, coming live from RecFest UK 2026! In this special RecTalk episode, Nitin Sharma and Sean Kennedy are joined by Harry Portch and Dominic Joyce for a brutally honest, very British review of the recruitment industry's event merch. The team rummages through bags, rates the swag out of five, calls out the good, the bad and the completely pointless, and crowns the best merch of RecFest. From Metaview's basketball-inspired jersey and sliders, to Pinpoint's curated collection of branded goodies, Teamtailor's rethink after last year's merch got roasted, Screenloop's trainers and socks, and the many hats, bags, bottles, toys and questionable promotional items in between, the episode asks a bigger question: What makes recruitment-event merchandise memorable? The conversation covers: • Why creative, niche merch can beat expensive generic giveaways • The importance of giving people something they'll actually use • Why another branded water bottle or notebook isn't necessarily going to cut through • The value of strong design and subtle branding • Whether making people play a game to win merch adds or subtracts value • How personalised and curated giveaways can make an impression • Why useful items such as sun cream, speakers and quality clothing score highly • The role of nostalgia, humour and novelty in event swag • Whether companies should focus on quality over quantity • Why "less is more" might be the future of recruitment event merch • How merch can help people remember your brand after the event • The importance of thinking about the event experience rather than simply putting a logo on something • And, crucially, what the panel thinks companies should be doing differently at future recruitment events There are also some strong ideas for future merch – including event-appropriate drinkware, practical summer giveaways and things people will genuinely want to take home and use. GUESTS Harry Portch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harryportch/ Dominic Joyce: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-joyce/ HOSTS Sean Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanthetaguy/ Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ SPONSORED BY NOVA by Dweet — Define what good looks like. Screen, source, and shortlist talent automatically. Nova works with your hiring team to build structured scoring criteria for each role, then screens every applicant, resurfaces past candidates, and finds new ones automatically. https://nova.dweet.com/ Zyverno — builds Frontline Hiring Intelligence for logistics, care, hospitality and retail: the sectors where a single vacancy can attract hundreds of applications that never get properly assessed. Its AI agent, Lina, conducts structured screening interviews against manager-defined criteria and returns ranked, scored shortlists. Lina screens and ranks. Hiring managers make every decision. https://www.zyverno.app/ Screenloop — is the all-in-one ATS built for SMEs. Replace your scattered stack of tools, from ATS to interview intelligence, scheduling, scorecards, and note-taking tools with one intuitive platform. Backed by AI time-saving features and an award-winning support team. That way, you save time, cut tooling costs, and make smarter hiring decisions faster. https://www.screenloop.com/ Find out more about RecFest UK : https://recfest.com/uk/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ Listen to RecTalk on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/ #RecTalk #RecFest #RecFestUK #Recruitment #RecruitmentMarketing #TalentAcquisition #EmployerBrand #RecruitmentTech #RecruitmentEvents #HRTech #TA #RecruitmentIndustry #MerchReview

August 21, 202626 min

RecTalk at RecFest UK: Is Agency Recruitment Making a Comeback? | Mike Peditto

RecTalk is live from RecFest UK, with Nitin Sharma and Sean Kennedy joined by Mike Peditto — one of the most recognisable voices creating content around recruitment, HR and careers. Mike is an active Director of Recruiting, consultant and content creator with an audience of around 400,000 followers across LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram. In this episode, the conversation goes well beyond the usual recruitment-event chat. Mike shares his perspective on the differences between recruitment in the US and UK, why recruiters and Talent Acquisition teams are often misunderstood, and why agency recruitment could be heading for a resurgence in the US. The discussion explores how an oversaturated candidate market, fake CVs and huge volumes of applicants are creating new challenges for internal recruitment teams — and why a genuinely specialist agency partner can potentially cut through the noise and identify the people worth speaking to. Mike, Nitin and Sean also discuss the importance of niche recruitment and why the tech hiring market shouldn't be treated as a proxy for recruitment as a whole. While technology has experienced significant layoffs, sectors including healthcare, construction and hospitality can tell a very different story. They also tackle the growing number of UK recruitment agencies looking to enter the US market, asking whether international agencies should be seen as competition or simply as another potential source of great candidates and recruitment expertise. And, as you would expect from a conversation recorded live at RecFest, there's plenty of banter along the way — from the very different cultures of RecFest UK and RecFest US to recruitment events, content creation and the realities of being a recruiter. Most importantly, Mike finishes with a message that will resonate with recruiters everywhere: find your people. Recruitment can be an isolating profession, particularly when you're working remotely or feel undervalued by the business. Building a community and staying connected with other recruiters can make a huge difference. GUEST — Mike Peditto: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpeditto/ HOSTS Sean Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanthetaguy/ Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ SPONSORED BY NOVA by Dweet — Define what good looks like. Screen, source, and shortlist talent automatically. Nova works with your hiring team to build structured scoring criteria for each role, then screens every applicant, resurfaces past candidates, and finds new ones automatically. https://nova.dweet.com/ Zyverno — builds Frontline Hiring Intelligence for logistics, care, hospitality and retail: the sectors where a single vacancy can attract hundreds of applications that never get properly assessed. Its AI agent, Lina, conducts structured screening interviews against manager-defined criteria and returns ranked, scored shortlists. Lina screens and ranks. Hiring managers make every decision. https://www.zyverno.app/ Screenloop — is the all-in-one ATS built for SMEs. Replace your scattered stack of tools, from ATS to interview intelligence, scheduling, scorecards, and note-taking tools with one intuitive platform. Backed by AI time-saving features and an award-winning support team. That way, you save time, cut tooling costs, and make smarter hiring decisions faster. https://www.screenloop.com/ Find out more about RecFest UK : https://recfest.com/uk/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ Listen to RecTalk on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/ #RecTalk #RecFest #Recruitment #Recruiting #TalentAcquisition #HR #AgencyRecruitment #RecruitmentIndustry #RecruitmentMarketing #RecruitmentContent #EmployerBrand #RecTech #Recruiters

August 19, 202630 min

RecFest UK 2026: Hung Lee on AI, the Future of Talent Acquisition & Keeping Work Human

Welcome to another live episode of RecTalk, filmed at RecFest UK in the RecTalk Podcast Lounge. Nitin Sharma is joined by Sean Kennedy for a fascinating — and deliberately provocative — conversation with one of the best-known voices in the recruitment and talent acquisition community, Hung Lee . Hung has plenty to say about where TA is heading in the age of AI, and he doesn't shy away from challenging some of the industry's biggest assumptions. From why Hung thinks skills-based hiring is “anti-human” and why organisations may need to stop documenting everything, to the risks of using AI to simply squeeze more productivity out of employees, this conversation gets into what happens when technology starts changing not just how we work, but how organisations themselves are structured. One of the standout ideas is Hung's “keep what you kill” approach to AI adoption: if technology makes someone more productive, why should all of that productivity automatically belong to the company? Could giving employees back some of the time they save be a better way to encourage AI adoption, improve autonomy and reduce burnout? The conversation also explores the future of Talent Acquisition. Hung argues that TA isn't simply going away — instead, its scope and professional identity could change dramatically as businesses begin working with AI agents, gig platforms and other forms of non-human capacity. And there's a bigger human message running throughout the episode: in an increasingly AI-driven world, recruiters and talent professionals need to understand where human value really sits — and actively protect the relationships, judgement, creativity and community intelligence that machines can't simply reproduce. Hung also explains what Recruitment Brainfood has become and why he sees himself as an ecosystem support person, helping connect and inform the wider recruitment and job-search ecosystem. Filmed live at RecFest UK, this is a wide-ranging conversation about AI, recruitment, productivity, leadership, employee autonomy, the future of TA and why keeping work human may become more important than ever. GUEST — Hung Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunglee/ HOSTS Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ Sean Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanthetaguy/ SPONSORED BY NOVA by Dweet — Define what good looks like. Screen, source, and shortlist talent automatically. Nova works with your hiring team to build structured scoring criteria for each role, then screens every applicant, resurfaces past candidates, and finds new ones automatically. https://nova.dweet.com/ Zyverno — builds Frontline Hiring Intelligence for logistics, care, hospitality and retail: the sectors where a single vacancy can attract hundreds of applications that never get properly assessed. Its AI agent, Lina, conducts structured screening interviews against manager-defined criteria and returns ranked, scored shortlists. Lina screens and ranks. Hiring managers make every decision. https://www.zyverno.app/ Screenloop — is the all-in-one ATS built for SMEs. Replace your scattered stack of tools, from ATS to interview intelligence, scheduling, scorecards, and note-taking tools with one intuitive platform. Backed by AI time-saving features and an award-winning support team. That way, you save time, cut tooling costs, and make smarter hiring decisions faster. https://www.screenloop.com/ Find out more about RecFest UK : https://recfest.com/uk/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ Listen to RecTalk on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/ #RecTalk #RecFest #RecFestUK #Recruitment #TalentAcquisition #RecruitmentAI #AI #HRTech #FutureOfWork #RecruitmentTechnology #TalentTech #RecruitmentLeadership #HungLee #NitinSharma #SeanKennedy

August 18, 202620 min

RecFest UK 2026: AI, Inclusive Hiring & The Human Touch with Jen Hulme and Thomas Woodhams

Welcome to a special RecTalk episode filmed live at RecFest UK , hosted by Nitin Sharma and Sean Kennedy. This time, Nitin and Sean are joined by Jen Hulme and Thomas Woodhams for a wide-ranging conversation about some of the biggest issues facing talent acquisition right now: inclusive hiring, neurodiversity, AI adoption, candidate experience, workplace redesign and why the “human touch” still matters in an increasingly automated recruitment world. Thomas shares insights from his RecFest talk on inclusive hiring and explains why organisations can genuinely believe they are inclusive while still creating unnecessary barriers throughout the recruitment process. The conversation explores how job descriptions, interview formats, assumptions around eye contact and communication styles, and even onboarding can unintentionally exclude talented candidates. Jen brings a talent acquisition perspective to the AI conversation, discussing the shift from simply talking about “AI” to understanding what organisations actually need it to solve. Rather than adopting technology because it is the latest shiny tool, the discussion focuses on identifying the underlying recruitment problem first — and then working out whether AI is the right solution. The conversation also looks at the changing role of humans in recruitment. With AI increasingly embedded into recruitment workflows, what should humans actually be doing? How do we use technology to supercharge expertise rather than replace it? And how will AI change the skills organisations need as roles and workplaces themselves evolve? They also discuss: • Why inclusive hiring needs to start with the job advert, not just the interview • Neurodiversity, hidden disabilities and removing unnecessary recruitment barriers • Why treating everyone “the same” doesn't necessarily create a fair hiring process • The evolution from “human in the loop” to the “human touch” • Why AI has become too broad a term in recruitment • Avoiding AI for AI's sake and starting with the actual business problem • How AI could improve candidate communication and engagement • Workplace and role redesign in an AI-enabled world GUESTS Jen Hulme: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-hulme/ Thomas Woodhams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-woodhams/ HOSTS Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ Sean Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanthetaguy/ SPONSORED BY NOVA by Dweet — Define what good looks like. Screen, source, and shortlist talent automatically. Nova works with your hiring team to build structured scoring criteria for each role, then screens every applicant, resurfaces past candidates, and finds new ones automatically. https://nova.dweet.com/ Zyverno — builds Frontline Hiring Intelligence for logistics, care, hospitality and retail: the sectors where a single vacancy can attract hundreds of applications that never get properly assessed. Its AI agent, Lina, conducts structured screening interviews against manager-defined criteria and returns ranked, scored shortlists. Lina screens and ranks. Hiring managers make every decision. https://www.zyverno.app/ Screenloop — is the all-in-one ATS built for SMEs. Replace your scattered stack of tools, from ATS to interview intelligence, scheduling, scorecards, and note-taking tools with one intuitive platform. Backed by AI time-saving features and an award-winning support team. That way, you save time, cut tooling costs, and make smarter hiring decisions faster. https://www.screenloop.com/ Find out more about RecFest UK : https://recfest.com/uk/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ Listen to RecTalk on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/ #RecTalk #RecFest #Recruitment #TalentAcquisition #RecruitmentTech #HRTech #AIRecruitment #ArtificialIntelligence #InclusiveHiring #Neurodiversity #CandidateExperience #FutureOfWork #RecruitmentTechnology #HR #TA #RecTech

August 14, 202634 min

Footballers Into Recruitment, AI Mistakes & Business Growth | TEAM Conference

What happens when technology gets it wrong? Recorded live at TEAM Conference 2026, Nitin Sharma sits down with recruitment leaders, technology experts and founders to discuss AI, automation, recruitment technology, business growth and why human judgement still matters more than ever. Featuring: 🎙️ Kan Mallawathantri (Avensys Tech) 🎙️ Samantha Moore (Medical Technology Talent et al.) 🎙️ Chris & Alan (Pitch to Placements & Boots to Billing Podcast) Topics discussed include: ✅ A real-life recruitment technology disaster story that almost derailed a placement ✅ Why recruiters need to understand their tech stack instead of blindly trusting it ✅ The risks of AI, integrations and automation when processes aren't fully understood ✅ CRM, telephony and data sync challenges explained in plain English ✅ Why technology should support recruiters, not replace common sense ✅ Former athletes transitioning into recruitment and business careers ✅ Building confidence, resilience and sales skills after professional sport ✅ Why relationships still outperform scripts and sales tactics One of the strongest themes throughout this episode is that technology can accelerate success, but it can also amplify mistakes. The recruiters and business owners winning in 2026 are the ones who understand both the opportunities and the limitations of the tools they're using. 🔗 Connect with the guests Kan Mallawathantri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kan-avensystech/ Samantha Moore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthaleighmoore/ Chris Fahey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-fahey-agpayroll/ Alan McFadden: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-mcfadden/ 🔗 Connect with the host Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ Listen to RecTalk on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/ 🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations with recruitment leaders, founders, industry experts and high performers. #Recruitment #RecruitmentTechnology #AIRecruitment #Automation #CRM #RecruitmentBusiness #Sales #BusinessGrowth #Technology #RecruitmentPodcast #TEAMConference #RecTalk #StaffingIndustry #Entrepreneurship #FutureOfWork