Talent Acquisition In The Trenches

Hosted by Matt Rimer

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Jun 2026

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About the show

In this digital first world, the old ways of recruiting are becoming obsolete. Or are they? The talent demands on every business has put TA squarely in the hot seat. Welcome to Talent Acquisition In The Trenches, a real dialogue podcast with talent acquisition pro’s closest to the front line. We want to talk to our peers who are actually doing the heavy lifting day in and day out.

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54 recent

June 10, 2026Episode 5450 min

Episode 54: Mike Stafiej - Unleashing the Power of Data with ERIN

A stale employee referral program is more than a missed opportunity. It quietly raises time to fill, keeps you overpaying agencies, and leaves your best potential hires sitting just one warm introduction away. In this episode of TA in the Trenches, Matt sits down with Mike Stafiej, CEO of ERIN, and RogueHire's Digital and Recruiting Innovator, Ryan Affolter to dig into how modern referral automation turns your existing workforce into a scalable sourcing engine. The conversation explores why referrals should be a core hiring strategy (not a “nice-to-have” bonus), how high‑velocity data signals can pinpoint which jobs are primed for referral outreach, and what it takes to build a culture where employees advocate for your roles from day one. For healthcare HR and talent acquisition leaders under pressure to reduce agency spend, improve speed, and fill hard‑to‑hire roles, this episode shows how better referral data, smarter automation, and a more intentional internal mobility strategy can change the math on your recruiting funnel.

June 1, 2026Episode 5349 min

Episode 53: Jon Bischke - Fixing Stale Recruiting Data

A stale recruiting database is more than an inconvenience. It can quietly weaken outbound recruiting, distort AI-driven hiring workflows, and limit a health system’s ability to fill roles that affect patient care. In this episode of TA in the Trenches, Matt sits down with Jon Bischke from ZoomInfo to discuss how better data changes the way talent acquisition teams find, prioritize, and engage candidates. The conversation explores why clean, current candidate intelligence matters, how TA leaders can reduce wasted outreach, and what healthcare recruiting teams need to know before relying on automation or AI at scale. For HR and talent acquisition leaders under pressure to improve hiring speed, candidate quality, and recruiter productivity, this episode shows why better hiring starts with better data.

December 10, 2025Episode 5245 min

Unleashing the Power of Data with Accurate

In this episode of TA in the Trenches, host Matt and co-host Ryan sit down with Devin Martinez, SVP of Account Management at Accurate, to cut through the hype and show how data, AI, and advanced automation are reshaping background checks for many industries, including healthcare.Devin shares front-line tactics for shrinking turnaround time without sacrificing accuracy or patient safety, and explains how sentiment analysis, package design, and continuous monitoring turn pre-boarding from a bottleneck into a competitive advantage. Links:RogueHireMatt on LinkedInDevin on LinkedIn

November 26, 2025Episode 5146 min

Unleashing the Power of Data with Radancy

On this episode of TA in the Trenches, host Matt and co-host Ryan are joined by Ashley O’Connor, SVP of Accounts & Strategic Partnerships at Radancy, to dig into one of the biggest opportunities in talent acquisition today: the intersection of data, AI, and advanced automation, especially through the lens of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).Ashley breaks down what GEO really is, how it differs from traditional SEO, and why optimizing for AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity is quickly becoming mission-critical for employer brand and candidate experience, particularly in healthcare TA, where margins are thin and every dollar of recruitment marketing spend has to work harder.Links:RogueHireMatt on LinkedInRyan on LinkedInAshley on Linkedin

November 12, 2025Episode 5045 min

Unleashing the Power of Data with Greenhouse

In today’s episode, host Matt and co-host Ryan sit down with Ariana Moon, VP of Talent Planning & Acquisition at Greenhouse Software, to break down how to align expectations, use AI without losing the human touch, and turn noisy pipelines into high-signal, fair hiring. We discuss Greenhouse’s advancements in helping TA teams move faster and smarter, “ghost jobs”, and the importance of prioritizing intent.Links:RogueHireMatt on LinkedInRyan on LinkedInAriana on LinkedIn

October 29, 2025Episode 4942 min

Unleashing the Power of Data with Special Guest Betterleap and FOX

In this live episode, host Matt and co-host Ryan sit down with Kristie McCaffery, Director of Recruitment at FOX Rehabilitation, Kara Schymanski, Talent Sourcing Leader at Fox Rehabilitation, and Khaled Hussein, Co-founder & CEO of BetterLeap, to unpack how a healthcare organization fills aging, revenue-critical reqs in one of the tightest markets in the U.S.: physical therapy.We explore how FOX is leveraging BetterLeap’s natural-language search and AI-driven contact intelligence to move beyond brittle Boolean strings, uncover hidden candidates, and refresh stale ATS records. Alongside new data sources and consumer-side signals, Fox is turning rediscovery into real hires and building a sourcing specialty that’s more about consultative selling than technical query-building.Links:RogueHireMatt on LinkedInRyan on LinkedInKristie on LinkedInKara on LinkedInKhaled on LinkedIn

October 15, 2025Episode 4843 min

Unleashing the Power of Data with Employ and Theresa Mazzaro

In this live-recorded episode of TA in the Trenches, host Matt leads a fireside chat on how data and AI are reshaping talent acquisition. He’s joined by Jordan Patterson, VP of Product at Employ, who brings deep expertise in HR tech and product strategy; Theresa Mazzaro, Recruiting Manager at Fairfax Radiology Centers and past President of NAHCR, with more than 30 years of clinical and TA leadership experience; and co-host Ryan Affolter, a member of the RogueHire team and a veteran in recruitment marketing and digital strategy.Together we explore how AI is transforming sourcing, screening, and hiring, and why the future depends on using these tools for decision readiness, not decision replacement. The conversation digs into candidate experience, the role of governance in building trust, and the key metrics that matter most when running elite TA operations. With insights from healthcare and HR tech leaders, the episode blends forward-looking possibilities with the human side of recruiting that can’t be automated.Links:RogueHireMatt on LinkedInJordan on LinkedInTheresa on LinkedInRyan on LinkedIn

October 1, 2025Episode 4733 min

Redefining Talent Acquisition for CHROs

In this live-recorded episode of TA in the Trenches, host Matt sits down with two seasoned HR leaders to dig into the evolving role of talent acquisition at the CHRO level. Tom Nesteruk, Head of Global Workforce Strategy, SVP Human Resources at AdventHealth, and Jeff Pratt, VP of HR Operations at Inova Health System. We cover how CHROs are redefining talent acquisition as a strategic lever, not just a transactional function, supply and demand planning, and the future of TA encompassing AI, predictive analytics, and building internal pipelinesLinks:RogueHireMatt on LinkedInTom on LinkedInJeff of LinkedIn

June 5, 2025Episode 4639 min

Roxanne Ohlund: The Power of Clinical Experience in TA Leadership

In today's episode, Host Matt sits down with Roxanne Ohlund, a registered nurse turned elite talent acquisition leader. With 15+ years in recruitment and 9 years of clinical experience, Roxanne now oversees TA for Trinity Health’s sprawling western service area, spanning six states and thousands of hires. We dig into Roxanne’s transition from the bedside to the TA frontlines, how her clinical background gives her an edge in building trust with hiring managers, and why the best recruiters aren’t just filling roles, they’re shaping livesLinks:RogueHireMatt Rimer on LinkedInRoxanne's LinkedIn

May 29, 2025Episode 4542 min

Eric Cole: Building Trust, Reading the Data, and Leading Through Crisis

In this episode of Talent Acquisition in the Trenches, Host Matt Rimer sits down with Eric Cole, Corporate SVP and CHRO of Scripps Health, for a no-fluff, deep dive into what real workforce strategy looks like in today’s complex healthcare environment. With a unique background in finance and operations, Eric brings a data-first mindset to HR, where predictive analytics, census-driven workforce planning, and a relentless focus on retention are reshaping what it means to support the people who care for patients.Links:RogueHireMatt Rimer on LinkedIn