The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Modern Recruiting, AI, and Talent Strategy

Hosted by James Mackey

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Episodes

227

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Welcome to The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Recruiting, AI, and Talent Strategy, a podcast for leaders building better hiring systems and stronger teams. Hosted by James Mackey, the show features conversations with founders, CEOs, talent leaders, and recruiting experts on how great companies hire, scale, and adapt as technology changes the talent landscape. Episodes cover talent acquisition strategy, recruiting operations, AI, automation, candidate experience, hiring analytics, and executive decision-making. You will learn how to build scalable hiring systems, use AI and recruiting technology effectively, improve the hiring process, and make talent acquisition a competitive advantage. Built for founders, executives, talent acquisition leaders, recruiters, and hiring teams. Thank you to our sponsors, SecureVision and June , for making this show possible.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 18, 202639 min

EP 226: Navigating Modern TA Operations in 2026

In this episode, host James Mackey talks with Jeremy Lyons , Co-Founder of RecOps Collective, about what recruiting operations really includes, why AI rollouts often fail without clear context, and how hiring culture shows up in the data. They discuss scheduling automation, the hidden cost of automating entry-level roles, and practical ways to stay credible while working with vendors and partners. Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!

August 4, 202648 min

EP 225: From Animal Behavior to Talent Teams: Leading with Positive Reinforcement

Host James Mackey sits down with Jennifer Anker , a talent acquisition executive who has built and led recruiting organizations at Illumio, Twilio, Wiz, and Okta. Long before recruiting, Jennifer studied animal behavior and worked with marine mammals - an experience that shaped the calm, positive-reinforcement leadership style she still uses today. Jennifer and James explore how to deliver direct feedback with empathy, use positive reinforcement as a genuine management philosophy, and build teams that feel empowered to challenge ideas - including their leader’s. They also discuss overcoming imposter syndrome, creating a culture of “disagree and commit,” and adapting coaching to what motivates each individual. The conversation closes with a practical look at AI in recruiting, from note-taking tools to custom AI agents, and why recruiters who learn to work alongside AI will have a significant advantage over those who don’t. Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!

July 21, 202634 min

EP 224: The Coaching Mindset Behind Great Hiring

We sit down with Michael Prem , Head of Recruiting at Skyflow , to explore how growing up across Sri Lanka, Zambia, and Toronto shaped his coaching-first approach to hiring and leadership. He explains why he values hard work over “perfect-for-the-moment” talent, especially in fast-moving startup environments where priorities shift every few months. Along the way, we connect competitive sports, startup pace, and the rise of AI in recruiting to one core idea: adaptability and trust win over time. Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!

July 7, 202657 min

EP 223: The Recruiter Who Learned to Look Past the Resume

Vincenzo Fasulo grew up in Benevento, Italy, a city older than Rome. After moving to the U.S. during one of the most uncertain chapters of his life, he built an unconventional path from receptionist to Head of Talent at SafeBreach. In this conversation, he shares how that journey shaped the way he leads TA today: looking past the resume, giving people a chance, and building recruiting systems that can keep up with AI. Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!

June 23, 202658 min

EP 222: Inside Qonto's AI-Native Recruiting Stack

Aurelien Drieu is Qonto's Head of Talent Acquisition. Over the past six years, he's helped scale the company from 200 to 1,700+ employees. In this conversation, he shares how his team uses AI to move faster without trading off on quality - from automating dashboards and building in-house agents that take on repetitive but high-leverage prep work (persona finalisation, interview grids, job descriptions, case studies) to note-taking, AI interviewing tests, and testing candidates' AI fluency during the interview process. The result: a 25% productivity gain between late 2025 and Q1 2026, and a clear point of view on why the next phase of recruiting won't be won by the most automated teams, but by those that pair automation with sharper human judgment. Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!

June 9, 20261 hr 11 min

EP 221: Why Generalists Win in a Fast-Changing Talent Market

What does it actually take to grow as a talent leader when the playbook keeps changing? Chelsea Kovak , Head of Global Talent Acquisition at TaskRabbit, shares how she thinks about AI, data, tooling, and the skills recruiters need to build in a market that’s moving faster than ever. Along the way, she reflects on her path from sales to talent acquisition, the value of being a connector, and why adaptability may be the most important skill in modern recruiting. Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!

June 2, 202653 min

EP 220: Elephants, Lions & the Psychology of Talent Leadership

Growing up between Canada and East Africa, Michael Kieran ’s childhood was shaped by international communities, close encounters with elephants and lions, and experiences that challenged the way he saw the world. He brings that same perspective to building high-performing recruiting teams grounded in consistency, ambition, and continuous growth as a Fractional Talent Leader. In this conversation, he shares why the best TA organizations think differently about performance, AI, and what it really means to become world-class. Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!

May 28, 202645 min

EP 219: Building Talent Programs at Hulu, Activision, and Take-Two

Jessica Wheeler went from growing up in Vancouver, Washington to building talent programs at some of the biggest names in entertainment and gaming, including Hulu, Activision, and Take-Two Interactive. Now VP, Global Head of TA Strategy at Take-Two, she shares how scaling Hulu from 500 to 3,000 employees, leading through reputation challenges at Activision, and centralizing TA across 2K, Zynga, and Take-Two shaped her leadership style. Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Intro (00:00) Background (00:46) Career (06:52) Ta (29:22) Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!

May 26, 202647 min

EP 218: Don't Hire

Adam Spector ’s path has never been conventional, from leaving DC for boarding school to pivoting from law school into tech and startups. Now Founder & CEO of Chore, he shares how building companies, learning from early startup failures, and obsessing over AI shaped his belief that founders should rethink hiring entirely. His message is simple: don’t hire unless you absolutely have to. Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Intro (00:00) Background (00:46) Career (13:08) TA (20:49) Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!

May 21, 202652 min

EP 217: How Every Chapter Builds the Next

Mary Price grew up as a first-generation American, learning early lessons in grit, integrity, and trust from her family and her uncle’s shoe repair shop. Today, as the founder of Penfield Talent, she brings that same people-first philosophy to talent leadership, executive search, and helping companies build high-trust teams. In this conversation, she shares how she balances empathy with high standards, what AI can and can’t replace in recruiting, and the inside story of leading GTM hiring at Slack through the Salesforce acquisition, when her team doubled the sales organization in one year during COVID. Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Intro (00:00) Background (00:46) Career (09:02) TA (37:38) Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!