The Talent Fix: Future of Hiring and Recruitment Innovation

Hosted by Barry Prost

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Oct 2026

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Hiring makes or breaks growth - yet it’s one of the hardest things to get right. We cut through the noise with practical insights, fresh HR strategies, and expert takes on scaling fast, reducing costs, protecting culture, and building employer brands in a competitive talent market. Each episode brings industry experts, business leaders, and innovators who are shaping the future of hiring and recruitment innovation. If you’re looking for practical insights, smarter strategies, and fresh ideas to fix your toughest talent challenges, this podcast is for you.

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30 recent

October 22, 2026Episode 3318 min

Companies Using AI Well Are Hiring, Not Firing | Dr. Gleb Tsipursky

Companies adopting AI well are growing top-line revenue 9% faster than their peers, and growing headcount 6% faster at the same time. They're hiring, not firing. They're just doing far more work per person.That's Dr. Gleb Tsipursky's starting position on this episode of The Talent Fix, and he's got the numbers behind it. Entry-level employment in AI-exposed occupations is already lagging, and the gap is widening year on year, driven by firms hiring fewer juniors rather than cutting existing staff. Job displacement is real too, but the companies actually losing people are the ones that aren't adopting AI well. They're losing market share, and the headcount goes with it.Then there's the entry-level problem, which is real regardless. Juniors used to learn by doing the low-level work. AI does that work now. So the honest response isn't to protect the grunt work, it's to train juniors on outcomes instead: teach them what good looks like, not how to grind out the first draft.Dr. Gleb calls this meta-competence: the ability to recognise quality work in your field without having to produce it yourself. It's the same shift we made with calculators and spreadsheets. Nobody can do long division by hand anymore. Nobody needs to. They need to know when the answer coming back is wrong.In this episode: Why AI-forward companies are growing revenue and headcount faster than their peers, while laggards lose both Why the entry-level hiring gap in AI-exposed industries is real and widening Meta-competence: the skill of judging quality output rather than producing it by hand A concrete interview technique: show a candidate several versions of the same output and ask which is best, why, and how they'd fix the weak ones What CEOs should look for when hiring for an AI-native workforce Get a free sample of Dr. Gleb's book, The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results If your company is scaling and hiring is becoming more complex, explore how a flexible recruitment model can support your growth.

October 7, 2026Episode 3224 min

Attracting Tech Talent in the Age of AI

AI was supposed to make hiring easier. Ask Katie Cormier and she'll tell you it's made it noisier: thousands of applications, AI-polished CVs, and candidates optimising for algorithms rather than jobs. As EdgeTier's first People hire, Katie scaled the AI start-up through its Series A push, making around 60 hires in her first 18 months, largely as a team of one, while competing for scarce tech talent against some of the best companies in the market. In this episode, she opens the playbook: Why EdgeTier deliberately tests for ambiguity tolerance, and why the "right skill set" from big tech often means the wrong cultural fit for a start-up shipping features fast without guard rails Why she doesn't rely on psychometric testing, and uses structured, behavior-based interview questions instead How her team uses AI where it actually adds value: fraud-signal detection in applications, keyword indicators in the ATS, interview scheduling, note-taking, and surfacing past candidates who reached final stage months ago The rule she won't compromise on: every final-stage candidate gets a phone call and real feedback Why speed, not perks, is what wins the best candidates in a market where every offer has a competing offer on the table If you're an HR or talent leader trying to figure out where AI belongs in your hiring process, and where it doesn't, this one's for you. Subscribe to The Talent Fix for more conversations with talent and HR leaders, and visit rentarecruiter.com to see how we can help you scale your hiring.

September 22, 2026Episode 3118 min

AI Hit HR Like a Tsunami: What HR Leaders Do Next

"AI hit like a tsunami" What HR leaders do next- Marisa Lynskey, CHRO at Ceto Marisa explains why HR has moved from the end of the table taking notes to running transformation, especially in a business scaling through M&A. Her framing: the CEO's right hand is finance and operations, and the left hand is human capital. She also shares what happened when Ceto went to market for a Principal in management consulting in Atlanta, a city full of qualified candidates, and got just 10 applicants. The job description wasn't the problem. The role itself has changed: Ceto's clients, banks and credit unions, want to be taught a new way of working, so Ceto needs people who are strong in their discipline and genuinely excited about applying AI, and that combination is hard to find right now. In this episode: - Why HR has become the CEO's left hand - What she found when she asked her HRIS/ATS provider what AI it could actually offer - Why legacy platforms are behind AI-native systems - Her dream HR system: one source of truth from ATS through the whole employee life - Her closing message: use AI at the front end to move faster, because speed wins the hire Thanks to Marisa for joining us. Subscribe to The Talent Fix for more conversations with talent and HR leaders. If your company is scaling and hiring is becoming more complex, explore how a flexible recruitment model can support your growth.

July 16, 202620 min

AI, Candidate Fraud & The Future of Recruitment with Steven Talbot

How is AI changing recruitment, and what role will recruiters play in the future? In this episode of The Talent Fix , Barry Prost is joined by Steven Talbot , Co-Founder & CEO of Nebula, to discuss how AI is transforming recruitment, where it delivers the biggest productivity gains, and why human relationships remain at the heart of successful hiring. The conversation explores how AI can automate repetitive tasks, improve sourcing accuracy, help organisations cut through hiring noise, and tackle the growing challenge of candidate fraud. Steven also shares why the most successful recruiters will be those who combine AI with trust, judgement and deep market knowledge. In this episode: How AI is reshaping recruitment workflows Why great recruiters won't be replaced by AI The growing challenge of candidate fraud Using AI to improve sourcing and market mapping Why trust and relationships still drive successful hiring Finding signal through the noise in today's talent market Whether you're a recruiter, HR leader or business owner, this episode offers practical insights into where recruitment is heading and how AI can be used to make better hiring decisions, without losing the human element. Guest: Steven Talbot, Co-Founder & CEO, Nebula Subscribe for more conversations on recruitment, talent acquisition, AI and the future of work.

June 18, 202620 min

AI Recruitment, Hiring Strategy & Lessons from Google | Niamh Geraghty, Head of People at Strata

How is AI changing recruitment, and are we actually hiring better because of it? In this episode of The Talent Fix , Barry Prost is joined by Niamh Geraghty, Head of People at Strata , to explore the future of hiring, the growing shortage of specialist talent, and why recruitment technology needs to be designed around people, not just efficiency. Drawing on leadership experience at Google, Procore and Strata, Niamh shares practical lessons from scaling high-performing teams and explains why organisations need to rethink how they attract, assess and engage talent. In this episode we discuss: • Why engineering and construction talent shortages continue to grow • How AI has changed recruitment for both employers and candidates • The "spray and pray" application problem • Why recruitment should prioritise human connection over automation • How Strata is building long-term talent pipelines through graduates, apprenticeships and international hiring • What companies can learn from Google's hiring process and culture • How structured interviews lead to better hiring decisions Whether you're a CEO, founder, HR leader, recruiter or hiring manager, this episode offers practical insights into building stronger hiring strategies in an increasingly AI-driven world. About Niamh Geraghty Niamh Geraghty is Head of People at Strata. She previously held senior HR leadership roles at Google and Procore, where she led people strategy, organisational development and employee relations across global teams. Connect with Rent a Recruiter 🌐 https://www.rentarecruiter.com Follow The Talent Fix for more conversations with HR leaders, founders and talent experts on the future of work, recruitment and leadership.

May 21, 2026Episode 2424 min

AI Can Screen. It Can't Build Trust. What That Means for Hiring in 2026

AI is reshaping recruitment faster than most companies can keep up, but it still can't replace the one thing that closes a great hire: relationships and judgment. In this episode of The Talent Fix, Barry Prost sits down with David Hanrahan, Chief People Officer at SolarWinds, to unpack what's actually working in talent acquisition right now. David brings 20+ years of people leadership across Twitter, Zendesk, Eventbrite, Niantic, and SolarWinds to share what separates companies that hire well from those that don't. They cover: the build vs. buy question on agentic AI tools, why executive search still matters for hard-to-fill roles, how to write job descriptions around "wild success," tackling recruiter-hiring manager misalignment, and the growing threat of candidate and recruiter fraud. Essential listening for CPOs, CHROs, talent leaders, and anyone serious about building great teams.

April 16, 202621 min

Hiring, AI & HR Compliance: What SMEs Are Getting Wrong | Crystel Robbins Rynne - CEO, HRLocker

Many growing companies think they have a hiring problem. In reality, they’re dealing with gaps in structure, compliance, and how they manage people as they scale.This conversation cuts through the noise and focuses on what’s actually working.What we cover: Why many SMEs are still struggling with HR compliance How technology is changing the way companies manage people Where AI will (and won’t) make a real impact in HR What high-performing companies do differently when hiring Practical insights on leadership, culture, and retention If you're reviewing your hiring strategy or trying to reduce cost and improve speed, learn more here:👉 https://rentarecruiter.com

March 18, 2026Episode 2318 min

Hiring as You Scale: What’s Changing and What Still Works

Hiring doesn’t break overnight. It gets harder as companies scale. In this episode of The Talent Fix , Barry Prost speaks with Laura Walsh, Director of People & Experience at Thinscale, about what’s actually changing in hiring today and what still matters. From AI tools and CV screening to candidate experience, culture fit, and remote work, this conversation explores how modern hiring is evolving and where companies are getting it right and wrong. They discuss: How AI is shaping both sides of the hiring process Why human judgement still plays a critical role The challenges of maintaining candidate experience at scale Hiring for curiosity, culture, and long-term fit The shift towards output-based work and flexible environments What scaling companies need to rethink in their hiring approach If your business is growing and hiring is becoming more complex, this episode offers a practical look at what to focus on and what not to overcomplicate.

January 7, 2026Episode 2217 min

The Skills Crunch: What Ireland’s Talent Gap Means for Every CEO and HR Leader

Today on The Talent Fix , we’re unpacking the future of skills in Ireland and what it really means for CEOs, HR leaders, and recruiters trying to hire in an increasingly competitive market. I’m joined by Shauna Dunlop , Director of Research, Future Skills Needs, Statistics and Risk at SOLAS . Shauna leads the teams responsible for tracking labour market trends, forecasting future skills demand, and informing the education and training systems shaping Ireland’s workforce. In this episode, we discuss what the latest SOLAS research tells us about current and emerging skill shortages, where the real opportunities are for Irish businesses, and how organisations can better access and leverage upskilling initiatives to stay competitive. If you are responsible for workforce planning, hiring strategy, or long-term business growth, this conversation will help you connect skills data to real hiring decisions.

November 24, 2025Episode 2131 min

Hiring, Culture and AI with Payslip Founder & CEO Fidelma McGuirk

Barry Prost speaks with Fidelma McGuirk , Founder and CEO of Payslip. With 21 years of international leadership experience and teams built across 25 countries, Fidelma shares a practical look at hiring, culture and the real impact of AI on modern work. We dive into: • Why 58 percent of EU businesses struggle to hire ICT and engineering talent • How Payslip attracts developers out of large banks • Building culture across Ireland, Spain and Bulgaria • Why remote first is harder than most CEOs admit • The monthly CEO led onboarding session she still runs • The licence to innovate rule and how it drives better ideas • AI replacing tasks not people and what that means for teams • How project management and engineering work are changing with AI tools If you are a founder, CEO or HR leader trying to hire, scale or retain high impact talent in fintech or tech, this conversation will give you a grounded, real world view of what is working today.