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The hiring process is not just “broken” right now, it’s starting to feel openly hostile, and that’s the part we can’t ignore. I’m joined by Keirsten Greggs, better known as the Trap Recruiter, to talk about what’s happening inside talent acquisition and recruiting as the job market tilts toward employers. We get into why empathy disappears, why candidates get treated like placeholders, and why TA teams often end up fighting everyone at once: hiring managers, HR, compensation, vendors, leadership, and even each other.

We also dig into the internet layer that’s making job search harder: fake job postings, recycled openings, and LinkedIn influencer culture that rewards the loudest take over the truest one. Keirsten breaks down how to vet job search advice, why “guaranteed placement” programs can be predatory, and why anyone claiming they can teach you how to beat the ATS is selling a fantasy. We ground it with real recruiting reality: the ATS is mostly a filing system, rejections at odd hours have boring explanations, and there is no straight line from application to offer.

Then we go deeper into the human cost: cliquey TA communities, conference safety, tokenization, and the exhausting cycle of trend chasing from DEI to AI. Keirsten shares what it’s like to be a job seeker while pursuing TA leadership roles, including how an online brand can be treated as a “risk,” and what her dream role looks like across TA ops, storytelling with data, and customer education.

If you care about candidate experience, recruiting ethics, and how hiring actually works, this conversation will stick with you.

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Follow Keirsten: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traprecruiter/

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Belonging sounds simple until you try to live it. If you’ve ever walked into a room, a workplace, or even your own body and thought, “I don’t think I belong here,” this conversation puts language to that feeling without sugarcoating it. John joins me to unpack why so many of us treat acceptance like something we have to earn through achievement, polish, and overperformance, and what it costs when one small mistake can feel like a permanent label.

We draw a hard line between fitting in and true belonging. Fitting in is the exhausting work of becoming the version of you that a room will tolerate; belonging is what happens when you can be known and still be safe. We talk psychological safety at work, why representation and “a seat at the table” are not the same as being able to speak, disagree, and influence decisions, and why corporate culture can hit especially hard for people with marginalized identities. We also get real about the bigger systems underneath it all: capitalism, layoff culture, scarcity mindsets, and the limits of what any one person can fix alone.

Then we go wider. Belonging can be healthy, but it can also be weaponized. We explore cult dynamics, internet communities built on exclusion, online radicalization, and how social media creates dopamine loops that simulate connection while pushing us to sand ourselves down into something more “consumable.” We close with practical ways to lower the stakes, make better change decisions, and move toward people and places where you can put the mask down. If you want more honest conversations about belonging, identity, and work, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find us.

follow john: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfgorman/

work with him!: https://saintorange.co/

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Your body can change overnight and your calendar still expects you to be sharp, upbeat, and “professional.” Madison Butler is joined by HR consultant Talia Edmondson, founder of HRB Consulting, to talk about the perimenopause stack: irregular cycles, brain fog, insomnia, hot flashes, histamine reactions, and the mental health load of trying to act like nothing is happening. We get honest about how unprepared so many of us are, especially when women’s health was never discussed at home, and why saying it out loud is the first step to getting real support.

We also dig into the workplace side, because perimenopause, menopause, anemia, and hormonal shifts are not “personal problems” when they affect focus, memory, energy, and confidence at work. Talia shares how People teams and leaders can introduce practical, non-awkward conversations, build inclusive policies, and design employee benefits that meet actual needs. We cover feedback surveys, using data to win buy-in, health insurance realities like out-of-network specialists, and creative approaches to coverage when care isn’t accessible where employees live.

From there, we zoom out to the pressure cooker of diet culture, body image, GLP-1 ads, and social media, plus the very real spiral that happens when clothing sizes are inconsistent and your closet stops feeling safe. You’ll hear tactics for self-advocacy with clinicians (including asking them to document symptoms), thoughts on HRT myths and hormone replacement therapy, and a grounding question for tough days: “Are you good enough for today?” If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s white-knuckling it, and leave a review so more people can find it.

Work with Talia: https://www.hrnbconsulting.com/

Connect with Talia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taliaedmundson/

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The most dangerous voice at work isn’t the angriest one, it’s the confident one who’s wrong and impossible to correct. We sit down with Titara “Tara” Haynes, a People Operations leader and writer, to unpack how “loud and wrong” behavior spreads through workplaces, social media, and even the coaching and consulting world, then lands hardest on Black and brown professionals who can’t afford the fallout.

We talk about why the internet rewards certainty over accuracy, how rage bait and follower counts get mistaken for expertise, and what it looks like to opt out without spending your whole life arguing with brick walls. We also get practical about leadership accountability: the power of saying “I don’t know,” building rooms where smart people can challenge decisions, and why “soft skills” are actually the skills that keep teams healthy and businesses profitable.

Then we go straight at the grift: how to vet a coach, mentor, or consultant like you’re hiring them, what “show your work” should mean in a saturated market, and why NDAs are not an excuse for zero proof. We also name the patterns of performative allyship and weaponized tears, and how to protect your mental health when being wrong and loud becomes a career strategy for someone else.

If this hits home, share it with a friend who’s dealing with a loud-and-wrong boss, and subscribe so you don’t miss the next conversation.

After you listen, will you leave a review and tell us the loudest wrong take you’ve heard lately?

Connect with T.Tara Turk-Haynes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ttaraturkhaynes/

Work with her: https://www.equityactivations.com/

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Your resume isn’t a scrapbook of everything you’ve ever done. It’s a sales page for your work, and most of us are wasting prime space describing tasks instead of proving value.

I’m joined by Tajal (aka “caffeinated Tejal”), a longtime recruiting leader who’s reviewed hundreds of thousands of resumes, and she brings the kind of clarity that cuts through job-search panic fast.

We get specific about what recruiters want to see: bullet points that show impact, not vague claims like “results-driven.” Tejal shares her CAFE framework (Cause, Action, Findings, Effect) so you can translate your skills into evidence that works for both humans and applicant tracking systems. We also call out the ATS misinformation machine, why keyword stuffing falls apart in human review, and why tricks like hidden white-font keywords are a dead end.

Then we go where people usually won’t: bias and power. If you’ve ever been told to “dumb down” your title to look less intimidating, we explain why that advice is harmful and how to position senior experience with confidence. We also talk about the coaching grift, the red flags behind “guaranteed job placement,” and what to do if you can’t afford expensive resume services.

Tejal shares a free resource, getselected.app, plus guidance on LinkedIn profile optimization, employment gaps, and a five-minute approach to tailoring without burning out.

If you’re tired of guessing, take these tools and rebuild your resume with proof.

Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s job searching, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s the one resume line you wish a recruiter would finally understand?

Want to try Get Selected? Try it here.

Connect with Tejal.

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Someone asks you to “be humble,” and what they really mean is “be smaller.” That’s where this conversation starts. I’m joined by Atta Gracia Montilla, a community architect, facilitator, and leadership coach, to name the thing a lot of us feel but rarely say out loud: toxic humility, the explicit or unspoken expectation to shrink yourself, especially when you are exceptional and especially in white-dominant workplace culture.

We dig into what it looks like in real life, from being questioned for visible success to being told you can’t be celebrated because it might make other people uncomfortable. We unpack how individualism and comfort politics shape leadership, why talent hoarding is so common, and what a more human-centered leadership model can be instead. Atta also shares how ancestral and Indigenous community norms treat everyone’s gifts as something to be supported, not competed with, and why celebrating yourself and others can be a form of medicine against oppressive systems.

Then we zoom out to the pressure women face around beauty standards, weight, and aging, plus the internet-fueled FOMO that turns your real life into a performance. We close with practical tools: curating small moments that feel like yours, tracking your phone habits, using discernment in conflict, and building “conflict bravery” so you know when to engage and when to walk away. If you’re ready to stop dimming your light, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

follow Altagracia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/altagraciamontilla/

work with her: https://altagraciamontilla.com/services/

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DEI doesn’t fail because people “don’t get it.” It fails because the people with power won’t share it. Maddie B sits down with award-winning learning development and global talent management pro Jasmine Mosley Beale, founder of Virtue Key Consulting Group, to name what a lot of workplaces avoid saying out loud: diversity, equity, and inclusion without authority, budget, and decision rights is just PR.

We talk about the difference between looking diverse and being equitable, why headline diversity numbers can hide a leadership gap, and why attrition tells the truth when culture doesn’t. Jasmine breaks down what to examine beyond the org chart, including who drives strategy, who executes it, and how the “mighty middle” can either reinforce bias or move real change. We also dig into employee resource groups, sponsorship versus mentorship, and why so many DEI roles burn out when they’re set up with titles but no leverage.

Then we go where most conversations stop: performative allyship, proximity-as-credibility, getting lowballed for expertise, and the exhausting expectation that marginalized people must overperform while accepting the bare minimum. If you’re building a DEI strategy, leading HR or talent management, or interviewing a company and trying to spot the red flags early, you’ll leave with concrete questions to ask and a clearer lens for what workplace inclusion actually requires.

Subscribe for more real workplace conversations, share this with a leader who needs to hear it, and leave a review with the one change you want to see at work next.

Follow Jasmine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-m-beal-2190b327/

work with Jasmine: www.virtuekey.com

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