The last few years have been a whirlwind for startup growth, and it's incredibly challenging to understand the outflow of investment capital and its impacts on hiring. 

In this episode, Matt and I had the opportunity to sit down with Alex Camacho. Alex started his career recruiting for Google and Mixpanel, and now leads his own consulting practice where he has advised over 80 startup founders. We discuss how VC investment trends have evolved over the last three years, and what the current market indicates for both founders and job seekers. We also compare employer markets against candidate markets, and how high-performing talent teams are currently finding success. Lastly, Alex leaves us with some amazing words of wisdom on how recruiters can best position themselves to win amidst a lack of hiring appetite from companies.

Layoffs are incredibly difficult, and successfully navigating through them is no easy task!

In this episode, Matt and I had the opportunity to chat with Drew Plack, a talented recruiting leader who was recently impacted by the layoffs at Meta. Join us as Drew shares his journey from the initial impact of the layoff, what he did in the following weeks to move forward in a positive way, and his action-oriented approach that led him to land a series of interviews for his next opportunity. Lastly, we discuss how people can use challenging situations to reinvent themselves professionally and take meaningful steps toward future success. 

For this episode, Matt and I continue our conversation with John McSorley. We take a critical look at how organizations are evaluating and navigating remote work vs. a return to the office, and how this is reshaping company culture and employee interaction. We also discuss how recent waves of layoffs have fundamentally altered the idea of employee trust and loyalty to their company. Finally, as we dig into the potential future of HR, People Ops and Recruiting, we explore how teams could be structured and what functions could be kept internal vs. being outsourced, and what this means for professionals in this space.

For this episode, Matt and I had the amazing opportunity to speak with acclaimed CPO and Entrepreneur, John McSorley about the future of HR, current disruptions in recruitment, and the future of team engagement. Matt and I recognize the world of recruitment is changing at a pace never seen and John brings a unique perspective on leading Human Resource teams for pre/post-IPO startups, as well as Fortune 500 champions. 

There are several topics we explore in this episode. First, we further address the challenges talent leaders face with the amount of industry-wide noise that is dominating startups over the past 12 months. Next, we address the evolution of change management among leaders and how our world of 2019 looked very different in 2021, and even more change in 2023. Lastly, we look ahead to the future of the role of Human Resources and People leaders in the new world, post-Covid.

After Matt and I finished recording our Season 2 Kickoff episode, we both realized we had only begun to scratch the surface and needed to take a deeper dive into what is currently going on in the world of recruiting right now. 

There are several topics we explore in this episode. First, we further address the massive amount of industry-wide layoffs that have been happening in recent months. Next, we how to navigate them as both an employer and employee. Lastly, we look ahead to some new developments that could potentially reshape the recruiting landscape and the startup industry as a whole.

Welcome back, and thank you for joining me for Season 2! This season comes with some exciting changes. First and foremost, Matt Abbott will be joining me as my new co-host. 

To kick off this season, Matt and I discuss the current state of recruiting, the job market, and the challenges facing the tech/startup industry. With the recent economic downturn and the looming threat of a full blown recession, we address the proverbial elephant in the room and set the stage for what's to come in future episodes.

Join me this week as I sit down with Mandy Zavala to discuss how to craft a world-class candidate experience. Mandy has spent her career working as a tactical recruiter and talent leader at several of the most well-known tech companies in the world, and brings a wealth of knowledge to this conversation. 

In this episode, Mandy and I discuss her philosophy on candidate experience, and how it's evolved over the course of her career. We break down what the best teams have done to help their candidates thrive during the interview process, and some of the biggest pitfalls to avoid. Finally, Mandy provides some expert advice on how recruiting teams can level up their candidate experience to lay the foundation for future growth.

Tune in this week as Matt Abbott and I explore how leaders can guide their teams through difficult situations via effective communication. As the President of The Sourcery, and with 20+ years of recruiting experience under his belt, Matt is no stranger to leading teams through the good times and the bad. 

In this episode, Matt and I start by reflecting back to when he was first elevated into a management role and had to start having difficult conversations with his team. We highlight a few of the hardest lessons that were learned, and how those lessons were applied in the future. Next, we discuss what leaders can do to ensure their managers are prepared to have difficult conversations with their teams. Lastly, Matt provides insight into what his gold standard of communication looks like, and what he's doing to lead his team through the current market uncertainty.