Candidate experience is no longer an HR side conversation, it is a direct reflection of your brand.

In this episode, Denise Chaffin sits down with Eric Smuda, customer and employee experience leader and former executive at major consumer brands, to unpack why candidates should be treated like customers, not transactions. Drawing from decades of experience in highly competitive industries, Eric explains how moments of friction, lack of communication, and poor process design quietly drive talent away long before an offer is made.

The conversation explores practical parallels between customer journeys and candidate journeys, how transparency and communication reduce anxiety, why AI must be managed, not deployed blindly, and what happens when companies ignore the experience of contractors, gig workers, and referrals. As hiring begins to accelerate again, this episode challenges TA and HR leaders to rethink how experience, culture, and trust are built from the very first interaction.

Key Episode Segments:

• Candidate experience is brand experience

Every interaction shapes whether a candidate trusts your company, even if they never get hired.

• Silence creates anxiety, communication builds trust

Candidates disengage when they do not know where they stand or what to expect next.

• AI requires ownership, not autopilot

AI tools must be actively managed, monitored, and improved to avoid damaging trust.

• Contractors and gig workers still define your culture

How you treat non-full-time workers sends a clear signal about values and leadership.

• Employee referrals fail when experience is broken

Poor candidate experience discourages future referrals and damages internal trust.

In this episode of Talking TA, Denise Chaffin sits down with Michael Goldberg, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition Operations at U.S. Renal Care, for a candid and deeply practical conversation about the future of recruiting. Michael shares his career journey from frontline recruiting into TA operations and explains why operations, metrics, and project management are becoming mission-critical for modern TA teams.

Together, Denise and Michael explore why sourcing is not disappearing, but evolving, how AI should support recruiters instead of replacing them, and why decision-making is the biggest gap in hiring today. They discuss recruiter accountability, candidate experience, retention responsibility, and the importance of truly understanding the business you recruit for.

The conversation also tackles the reality of today’s conferences, the loss of real community learning, and what TA professionals must focus on to stay relevant heading into 2026. This episode is a grounded, experience-driven look at what actually works in talent acquisition when technology, people, and leadership align.

Key Episode Segments:

• TA operations is no longer optional, it’s essential for scale and consistency

• AI should remove admin work, not human connection or accountability

• Recruiters share responsibility for retention through better hiring decisions

• Understanding the business is a required skill, not a nice-to-have

• Real recruiting success comes from service, curiosity, and communication

In this episode of Talking TA, Denise talks with Steven Swan, CEO of The Swan Group, about the rise of the “bionic employee” and the dramatic shifts happening across IT, business operations, and talent acquisition. Steven explains how AI is transforming technical roles, creating hybrid talent that blends business understanding with technical literacy. He covers how coding tasks are changing, why business partner roles are surging, and how transferable skills will matter more than degrees for future IT opportunities. Denise and Steven also explore what roles will become obsolete, which ones will grow, and how TA professionals can better support these evolving teams. The conversation offers a clear, grounded view into why the future belongs to employees who can sit between business and technology and articulate the “art of the possible.”

Key Episode Segments:

• AI is creating the “bionic employee,” where workers become faster and more effective by offloading repetitive work to AI.

• Business partner and relationship management roles are booming, as companies need people who can translate business needs into technical solutions.

• AI is shifting coding work back onshore, because employees can now generate and review code locally while maintaining direct communication with business teams.

• Transferable skills will fuel internal mobility, especially for TA, HR, operations, and customer-facing professionals who understand how business functions work.

• The middle of the hiring process remains irreplaceable, since AI cannot build relationships, qualify motivations, or manage offer dynamics the way experienced recruiters can.

In this episode, Denise sits down with Pernille Weitemeyer Larsen, Head of Global Talent Acquisition for Creative Force and co founder of Denmark’s largest TA network. Pernille shares an inside look at how TA is evolving and what needs to change for recruiters to become strategic partners instead of support staff. The conversation explores the outdated nature of traditional recruitment processes, why job posts should function more like dating profiles, and how culture fits within modern organizations. Denise and Pernille dig into AI misconceptions, the myth of resume screening, and why the human connection will matter even more as technology accelerates. They also highlight the growing shift toward flexibility, wellness, and employee centered culture. This episode delivers a powerful and practical roadmap for TA and HR teams preparing for the future of hiring.

Key Episode Segments:

• TA must shift from support function to strategic partner:

Businesses rely on people, and recruiters should be empowered to shape long term workforce strategy.

• ATS tools are still mostly glorified spreadsheets:

Most resume screening is still done by humans. Candidates should not alter resumes for mythical AI filters.

• Culture lives in people, not office walls:

Remote and hybrid work do not weaken culture when communication, trust, and support are prioritized.

• Recruitment needs a redesign:

Job posts should act like dating profiles and show the personality, expectations, and culture of the team.

• AI will raise the value of human skills:

As AI automates technical tasks, collaboration, communication, and creativity become the true differentiators.

In this episode, Denise Chaffin sits down with industryanalyst and publisher Matt Charney to break down the real state of recruiting and what the TA community can expect in 2026. Matt brings deep context from years across recruiting, analytics, media, and workforce insights, giving a grounded and balanced view of what’s actually happening beneath the noise.

The conversation covers the difference between a recessionand a reset, the impact of AI on both job stability and recruiter workflows, and why so many teams are struggling with hiring efficiency and long-term planning. Matt highlights the roles that will matter most, including talent intelligence, workforce strategy, and internal mobility design. He also explains why sourcing as we know it is already automated and whyrelationship-driven recruiting is now the strongest competitive advantage.

Denise and Matt explore the shift toward employee “hugging,” burnout risk, and how companies are rediscovering the importance of cross-training, upskilling, and human-first roles. They also dig into candidate development, internal referrals, and why employer branding priorities shiftdramatically during downturns.

The episode ends with practical encouragement for TAprofessionals: the market will swing back, AI is not eliminating the profession, and recruiters who develop multidimensional business, marketing, and advisory skills will thrive when hiring ramps again.

Key Episode Segments:

• The talent market is in a reset, not a collapse, and AI is shaping perception more than reality.

• Sourcing is already automated across most tools, putting more importance on human candidate engagement.

• Internal mobility, referrals, and talent intelligence will become the strongest levers for future hiring.

• Employers are overextending existing staff, increasing burnout and creating demand for human-first roles.

• Recruiters who build business literacy, competitive intelligence, and advisory skills will be positioned for future growth.

In this episode, Denise Chaffin sits down with Seth Stover, founder and CEO of Tide Rise, a company transforming outsourcing into a force for global good. What began as a small project in Malawi evolved into a scalable model of economic empowerment and opportunity. Seth shares how his team turned a conversation about unemployment into a thriving business that connects skilled Malawian talent with global companies—creating sustainable work, community impact, and operational efficiency.

They explore how work segmentation helps companies rethink the division of labor between internal teams, AI, and global talent. Seth breaks down the Tide Rise model, showing how it goes beyond cost savings to drive transformation for both clients and communities. From building reliable infrastructure in Malawi to generating standard operating procedures for AI readiness, this episode offers a masterclass in purposeful growth, social innovation, and the future of work.

Key Episode Segments:

• Outsourcing with Impact – Tide Rise began as an experiment to provide opportunity in Malawi and evolved into a model that blends business efficiency with social purpose.

• Work Segmentation Framework – Seth introduces a process to evaluate every task by strategy, risk, and engagement—helping companies delegate smarter across people and technology.

• Economic Empowerment in Action – Employment in Malawi has ripple effects: housing stability, education access for siblings, and breaking cycles of generational poverty.

• Sustainable Operations – Tide Rise built robust infrastructure—redundant power systems, high-speed connectivity, and local leadership—to maintain 99.99% uptime in a developing region.

• Preparing for the AI Future – By converting workflows into ISO-compliant SOPs, clients are not just outsourcing—they’re future-proofing for automation and AI integration.

In this episode, host Denise Chaffin sits down with Gina Riley, career transition coach and author of Qualified Isn’t Enough, to explore why great talent often gets overlooked—and how to fix it. Drawing from her “Career Velocity” framework, Gina shares a nine-step process that helps leaders clarify their unique value proposition, tell their career stories with confidence, and show up as “rare candidates” in a competitive market. They discuss the importance of storytelling, executive presence, and thought leadership as career-long strategies for visibility and growth. Whether you’re an executive seeking your next role or a TA leader coaching others through transition, this conversation offers a blueprint for standing out in the modern job market.

Key Episode Segments:

• The Rare Candidate Framework — Research, Align, Read the Room, Evaluate to prepare for interviews with clarity and intentionality.

• Your Story Is Your Edge — Craft a narrative that connects your career thread to future opportunities instead of just listing qualifications.

• Thought Leadership Matters — Becoming known for your ideas takes consistent effort (18–24 months) but keeps you visible and relevant.

• LinkedIn as Your Storefront — Executives and leaders must keep their profiles current to reflect both personal and company brand.

• Recruiters as Strategic Partners — TA leaders should embrace curiosity, business literacy, and storytelling to influence better hiring outcomes.

Recruiters beware — the future is already here. In this episode of Talking TA, host Denise Chaffin sits down with Gail Houston Associate Director at Grail and Jim Schnyder, President of Recruiting Advisors, to explore how AI is reshaping the recruiting landscape. As co-directors of the DFW Texas Recruiters Network, they’ve spent years training recruiters to stay on the leading edge — from the early days of social sourcing to the rise of ChatGPT and beyond.

Together, they unpack how recruiters can use AI for talent mapping, interview prep, and candidate evaluation while avoiding pitfalls like bias, hallucinations, and fake applicants. They also share practical examples of building custom GPTs, balancing automation with authenticity, and preparing the next generation of recruiters for an AI-driven world.

This is a masterclass for anyone navigating the new intersection of technology and talent acquisition — with insights straight from two of the industry’s most forward-thinking practitioners.

Key Episode Segments:

• AI Isn’t New — It’s Evolving: From early ATS automation to ChatGPT, recruiters have been using forms of AI for decades. What’s new is the speed and accessibility of today’s tools.

• Use AI, Don’t Be Replaced by It: Houston and Schnyder demonstrate how recruiters can use AI for talent mapping, screening, and preparation — without losing the human touch.

• Bias and Hallucinations Are Real Risks: Both experts stress the importance of training AI carefully and verifying results rather than relying on automated scoring.

• Fake Candidates and Deepfakes Are Rising: They share stories of interviewees using AI voice filters, fake faces, and automated answer tools — and how recruiters can spot them.

• Training Is the Bridge: Through the DFW Recruiters Network, they show how simplifying AI education helps recruiters adopt new tech without fear or confusion.