The Chad & Cheese Podcast

Evergreen Podcasts
  • 3.0 (2)
  • Careers
  • Semiweekly

Everything people and workforce—recruiting, marketing, technology, talent management, and workforce economics—delivered with biting sarcasm and unapologetic snark. Industry misfits Chad Sowash and Joel Cheesman bring their no-holds-barred opinions to dissect news, trends, and the occasional dumpster fire. If you’re a hiring company, staffing firm, or vendor looking for insights (and a thick skin), these two won’t just tell you what’s happening—they’ll tell you why you’re probably doing it wrong. Buckle up, buttercup.

  1. 1d ago

    Stop Rejecting Talent with Ritu Mohanka

    Grab your stroopwafels and lock the doors, kids: Chad Sowash is loose in Amsterdam, posting up at the House of HR with Ritu Mohanka, CEO of VONQ. In an era where job seekers are arming AI agents to mass-apply to 10,000 roles before breakfast, recruiters are drowning in oceans of perfectly polished, robotic nonsense. Enter VONQ’s grand pivot: shifting from a glorified job-distribution engine into an agentic screening powerhouse designed to weed out the hallucinated resumes and find humans who actually want the gig. In this episode, Chad and Ritu tear into: The "Quantity vs. Quality" ScamScreening In vs. Screening OutThe Wild West vs. The EU AI ActThe Big Tech Savior ComplexThe "Robots Aren't Killing Us" Defense Tune in for the tech breakdown, stay for the agency-bashing snark, and find out whether your ATS is just a digital file cabinet wrapped in buzzwords. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  2. 5d ago

    Blue Waves, a $6.3B Binance Hack, & Fake Job Numbers?

    America just handed out a reality check at the ballot box, but is the pain finally easing or just changing form? On this week’s Chad & Cheese Podcast, we break down the midterm results and what the Democratic gains actually mean for businesses, workers, and the chaos of the last few years. We dig into the wild story of the Binance engineer who thought he was interviewing for a job and instead handed North Korean hackers the keys to a $6.34 billion heist — a sharp reminder of how sophisticated job-related social engineering has become. We also look at the latest JOLTS job openings numbers and why a surface-level gain doesn’t erase the “no hire, no fire” reality, ongoing white-collar layoffs, or the ghost-job problem. Then we turn to new Brookings research on ICE enforcement since 2025, which shows raids are quietly destroying more local jobs than they create through chilling effects and business disruption, especially in construction and related industries. Plus, a “Who’d You Rather” between two very different AI startups (one training agents, one matching candidates), a personal tribute, and the usual amount of unfiltered HR tech commentary. The election’s over. The hard questions aren’t. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Blue Waves, a $6.3B Binance Hack, & Fake Job Numbers?

  3. 6d ago

    Shredded: Plato, Rocker, SeekOut, Bites, Roleo, Talroo, Upwork, & More

    The Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Shredded: Plato, Rocker, SeekOut, Bites, Roleo, Talroo, Upwork, & More

  4. Nov 3

    Gen Z Got Job Problems: AI Didn’t Kill the Resume. It Exposed It

    Joel and Chad sit down with Holly Hobbs—Gen Z founder, first-job TikToker, and co-founder of uruture—to talk about how young people actually get work now. She built an audience by posting her own rejection-to-apprenticeship story, then turned that into a business that helps employers reach school leavers instead of making kids game an ATS. "Number 10" even used that reach to talk to young people about careers. They get into why apprenticeships and frontline jobs still fight for respect, what “authentic” employer brand really means on TikTok, and why posting a job with stock photos doesn’t work. AI and easy-apply come up too: not as the death of hiring, but as proof the old process was already broken. Holly’s take on the mood among Gen Z is mixed—grim application stories on one side, side hustles and new companies on the other—and she argues first jobs should judge people on who they are, not a blank CV. It's a vision into the future and a warning for those stuck in the past. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction to Holly Hobbs and her background 03:45 - Interviewing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and her social media strategy 07:08 - Holly's journey from job searching to founding uruture 08:48 - The mechanics of job applications and the role of CVs 09:59 - How Holly's business helps young people navigate the job market 10:34 - Understanding apprenticeships in the UK and their opportunities 11:07 - The value of blue-collar and entry-level roles 12:49 - Building an authentic employer brand for Gen Z 13:44 - The importance of visual and story-driven employer branding 14:26 - Transparency about work culture and expectations 16:06 - Diversity targets and targeted job advertising 17:09 - The impact of AI on job search and applications 18:40 - The future of job boards and entry-level recruitment 20:46 - Challenges faced by young job seekers and the role of experience 22:32 - The importance of soft skills and personality in hiring 24:16 - Using behavioral data and AI to assess candidates 25:45 - The optimism and challenges among young people today 28:16 - The importance of building networks and side hustles 32:24 - The decline of traditional CVs and the rise of new application methods 33:38 - Holly's contact info and final thoughts See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Gen Z Got Job Problems: AI Didn’t Kill the Resume. It Exposed It

  5. Oct 30

    Anthropic IPO or BUST!

    Golden Handshakes, Digital Paperclips, and a Very Expensive Extinction Chad Sowash, a rain-soaked Stephen McGrath, and Lieven Van Nieuwenhuizen log on for a dose of HR tech absurdity, corporate passive-aggression, and high-stakes market delusion. The HR Stack Trap: Stephen takes pity on the hundreds of corporate talent leaders weeping on LinkedIn after hoarding dozens of shiny SaaS tools they have no idea how to operate. The "Please Quit" Playbook: Microsoft casually offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 workers, while Skydance goes with the classic combo of buyouts mixed with a forced march back to physical cubicles. Who’d You Rather: Tech Edition: Faced with a hypothetical 2:00 AM closing-time dilemma, the hosts choose between two software suitors. ZenZapp pitches a private messaging fortress with rigid boundaries for your sanity, while Town rolls out $108M in backing and automated “Townie” bots designed to chat with each other so human employees can stay home. Dayforce Goes Shopping: Dayforce finally emerges from its quiet era to swallow Ribbon, an AI video and voice screening startup. Anthropic's 80-Billion-Dollar Bar Tab: The episode wraps with Anthropic gearing up for an IPO. Revenue rocketed past $16B, but it comes hitched to an eye-watering $80 billion net loss in the first half of 2026 alone. Cue Chad retreating into the fetal position with a cold pint of Guinness to ponder the financial apocalypse. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Anthropic IPO or BUST!

  6. Oct 29

    Shredded: Paylocity, Dayforce, Ribbon AI, Colare, Microsoft, Skydance, eTeam, & More

    The Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Shredded: Paylocity, Dayforce, Ribbon AI, Colare, Microsoft, Skydance, eTeam, & More

  7. Oct 27

    How Heineken's Turned Recruiting Data Into Business Results with Kobi Ampoma

    How do you tell 21,000 candidates a year "thanks, but no thanks" without accidentally convincing them to stop drinking your beer? From Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, Chad Sowash catches up with Heineken’s Head of Talent, Kobi Ampoma, to peel back the curtain on enterprise hiring reality. They break down the real cost of clunky legacy tech, why calendar Tetris is devouring 30% of your recruiters' workweeks, and the secret to getting a CRO’s attention by tying empty seats directly to lost revenue. Plus, discover how Heineken teamed up with VONQ to rethink candidate persona mapping—driving a 75% female hire rate for their commercial teams and proving that the best diversity strategy is simply reflecting the customers who actually buy your product. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    How Heineken's Turned Recruiting Data Into Business Results with Kobi Ampoma

  8. Oct 23

    Out-LinkedIn, LinkedIn?

    Paris is Burning, Autonomous Fridges are Hacking Back, and the "Hiring Reject Machine" is Eating Candidates Alive Ever wonder what happens when nearly $400 million in VC cash collides with pure, unadulterated recruiting chaos? Strap in, because Chad and Cheese are back to expose the absolute circus that is modern AI talent tech. In this episode, we unpack: Elon’s 30-Second Wonder: Why SpaceX-style thrusters on a car are about as viable for a 5-minute flight as a chocolate fireguard. The Bullhorn Blackout: Ten thousand staffing agencies left staring at blank walls after a cyberattack. Did data fly the coop? Nobody knows, but at least recruiters got a coffee break! Eightfold’s Musical Chairs: A massive lawsuit, a new CEO stepping into the ring, and why this looks suspiciously like the Theranos of recruiting. Are any of these tech bros actually thinking about the poor job seeker getting ground up in the gears? Absolutely not! Tune in for the hot takes, the rage, and a bartender who definitively understands the assignment.Listen now before your ATS turns into a sentient overlord. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Out-LinkedIn, LinkedIn?
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About

Everything people and workforce—recruiting, marketing, technology, talent management, and workforce economics—delivered with biting sarcasm and unapologetic snark. Industry misfits Chad Sowash and Joel Cheesman bring their no-holds-barred opinions to dissect news, trends, and the occasional dumpster fire. If you’re a hiring company, staffing firm, or vendor looking for insights (and a thick skin), these two won’t just tell you what’s happening—they’ll tell you why you’re probably doing it wrong. Buckle up, buttercup.

Information

  • Creator
    Evergreen Podcasts
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.7K
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © © 2025 The Chad & Cheese Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Chad & Cheese Podcast

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