Recruiting Future with Matt Alder - What's Next For Talent Acquisition, HR & Hiring?

Matt Alder
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Talent acquisition is undergoing unprecedented disruption as AI, economic uncertainty, and the ever-shortening lifespan of skills radically reshape recruiting. On Recruiting Future, Matt Alder explores this evolving landscape, using insightful interviews with transformational TA practitioners and forward-thinking experts to spark your imagination and provide the insights you need to shape the future of talent acquisition in your organization. Each episode explores topics such as AI, recruiting automation, recruitment marketing, employer branding, skills-based hiring, assessment, candidate experience, DEI, internal mobility, and the transformation of TA teams. Recruiting Future is an essential resource for everyone involved in hiring. Matt Alder is a globally respected talent acquisition futurist, author, and speaker with over 25 years of experience exploring what’s next in recruiting. Renowned for his expertise in strategic foresight and technology trends, Matt provides a unique perspective that empowers leaders to navigate disruption. His deep industry knowledge and ability to spark meaningful conversations make Recruiting Future a must-listen for talent acquisition and HR professionals everywhere.

  1. Best of The Alder Hour - Master Burnett, Madeline Laurano & Laurie Ruettimann

    3H AGO · BONUS

    Best of The Alder Hour - Master Burnett, Madeline Laurano & Laurie Ruettimann

    Recruiting Future is currently on summer break, and the regular show will resume next week. I didn't want to leave you with nothing to listen to over Labor Day weekend, though… The Alder Hour is my show with Purple Acorn, which live streams on LinkedIn every Monday afternoon. Every show features an interview segment, and I wanted to share here three of the best interviews we've had so far, showcasing three of the smartest people in the industry. Keep listening to hear: Master Burnett from HireBrain discussing the ways AI can augment hiring Madeline Laurano, the founder of Aptitude Research, talking about the impact of AI on the vendor  landscape Laurie Ruettimann from Punk Rock HR warning us about the end of work as we know it.

    56 min
  2. A Deep Dive Into AI & The Future Of Talent Acquisition

    AUG 22

    A Deep Dive Into AI & The Future Of Talent Acquisition

    Recruiting Future is taking a couple of weeks off and will return the first week in September. In the meantime, I've got some summer specials for you. As I don't need to tell you, AI is a massive topic at the moment and isn't going to change any time soon; it's only going to get bigger and more critical. With that in mind, I wanted to share my thoughts on where we are with AI at the moment, its future direction, and also share the outline of a framework I've developed for strategic AI implementation in TA. Earlier in the summer, I was a guest on the Saville Assessment Deep Dive podcast, talking about AI. The host, Hannah Mullaney, asked such great questions that I thought I would drop the whole episode into the Recruiting Future podcast feed for you to take a listen to. So, with thanks to Hannah and the team at Saville, here is a deep dive into my take on AI and the future of talent acquisition.

    55 min

  3. AUG 14

    How AI Is Finally Killing The Resume

    The explosion of AI-generated applications isn't just breaking traditional recruiting - it's creating an unprecedented opportunity by making sophisticated assessment tools accessible for early-stage screening. There is now the opportunity to filter thousands of applicants based on actual predictive data. However, the vendor landscape here can be confusing, and some offerings lack the transparency that employers need. So how can organizations identify tools that leverage AI's efficiency while respecting established peer-reviewed assessment science? My guest this week is Djurre Holtrop, Assistant Professor at Tilburg University. In our conversation, Jura reveals how AI could democratize evidence-based assessment for organizations of all sizes and offers advice on best practices and the future assessment landscape. In the interview, we discuss: The science-practice gap in assessment The tension arising from the rapid development of AI and the need to evaluate work performance results over time. AI isn't making the process worse because CVs and cover letters have no predictive validity. How is AI improving the science? Transforming recruiting with early-stage screening How bias carries through the recruiting process Resetting our mental models What does the future look like? Recruiting Future helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. If you're interested in finding out how your TA function measures up in these four critical areas, I've created the free FITT for the Future Assessment. It'll give you personalised insights to help you build strategic clarity and drive greater impact immediately. Just head to mattalder.me/podcast to complete the assessment—it only takes a few minutes. Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

    26 min

  4. AUG 13

    Making Neurodiversity Work

    Up to 20% of the global workforce is likely to be neurodivergent and mostly undiagnosed. Understanding how to unlock the full potential of people with non-typical brains should be important to all employers. The difference between the right and wrong job fit for someone with ADHD or other neurodivergent conditions can be the difference between struggling daily and becoming a top performer.  So what if the key to creating exceptional teams lies not in trying to fit everyone into the same mold, but in asking the right questions to understand what each person needs to thrive? My guest this week is Shell Mendelson, an ADHD career coach with 35 years of experience helping neurodivergent individuals find their ideal work fit. In our conversation, Shell shares her proven process for identifying the "must-haves" that enable neurodivergent employees to perform at their highest level and explains why understanding individual needs benefits both employees and employers. In the interview, we discuss: The challenges for ND people at work Why everyone's needs are different The benefits of recognising the spectrum of different brains in your organization The contradictions of neurodiversity The importance of job fit and asking the right questions How small accommodations can make a massive impact Making work better for everyone Recruiting Future helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. If you're interested in finding out how your TA function measures up in these four critical areas, I've created the free FITT for the Future Assessment. It'll give you personalised insights to help you build strategic clarity and drive greater impact immediately. Just head to mattalder.me/podcast to complete the assessment—it only takes a few minutes. Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

    36 min

  5. AUG 8

    Search, Social, And Strategic Recruitment Marketing

    Recruiting Future helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. If you're interested in finding out how your TA function measures up in these four critical areas, I've created the free FITT for the Future Assessment. It'll give you personalised insights to help you build strategic clarity and drive greater impact immediately. Just head to mattalder.me/podcast to complete the assessment—it only takes a few minutes. This episode is about Talent and Technology. The recruitment marketing landscape has been about more than just job advertising for a long time. However, many employers are still missing out on the unique benefits search and social bring to the marketing mix by approaching these channels in the same way they approach job boards.  As AI reshapes these platforms and candidate behavior evolves rapidly, there's a widening gap between companies seeing dramatic results and those struggling with failed campaigns and wasted investment. The difference isn't budget—it's about building long-term strategies based on data and a strong understanding of each channel's unique strengths and differences.  So what can employers do to ensure they are getting full value from their recruitment marketing budgets? My guests this week are Kelsey Krater, Chief Platform Officer at Appcast, and Appcast's Director of Digital Media, Alexandra Horwitt Anema. In our conversation, we talk about the unique strengths of search and social, how they are evolving and the critical importance of data in recruitment marketing.  In the interview, we discuss: Driving quality hires from recruitment marketing Why search and social aren't job boards Search and intent Filling funnel gaps and building diversity A layered media approach Telling stories with social The danger of prioritising quick wins over long-term strategy Recent developments in search and social The critical importance of data Nurturing and remarketing Pipeline building over transactional thinking What does the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

    21 min

  6. AUG 6

    The Impact Of Career Gap Bias

    For too long, gaps in resumes have been a red flag for recruiters. But what if this outdated bias is costing you your best hires? In today's world, where everyone's constantly reskilling and skills become obsolete within months, penalizing career breaks makes absolutely no sense. This red flag mentality drives ageism and automatically screens out experienced professionals. Organizations clinging to "recent experience" requirements are handing their competitors access to mature talent bringing fresh perspectives, proven loyalty, and decades of expertise. So how can forward-thinking employers flip this nonsensical bias into strategic advantage by recognizing that career breaks often create stronger professionals, not weaker ones? My guest this week is Hazel Little, CEO at Career Returners. Hazel exposes the real cost of resume gap discrimination and shares proven strategies for building returner programs that deliver business results. In our conversation, she reveals why the red flag mentality around career breaks belongs in recruiting's past. In the interview, we discuss: What is a career returner? What are the common issues returners face The human impact of bias What drives career gap bias? Incorrect perceptions, false assumptions, and outdated approaches to hiring The significant advantages of tapping into the returner talent pool The significance of the decreasing shelf life of skills Advice to employers What might the future look like? Recruiting Future helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. If you're interested in finding out how your TA function measures up in these four critical areas, I've created the free FITT for the Future Assessment. It'll give you personalised insights to help you build strategic clarity and drive greater impact immediately. Just head to mattalder.me/podcast to complete the assessment—it only takes a few minutes. Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

    32 min
  7. Soft Skills, Hard Data – Making Predictive Hiring Work

    AUG 1

    Soft Skills, Hard Data – Making Predictive Hiring Work

    How do we move from reactive recruiting to predictive talent acquisition? In an era where performance metrics drive every business decision, recruitment often remains stubbornly intuition-based, especially when evaluating soft skills like empathy, communication, and critical thinking. What if AI could help us predict performance before a candidate even starts? And what happens when we connect hiring decisions to actual performance outcomes, creating a feedback loop that makes recruiters smarter over time? Can technology help us understand which risks are worth taking, and which gut feelings we should trust?  My guests this week are Veronique Lacasse, Senior Manager at Bell Canada, and Stephane Rivard, Co-founder and CEO of HiringBranch. In our conversation, Veronique and Stephane walk us through Bell's integrated approach to talent acquisition, which utilizes AI assessment data on soft skills to create a predictive, performance-driven hiring system that is still very much driven by human recruiters. In the interview, we discuss: Soft skills and business performance Measuring soft skills with AI driven assessments Challenges in high-volume hiring Building a feedback loop in recruiting, onboarding, and training Showing recruiters the performance outcomes of their decisions The candidate experience Why human recruiters aren't being replaced What does the future look like? Recruiting Future helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. If you're interested in finding out how your TA function measures up in these four critical areas, I've created the free FITT for the Future Assessment. It'll give you personalised insights to help you build strategic clarity and drive greater impact immediately. Just head to mattalder.me/podcast to complete the assessment; it takes less than 5 minutes. Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

    23 min
  8. Inside Zapier's AI Transformation

    AUG 1

    Inside Zapier's AI Transformation

    Organizations face a critical AI inflection point: the pressure to implement quickly conflicts with uncertainty about the right approach. While some companies are still cautiously experimenting with basic AI tools, others have fundamentally reimagined how work gets done. What separates the companies achieving remarkable results from those stuck in endless pilots? Often, it's not the technology itself but the culture and approach to adoption. So how exactly are companies at the cutting edge getting to the cutting edge? My guest this week is Brandon Sammut, Chief People Officer at Zapier. Ever since Zapier's"CEO issued a 'Code Red" on AI back in March 2023, Zapier has been undergoing an AI transformation in every part of its business.. In our conversation, Brandon shares how their AI strategy is boosting both productivity and employee engagement, why and how every new hire must demonstrate AI fluency, and why it is critical to keep the human touch in talent acquisition and throughout the employee journey. In the interview, we discuss: Competing in an AI-first world AI is a tool, not an outcome in itself. AI in People Operations Increasing personalization and connection in talent acquisition Understanding the moments that matter Using the human touch as a competitive advantage The critical importance of psychological safety and experimentation  Why culture beats skills The four levels of fluency in Zapier's AI Fluency Framework Bias & ethics Where is AI transformation heading, and what will the future look like Recruiting Future helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Teyou'regy. If you're interested in finding out how your TA function measures up in these four critical areas, I've created the free FITT for the Future Assessment. It'll give you personalised insights to help you build strategic clarity and drive greater impact immediately. Just head to mattalder.me/podcast to complete the assessment—it only takes a few minutes. Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

    38 min
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4.7
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About

Talent acquisition is undergoing unprecedented disruption as AI, economic uncertainty, and the ever-shortening lifespan of skills radically reshape recruiting. On Recruiting Future, Matt Alder explores this evolving landscape, using insightful interviews with transformational TA practitioners and forward-thinking experts to spark your imagination and provide the insights you need to shape the future of talent acquisition in your organization. Each episode explores topics such as AI, recruiting automation, recruitment marketing, employer branding, skills-based hiring, assessment, candidate experience, DEI, internal mobility, and the transformation of TA teams. Recruiting Future is an essential resource for everyone involved in hiring. Matt Alder is a globally respected talent acquisition futurist, author, and speaker with over 25 years of experience exploring what’s next in recruiting. Renowned for his expertise in strategic foresight and technology trends, Matt provides a unique perspective that empowers leaders to navigate disruption. His deep industry knowledge and ability to spark meaningful conversations make Recruiting Future a must-listen for talent acquisition and HR professionals everywhere.

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