Rec Tech: the Recruiting Technology Podcast

SAN FRANCISCO — Crosschq today announced the acquisition of Traitify, a leading assessment platform for frontline and high-volume hiring, advancing its mission to build the industry’s first outcome-trained foundation model for hiring. https://hrtechfeed.com/crosschq-announces-acquisition-of-traitify/ SAN FRANCISCO — Lattice, the HCM platform announced the acquisition of Mandala’s AI-native coaching technology and the addition of its founder, Tarun Galagali. https://hrtechfeed.com/lattice-acquires-ai-coaching-platform/ NEW YORK — Sona, the AI platform powering scheduling, HR, payroll and other business-critical workflows, has raised $45 million in Series B funding led by N47, with participation from existing investors … this brings its total funding to over $100 million. The round will accelerate Sona’s US expansion and bring forward a decade of planned platform capabilities into customers’ hands within a matter of months. https://hrtechfeed.com/sona-raises-45m-series-b/ https://hrtechfeed.com/salary-com-unveils-max-ai-to-automate-compensation-management-and-real-time-market-intelligence/ KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—Tracker, the AI-native ATS and CRM platform built for staffing and recruiting agencies, today announced that it is among the first applicant tracking systems to go live with LinkedIn’s RSC+ integration, enabling Connected Projects for LinkedIn Hiring Assistant customers. https://hrtechfeed.com/tracker-ats-integrates-with-linkedin-hiring-assistant/ Salary.com, a pioneer in the compensation data industry for over 25 years, announced a major evolution in its platform this week with the launch of Max, a purpose-built AI designed to revolutionize how HR departments handle pay decisions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The landscape for federal contractors has changed overnight. With the revocation of Executive Order 11246, the dramatic restructuring of the OFCCP, and the finalized 2026 federal budget, the “old way” of managing affirmative action is officially obsolete. Is your organization prepared for the new enforcement era? Join Jobsync for an exclusive virtual briefing led by a premier employment law attorney and compliance consultant. We’ll cut through the noise of the recent agency downsizing to show you exactly where the Department of Labor is shifting its focus—and where your greatest legal risks now lie. Speakers: Amanda Bowman is Director and Principal Consultant at DCI Consulting Group in the Workforce Analytics and Compliance Strategy team. Amanda joined DCI as an Analyst in September 2010. Amanda provides clients with guidance on EEO and affirmative action statutes and regulations to meet the OFCCP compliance requirements. Amanda’s primary focus is to provide support for clients on affirmative action planning, compensation equity analyses, audits, and employment discrimination. She also is involved in testing and selection projects, including job analyses, test validation, and validity generalization research. Sheila Abron is a partner at Fisher Phillips, LLP. Certified as a Specialist in Employment and Labor Law by the South Carolina Supreme Court, Sheila represents companies and educational institutions—large and small—as they navigate employment issues related to hiring, discipline, investigations, employment discrimination, unemployment, and other related issues. As Chair of the Firm’s Government Contracting, Compliance, and Reporting practice group, she has extensive experience providing compliance advice to federal contractors on affirmative action and OFCCP regulations and audits. Sheila also has a wealth of experience working on collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and class actions under wage and hour state laws. She is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adzuna, the global job search platform, today announced the acquisition of the jobs businesses of Trovit and Mitula, two market-leading search engines operated by the Lifull Connect group. The acquisition marks Adzuna’s third acquisition in four years, further strengthening its position as one of the world’s leading global job search platforms. https://hrtechfeed.com/adzuna-acquires-2-job-search-engines/ SILICON VALLEY, Calif. — Today, Novaworks, the AI-native Human Capital Management (HCM) operating system for the enterprise built on the ServiceNow platform, announced its launch in conjunction with $8M in seed funding led by Stalwart Ventures, with strategic participation from ServiceNow Ventures and Bell Ventures. The Company also introduced the first agentic operating system for Total Workforce Management (TWM) https://hrtechfeed.com/workforce-management-platform-lands-8m/ Following an intensive build phase with early customers, Deel announced the general availability of its fully integrated ATS. Unlike standalone recruiting tools that stop at the offer stage, Deel’s ATS is built directly on top of Deel’s HRIS. This drives quicker hiring and productivity with ATS and HR on a single platform. https://hrtechfeed.com/big-deel-eor-platform-adds-ats/ Healthcare workforce platform Carefam has emerged from stealth mode, announcing $14.5 million in funding led by Pitango HealthTech with participation from Emerge. https://hrtechfeed.com/healthcare-recruiting-platform-lands-14-5m/ SAN FRANCISCO — Ezra, a voice AI interviewing platform built for recruiting teams looking for reliable signals to assess talent, and candidates who want to be heard, announced today that it has raised a $3.2 million seed round https://hrtechfeed.com/voice-ai-interview-platform-lands-3-2m-seed-round/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recruiting platform Paraform has raised $40 million in Series B funding,... https://hrtechfeed.com/recruiting-platform-paraform-has-raised-40-million-in-series-b/ Findem, the AI platform for talent outcomes, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Glider AI, a skills validation platform. Together, the companies will deliver an AI-powered hiring solution that produces hire-ready candidates—candidates who are discovered, assessed and verified before they reach hiring managers. https://hrtechfeed.com/findem-to-acquire-glider-ai/ Workable announced the launch of Workable Agent, an AI recruiting agent built directly into its ATS. More than an add-on or isolated feature, Workable Agent brings agency-level recruiting capability directly inside the hiring platform. It acts as a full-cycle hiring teammate that helps teams define the job, source candidates, engage talent, and deliver qualified candidates ready for interview. https://hrtechfeed.com/workable-launches-agentic-ai-features/ iCIMS, announced its Spring 2026 product release this week, headlined by the launch of iCIMS Frontline AI. The new suite of tools is specifically engineered to help enterprises overcome the unique hurdles of high-volume hiring, such as candidate drop-off and the administrative burden on hiring managers. https://hrtechfeed.com/icims-unveils-ai-powered-spring-release-to-tackle-frontline-hiring-crisis/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's audio from a case study with Varsity Brands a Phenom client recorded at IAMPHENOM in Philadelphia 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is your career site delivering the conversion you need? Dalia’s plug-and-play tech turns any employer career site into a high-performance candidate conversion engine — no replatforming required, live in days.Visit dalia.co to learn more. AND by jobcase, "Are you struggling to find the right talent in a crowded job market? Jobcase connects you to a massive community of over 120 million registered workers, including the hourly, skilled, and gig professionals that other job boards often miss. Visit jobcase.com/hire today to post your roles and start building the team you need with tools designed to make hiring fast and easy." Alright rec techies…..here’s what's happening this week. First up, SAN FRANCISCO — Juicebox, the outbound recruiting platform, announced $80 million in Series B funding at an $850 million valuation led by DST Global. The company has tripled ARR since its Series A in July 2025, and now serves 5,000 customers spanning fast-growing technology companies and Fortune 100 brands, with customers reporting up to 90% less time spent identifying top candidates. https://hrtechfeed.com/outbound-recruiting-platform-juicebox-raises-whopping-80m/ CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—-Talvy, a platform that offers video-first professional profiles, today announced its $2M seed round led by Link Ventures. https://hrtechfeed.com/talvy-raises-2m-seed-for-video-resumes/ Persona, the identity platform for businesses worldwide, today launched a Candidate Verification solution to confirm job applicants’ real-world identities at critical hiring stages. With integrations into Ashby, Greenhouse, and Workday, the offering enables talent acquisition and security teams to verify candidate identity as a natural part of their existing workflow. https://hrtechfeed.com/persona-launches-candidate-verification-to-stop-hiring-fraud-before-day-one/ I’ve just returned from Philadelphia where I attended this years I AM PHENOM user conference. This year it had about 2,500 customers and prospects gathered together at the convention center downtown. Unlike last year when they debuted 25 AI agents, this year saw no major product announcements rather they focused on product enhancements particularly around workflows and data orchestration. They called it WorkOps and They also announced a move into Public Sector HR https://hrtechfeed.com/phenom-set-to-go-after-public-sector-hr-software-market/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First up, a massive move in the early-career space. upGrad, Asia’s integrated skilling and workforce development leader, has officially acquired Internshala, the world’s largest internship platform. https://hrtechfeed.com/upgrad-acquires-worlds-largest-internship-platform/ Moving from early career to global staffing—ManpowerGroup is making a major bet on AI interviewing. They’ve announced a global partnership with AI pioneer Hubert to scale structured, chat-based interviews. We’ve all heard the "AI is taking over" headlines, but Manpower is calling this a "Human-First" approach. The AI handles the initial 24/7 screening—meaning candidates can interview at 2:00 AM if they want—but the final hiring decision stays with the human recruiter. The Takeaway: In a world where 75% of employers struggle to find talent, speed is everything. Manpower claims this moves candidates through the pipeline five times faster. By using the "STAR" method for its AI questions, they’re aiming for fairness and consistency over gut feelings. https://hrtechfeed.com/manpowergroup-adding-ai-interviewing-strategy/ Next, one of the giants of the ATS world is sporting a new look. iCIMS has officially unveiled a brand refresh, featuring a vibrant new purple logo and the tagline: "Powering Exceptional Hiring." But this is more than just a logo change. They’ve launched iCIMS Coalesce AI, which is now the unified name for their entire intelligence layer. The Strategy: iCIMS is moving away from "AI as a feature" and toward "Agentic AI." We’re talking about autonomous agents that don’t just suggest things, but actually take action throughout the hiring journey. It’s a clear signal to the market: iCIMS wants to be seen as the "responsible AI" leader for the enterprise, balancing automation with high-level governance. https://hrtechfeed.com/icims-unveils-new-logo/ Speaking of AI Agents, ADP Marketplace just opened up a whole new wing of their digital storefront dedicated specifically to them. They’ve curated a group of partners—names like G-P, Employ, and Salary.com—to offer AI agents that integrate directly with ADP. These agents can orchestrate workflows, navigate global compliance, and even generate real-time workforce insights. https://hrtechfeed.com/adp-marketplace-adds-ai-agents-from-partners/ The February ADP National Employment Report is out, and it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The private sector added 63,000 jobs—the strongest month since last summer. But here’s the kicker: the "pay premium" for job-switchers has hit a record low. While job-stayers saw a steady 4.5% pay increase, those who jumped ship only saw gains slow to 6.3%. The gap is narrowing fast. Also, the growth is hyper-concentrated; almost all the gains came from Education, Health Services, and Construction, while Professional and Business Services actually shed 30,000 roles. https://recruitingheadlines.com/private-sector-adds-63000-jobs-in-february-as-pay-premium-for-job-switchers-hits-record-low/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mastering the Message: The Recruiter’s Playbook Communication is where the candidate experience lives or dies. Is your messaging helping you close hires, or is it creating bottlenecks? Join us as we break down the Best Practices for Messaging Your Candidates. We’ll tap into the knowledge of two experienced leaders including Kerry Noone, who runs Employer Brand at Ford Motor Company and Geoff Webb who runs Talent Discovery and Engagement at Canadian based Organon. Expect to walk away with: A timeline for perfect follow-ups. Communication etiquette for the modern age. Strategies to go beyond the ‘Thank You For Apply’ email Who should attend: Talent Acquisition Leaders, HR Directors, Recruiters... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story 1: Humand’s $66 Million Bet on the Deskless Workforce https://hrtechfeed.com/humand-secures-66-million-series-a-to-revolutionize-the-deskless-workforce-with-ai/ Story 2: ZipRecruiter’s Rough 2025 Financials Story 3: WorkWhile Launches the 'AI Talent Coach' Story 4: Elly Debuts with $8M to End 'Tool Fatigue' Story 5: Workday’s $9.5 Billion Year of AI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Todays Guest is Doug Berg from https://match2.com/https://match2.com/. The recruiting industry is broken. Companies have built one-sided systems that leave candidates frustrated and in the dark. One candidate applied to 100 jobs and heard back from only 44. The other 56 companies ghosted them completely. Here's what's worse: 80% of candidates who are a great fit for jobs don't even apply. Why? Because they know they'll never hear back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First up, a major change at the top for Employ Inc.—the powerhouse behind JazzHR, Lever, and Jobvite. The company has officially appointed Jerry Jao as its new CEO. Jao is a serial entrepreneur who founded the AI-powered marketing platform Retention Science. What’s interesting here is that Jao isn’t just a tech exec; he was actually a Lever customer for six years. He’s stepping in with a "founder’s mindset" to lead Employ through the GenAI era. His message? Hiring must remain "people-first," but the technology needs to move faster. Watch for Employ to lean even harder into AI innovation to help recruiters make more confident decisions without losing that human connection. https://hrtechfeed.com/employ-inc-appoints-new-ceo/ Next, let’s talk about speed. hackajob just announced that its AI recruiting agent, Archer, has surpassed $1 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in just 90 days. To put that in perspective, the "pre-AI" gold standard was hitting that million-dollar mark in a year—Archer did it in one quarter. Why is it winning? Because it’s tackling the "crisis of trust" in hiring. Archer qualifies candidates before they even hit the ATS, verifying identity and fit to cut through the noise of AI-generated CVs. It’s already boasting a 20-to-1 candidate-to-hire ratio—which is 15 times better than the industry average. Originally focused on tech, Archer is now expanding to support all knowledge-worker roles, from finance to operations. https://hrtechfeed.com/hackajob-announces-its-ai-recruiting-agent-has-surpassed-1-million-in-arr/ Moving over to the freelance world, we’re seeing a massive pivot at Fiverr. In their 2025 year-end report, they revealed a "quality over quantity" strategy. While they actually lost 14% of their active buyers, the ones who stayed are spending more—average spend per buyer is up 13% to over $340. Fiverr is shifting away from the "five-dollar gig" and moving toward high-end, professional business outsourcing. They’re calling 2026 a "reset year" as they re-architect the platform to be AI-native. Along with this shift, they’ve promoted long-time CFO Ofer Katz to President to focus on strategy and acquisitions. Meanwhile, Upwork is signaling confidence in its own value, announcing a $300 million share repurchase program. This brings their total authorizations to $600 million since late 2023. Both platforms are clearly positioning themselves as high-value enterprise partners rather than just job boards for quick tasks. https://hrtechfeed.com/fiverr-shifts-focus-to-high-end-work-as-ai-transforms-the-gig-economy-2025-results-and-2026-outlook/ https://hrtechfeed.com/upwork-announces-300-million-share-repurchase-program/ Finally, we close with the latest Appcast 2026 Recruitment Marketing Benchmark Report. The big takeaway? We are officially in the "Great Stay." It’s a "low-hire, low-fire" environment. People aren't quitting, and the wage premium for job-hoppers has evaporated—it's now nearly the same as staying put. But don't let the slow movement fool you; recruiting isn't getting cheaper. The median cost-per-hire has risen to $1,053. There’s a sharp divide between "sitting down" roles (like tech) where pools are crowded, and "standing up" roles (like healthcare) where costs-per-application are as high as $35. If you want to win in 2026, the data says: keep your applications under 5 minutes, disclose the salary, and post on Mondays. Averag cost per click is now around 92 cents by the way… https://recruitingheadlines.com/2026-recruitment-marketing-navigating-the-great-stay/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices