The Chad & Cheese Podcast

Mind Games was a song penned by John Lennon. This interview has nothing to do with the famous Beatle, but up-skilling your workforce through the power of gamification is all the rage right now. That’s why we invited Geri Morgan, chief people officer at Intellum, an Atlanta-based learning technology company, on the show. Turns out, Geri is doing some amazing things with gamification that every employer could learn from. You probably won’t get Pac-Man Fever, but you’re likely to practical tips on how to improve retention and empower your workforce like never before.

The boys are snapping necks and cashing checks this week from the HR Tech Conference in Las Vegas from the Fuel50 booth. After giving some much-deserved love appreciation to Friends of Chad & Cheese that we’re in attendance, the boys dig into the latest news from show sponsor Harri, covering the latest round of funding with the company’s CFO, who jumped in during the show. If that’s not enough for a shortened roadshow, the guys discuss takeaways from the conference and wonder why startups in certain parts of the country have a tough time with naming their companies. Oh yeah, and a breakdown of U2 at the Sphere goes down. It was a beautiful day, indeed.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

When Google launched their job search engine, dubbed Google for Jobs, a lot of people scoffed, remembering past failures from the world’s largest search engine dipping its toes into employment. Hello, Google Base and Google for Hire? Well, no one’s scoffing now. Google seems to be all-in, with a pay-per-click (PPC) offering coming soon. Optimizing for search results can be challenging. That’s why we invited Alexander Chukovski, founder at Crypto Careers, to take a look at the ins and outs of optimizing for Google when job postings are in play. Crypto Careers connects professionals and businesses building digital assets and blockchain technology, so Alexander knows how to tackle the tough segments. If your jobs are on Google - and they probably are - then this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

Recruiting startups hoping to replace human beings in the hiring process - or at least minimize them - litter the landscape. Chatbots, for example, are all the rage. At least one startup, however, thinks you can have the best of both worlds: scale and high touch. Amber Wanner, founder and CEO of Vette, brings her message to the Firing Squad to see if Chad & Cheese can be convinced that there’s still a place for humans in Human Resources. Does she survive? Gotta listen to find out.

This episode could've been a double album it's so full of amazing content ... Chad & Cheese: The White Album, if you will. We're talkin' layoffs at Snagajob and Meta, Indeed telling customers, "There's nothing to see here," LinkedIn embracing its inner Guns 'n' Roses, OpenAI taking aim at Apple's iPhone, Tesla getting nervous about the UAW strike, Who'd Ya' Rather with Hiring Branch and Transfr and Chipotle's "cobotics," collaborative robots that work with, rather than replace, humans. It's a nice compliment to Chipotle’s Chippy and Autocado automation. Drink it all in, because the boys are travelin' for the next 2 weeks, so we made sure this one was the Big Mac of podcast episodes.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

The European show is typically filled with one or the other: An American company in Europe, or a European company in America. This week, lucky listener, includes BOTH. America’s Uber, on the heels of dealing with similar legislation in California, now finds itself juggling an EU who wants to treat giggers as full-time employees. (Cue the higher-rates, longer waits fear mongering!) On the other end of the continental expansion is Deutschland-HQ’d Personio growing its footprint in America with an office in New York City. What’s more? How about a lively conversation spurred by the latest round of Buy or Sell, featuring Heyu Works, Recrubo, Freework and Kenjo.

The word audit scares most people. Hello, IRS? But sometimes audits can be your best friend for getting a good night’s sleep, especially when A.I. recruiting is involved. With laws being passed all the time that could put your company in jeopardy, you need some solid advice. That’s why we invited Guru Sethupathy, founder & CEO of FairNow AI to help us make sense this A.I. audit stuff. FairNow is a platform for simplifying and automating fairness compliance. They help businesses by auditing and monitoring AI algorithms in hiring. FairNow is on a mission to help companies build trust in their A.I. and if you’re looking at giving your vendors a deep dive to make sure they keep you out of the crosshairs of law enforcement, then this episode if a must.

The news this week is hot. In fact, in the time it took to write that sentence, the news got a little hotter. We're talkin' picket lines, Josh Bersin trash-talkin', LinkedIn is your new crazy uncle HOT. We're talkin' Amazon is droppin' billions to invest in generative AI companies, job boards are bailin' on ChapGPT job searchin', Getty Images sealin' its content from AI hot. And we're talkin' NFL stars goin' into porn after football HOT! Someone get us a cold beer and a fire extinguisher!!!

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

“Is recruiting dead?” On this episode, Chad Sowash goes straight for the jugular and doesn’t let up. Fortunately, Amy Butchko, VP of TA at Maximus, is light on her feet and takes everything the boys throw at her and counters like the true champ she is. This interview was part of ATAP’s recent online event and covers all things A.I. when it comes to hiring. From audits to legal minefields to messaging to budgeting and everything in between, this one’s got it all, including Q&A with the live audience of recruiting veterans.

Effective LinkedIn outreach can be the difference between a recruiter on Skid Row and one on Easy St. One start-up that promises to put headhunters on the fast track to champagne ‘n' cocaine is HyperJob, a solution that says it”ll replace your plain-text job descriptions with interactive job microsites. The solution, founded by Janis Kreilis, CEO and co-founder, uses A.I. to evaluate LinkedIn profiles and craft individual messages with artificial intelligence from there. Hmmm, another start-up relying on LinkedIn for its success. What could possibly go wrong? Gotta listen to see if HyperJob survived the Firing Squad or not.

The world seems to be balancing a lot of good news with the bad news these days. At least that’s an improvement from the days of COVID when it was all bad. Anyway, that same balance impacts the recruiting industry, and thus this episode. The good news: Amazon, Salesforce are hiring and companies like HiBob, Druid, Catalyte, Betterleap and others are raising new funds. The bad news: Google just laid-off hundreds of recruiters globally and Oyster, who’s raised $224 million is going through its second round of layoffs this year. Then the boys cover the UAW strike vs. the Big Three, ask whether we really need CEOs when there’s AI and wonder why Elon isn’t turning X (formerly Twitter) into an OnlyFans competitor. Even Rep. Lauren Boebert would approve. Enjoy.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase (https://www.jobcase.com).

I once had a roommate who dated a stripper named Candy. Never thought that would be relevant to a podcast, but here we are. Strange days, but that’s Europe for ya’. On this episode of The Chad & Cheese Podcast Does Europe, the boys aren’t only (un)covering strippers, but also discussing Google’s latest lawsuit, alleging Big G unfairly competing against job board JobIndex, a new lie detection software that’s bound to be abused by rogue recruiters, and Elon Musk’s X Hiring from a European point of view. Did I mention these are strange days in Europe? Yup, gotta listen.

Text messaging, or SMS, first came into prominence two decades ago by voting on American Idol, but the technology is as hot as ever for employers. It’s starting to look like text recruiting is here to stay. That’s why we invited Rick Koerner, VP of unified communications at UPS on the podcast. Rick has been texting with job candidates for almost a decade, and he brings his best tips and takeaways to the podcast. Along the way, he throws in anecdotes on all things UPS, like how deliveries only happen one right turn at a time to increase efficiency, and his own story about why he doesn’t have a LinkedIn profile. Say what?!?!?

Looking for an episode as spicy as Nashville hot chicken sandwich? Then you’ve come to the right place. Heading into Day Two of Recfest, the boys keep things tight this week, thanks largely to hangovers and healing vocal cords. Topics include a rundown of Recfest, parties hosted by yours truly and insights into all things Nash-Vegas. There is news too, however, and the boys are covering stories from Grindr (yep, they’re back on the pod), Uber taking on TaskRabbit and a certain CEO in Australia saying the things about workers that all other CEOs are thinking. Grab some BBQ sauce, pour a glass of Jack and enjoy this week’s show.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

What a start-up calls itself usually says a lot about it. It can also say a lot about its prospects for future success. Enter Skillit, a company that connects the supply of skilled workers with contractor demand in the $1.6 trillion annually construction industry through its platform for sourcing, skills assessment, hiring, and training. And you thought a name like Skillit would be serving Grand Slam breakfasts at your favorite brunch spot, didn’t you? Nope, and Fraser Patterson, founder, and CEO of the company is on Firing Squad to tell you why he’s the next big thing? Hey, we’ll be the judge of that, pal. Listen and reveal Skillit’s fate.

Europe has been a leader when it comes to passing laws that protect individual privacy and support pay equity for years, and a new law taking hold will require a large number of companies to publish salary ranges just a few short years from now. It’s all pretty detailed - and probably pretty confusing to a lot of Americans - which is why we invited Maria Colacurcio, CEO at Syndio and Anita Lettink, future or work speaker & HR tech advisor, to the podcast. We have so many questions, and it’s a good thing they have all the answers. If you’re doing business in Europe, it’s a must-listen. And if you’re in North America, it could be a crystal ball into the future. https://synd.io/blog/eu-pay-transparency-cheat-sheet/

A new survey says 74 percent of women on LinkedIn believe the “relentless flirtations” on the network are too much to bear and either limit their use of the platform or left entirely. That’s a serious problem for LinkedIn, and the boys dig into the issue and offer some possible remedies. LinkedIn isn’t the only one with problems, of course. Deel, an industry player who’s raised a total of $679 million to date, has its feet to the fire following an exposè by The Information. Plus, AI is trying to kill us, or at least the good folks of New Zealand, while kids in America are the new slave labor down on the farm. Then you have Delta who, along with Tom Brady, have formed an unholy alliance that’s wrong on so many levels. At least there’s some good news out of Indeed … wait, what? Gotta listen to find out.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

Newbies in recruiting have a hard time understanding the time when newspapers ruled the world of work and finding talent. Gannett was one of those world rulers. Maybe you know USA Today, for example? Anyway, technology has forced them to evolve to survive, and they sometimes play an invaluable role for employers looking to attract Human Resources. That’s why we had to get Anna Brekka, Director Recruitment Strategy at Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK, on the pod. Anna is an industry veteran with a robust understanding of the business, so you’d be wise to put on your thinking cap while you listen. Yeah, she brings data to the party too. (By the way, this one isn’t just for the kids; it’s an awesome trip down memory lane for the gray hairs too.)

Looking to celebrate Labor Day with some labor-focused news? Then you’ve come to the right place. Twitter taking on the world of work with X Hiring is officially official as Elon Musk trash talks LinkedIn. Indeed is flexing its muscle by expanding Indeed Flex into storefront locations in Texas. Two startups - TeamSense vs. Nursa - battle it out in a game of Who’d Ya' Rather? Amazon’s CEO is whipping employees back into the office after supporting a very relaxed policy since Covid, and airlines are making life a little easier for travelers who enjoy a little peace and quiet, while making things less comfortable for plus-sized trekkers. Plus, we update you on iCIMS exiting CEO, upcoming parties, and “masterdating.”

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

Summer is winding down and Europeans are coming down from their holiday highs, so it’s a great time to drop some knowledge bombs from the Old Country. Staffing agencies are under fire for what politicians say is price-gauging customers in return for placements in the healthcare space. The care may be subsidized in Europe, but the placements are capitalism at its best (or worst). A toxic combination. A little Who’d Ya' Rather? follows, pitting 11x AI against Borderless. Weird names, but interesting businesses. Who wins? Gotta listen. A story out of Italy closes out the show with a new story about ending benefits for thousands of families and individuals deemed "fit to work.”

In the past, we’ve been critical of SHRM investing money into startups. Seems like a big conflict of interest, but whatever. Since SHRM isn’t running to talk to Chad & Chelsea about it, how about the next best thing: The company SHRM gave money? That’s why we brought Jocelyn King, CEO of VirgilHR to the show. VirgilHR is an interactive technology that lets employees ask HR compliance questions in real-time. Seems like a company ripe for disruption from the likes of ChatGPT, but you’d be wrong (or at least that’s what Jocelyn says). The way that they chose their name is pretty cool too. Heck, it’s an all-around banger of an interview. Enjoy.

As summer drags on, the boys had to get out of the house for a change of scenery, deciding to head to Chicago to see how things at Shaker Recruitment Marketing were doing … as well as do a show in the process. (That means the usual dose of cameras, crowds and a debauchery, of course, just in real life this time.) The boys discuss tons of AI topics, including The New York Times taking on OpenAI and the state of New York regulating employee monitoring. Plus, The America First Legal Foundation is crying reverse discrimination, while Kid Rock is still drinking Bud Lite and Grindr and X, the artist formerly known as Twitter, are looking to be the next LinkedIn (yeah, really). As an added bonus, Shaker president Joe Shaker, Jr. joins us for a fireside chat, focused on the state of programmatic job advertising, to close out an amazing 24 hours in the Windy City.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

Employees love to be recognized. It’s not just promotions and big deals, however. We’re talkin' birthdays, anniversaries, adopting a cat, everything. OK, maybe not a cat adoption, but you know what we mean. That’s why we brought Aaron Rubens, cofounder and CEO at Kudoboard to the show. He runs the online workplace appreciation solution for special occasions, shout outs, and everything in between, helping to replace the card that’s passed around and signed on birthdays, holidays, and special occasions for generations. Crazy thing is, they’re crushing it. To find out why - and how - you gotta listen.

It’s a rare breed of professional that has worked on the vendor side of HR tech, as well as the TA practitioner side. So, when we got the opportunity to chat with Josh Rock, currently Talent Acquisition Manager at Nuss Truck, and former executive at JobDig, LinkUp and CollegeRecruiter, we jumped at the chance. Recorded at SHRM, it’s a candid conversation about the industry from both sides of the fence.

This week was all over the map. After less than a year on the job, iCIMS' CEO is stepping down in a rather unexpected way, the EEOC settled its first AI-based hiring discrimination case, Recruiter.com sold some IP to Job Mobz (who?), college degrees lose more luster, tech jobs remain strong after layoffs from Big Tech throughout 2023 and chatbots continue to have their fans, as well as their detractors. Oh, and robotaxis are invading San Francisco. The summer may be starting to wind down, but the recruiting news remains red hot! Enjoy, Like and Share!

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

The work-from-home movement is under fire. Jamie Dimon says it’s a productivity issue. Elon Musk says it’s a moral issue. As a result, more and more employers are forcing people back to the office. Even Zoom is bringing people back. The future is uncertain, for sure. That’s why we brought Mary Elkordy, president & CEO at Elkordy Global Strategies to the show. Elkordy Global Strategies is a full-service PR firm, well-versed in influencer marketing, talent integration, social media strategy, strategic communications, and digital marketing. A great guest with a unique perspective on a complicated topic. Enjoy!

Ever wanted to hear an interview with a former recruiter at Facebook, Apple and Tesla? How about one that’s currently blazing a trail at EV maker Rivian? Well, it’s your lucky day, because Chad & Cheese sat down with Rameen Fattahi, director, recruiting operations & insights at Rivian while they were all at iCIMS Inspire to hear Rameen’s story. Don’t worry. Along the way, there are stories about Elon and Zuck.

Think you’re having a bad day? It’s probably not as bad as ZipRecruiter’s shareholders had this week. To say times are tough would be an understatement. But it’s not just Zip, as much of the space is having a pretty tough time on Wall Street and just about everywhere else. Dice. Recruit. All bad. Not dire enough? Want some more dogs-and-cats living together scenarios? Zoom employees are going back to the office (yeah, that Zoom), WeWork is more like WeOuttabiz, everyday Americans are beating up UberEats' rolling automated coolers, Elon is still loco, America doesn’t have enough semiconductor talent to support the Chips Act and fake women are becoming more popular than real women. Grab a bottle of your favorite whiskey for this one. Things are gettin' gettin', gettin' kinda hectic.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

Live from UNLEASH America in the Workhuman booth, Shannon Pritchett, head of marketing and community at HireEZ, joins the boys for a conversation covering the state of sourcing, how HireEZ is embracing ChatGPT and other AI technologies around recruiting and how disruption is set to be business as usual throughout our industry. More: Shannon Pritchett - www.linkedin.com/in/sourcingshannon/ Workhuman - http://www.workhuman.com UNLEASH America - http://www.unleash.ai

Tech hiring is in kind of a weird place right now. Newsworthy layoffs, artificial intelligence threats, and a down economy mean a lot of indecision and uncertainty. Many companies are just pushing pause as a result. All this makes for a tricky environment for any and all startups looking to place high-tech workers. InSquad, a one-click solution to source and hire top-quality vetted remote software developers, ain’t scared though. That’s why CEO Alex Svinov decided to face the Firing Squad. He thinks he has a better mousetrap than the likes of Upwork, Turing, Andela, and many others. Is he right? Gotta listen to find out.

Tech teams must have a little time on their hands. Either that, or they’re abnormally inspired after a spring of big tech layoffs. OK, maybe both. Anyway, LinkedIn is apparently launching new A.I. features for job seekers and Rippling is getting into the ATS game. Other than that, the boys discuss Yellow trucking’s epic crash, chatbots like Paradox landing in Forbes' penalty box, and Tom Brady beefing up his resume and investment portfolio. Throw in the beginning of the NFL season and marriage advice from porn star Mia Khalifa and you’ve got one helluva show.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

Europeans are well-known for taking a long break from work in the summer, but if you think the world of work has taken a break, think again. On this episode, the boys cover the Appcast acquisition of Bayard from a European point of view, and how Stepstone (might) play a part in this game of chess. France has also been a full plate of work related activities and challenges, which get covered. If you love buy-or-sell, we have a robust line-up, and a hotly debated group of startups, including inploi, Propel, Settly, Zelt and Neople … no, not Nipple, you sicko … Neople.

Just when you thought you understood the definition of artificial intelligence, along comes generative A.I. Confusing? Yeah. That’s why we invited Thom Kenney, former Smashfly CEO and current director at Google on the show. T.K. helps us better understand what the hell is going on in the world today, including diving into the current writer’s strike in Hollywood, security concerns and what in the world comedian Sarah Silverman is so upset about. Put your thinking cap on for this one.

Elon is just the gift that keeps on giving, isn’t he? But this week is particularly special as Twitter, er, X, or whatever, has gone through a rebrand, and more importantly, getting into recruitment with the launch of Twitter Hiring. Not to be outdone, Google is set to launch a full-on PPC solution for its Google for Jobs offering. How will Indeed and others respond? We discuss. What’s more, DEI initiatives are on life-support according to a recent Wall Street Journal article and Eons 2.0 is here in the form of Peppermint. And in China, young adults becoming perma-children as a form of employment is now a thing. Yeah, really. By the way, Chad is back in the USA after his stint in Europe, and let’s just say the disappointment is strong, which you’ll see on our YouTube channel.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

Not sure if you’ve heard or not, but recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals is a hot topic these days. No one has really figured out the secret sauce or found the magic bullet. That’s why Chad & Cheese sat down with Angad Madra, director HR technology and analytics at Ardent Healthcare, at iCIMS Inspire in San Diego. On this episode, get ready to snack on a tasty dose of healthcare recruitment, best retention practices and impact of the gig economy. Your blood pressure is sure to normalize after this one if you’ve been stressed about hiring in this sector.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of who’s raised funds, who’s been acquired and who’s on the move in the world of recruitment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

Live from UNLEASH America in the Workhuman booth, Julia Levy, industry veteran, superfan of the podcast, and former head of global talent acquisition at CommScope, join the boys for conference takeaways, the current state of recruiting, and how organizations can best adapt to change in a world that, let’s face it, has gone a bit nutso. Indeed mirage products, LinkedIn just doesn't care, and Talent Acquisition trying to remove business and budget blockers.

If you loved last week’s episode breaking down Appcast’s acquisition of Bayard, then you’ll love this one too. Plenty of commentary and criticism in the aftermath of the deal to discuss whether or not Stepstone knows what it’s doing. Not to be outdone, Glassdoor’s R&D department woke-up long enough to build an “innovation” it calls Bowls. (Yeah, we’re confused too.) Then there’s so much AI news that we had to go rapid fire and highlight our favorite stories. And, of course, another week of sexbots, chips in your brain and living like Hugh Hefner at the Playboy mansion for the rest of your days. Good times, and a great listen.