Unf*ck It

Marvin Smith, talent acquisition leader at one of the largest credit unions in the U.S., shares lessons on employer branding, AI adoption, and talent attraction in a crowded hiring market. The conversation explores why most employer brands sound alike, how workplace evidence creates stronger candidate trust, and where AI can improve recruiting without replacing human judgment. Marvin also discusse...

Hiring teams are moving faster than ever thanks to AI-powered recruiting tools, but are those tools actually improving hiring quality—or just increasing efficiency? In this episode, Stephen Rothberg, founder of College Recruiter, joins Crystal and Dwane to unpack the growing role of AI in talent acquisition, the challenges of validating hiring technology, and why speed, quality, and candidate expe...

Katrina Collier joins the podcast for a raw conversation about the broken relationship between talent acquisition teams and hiring managers — and why recruiting problems are rarely just process problems. From overloaded recruiters and poor leadership support to toxic workplace behaviors and unhealed personal trauma, this episode dives into what actually damages hiring outcomes. Katrina also shares...

This episode explains why traditional marketing metrics like MQLs (marketing qualified leads) often fail to drive real business results. You’ll learn how to shift from activity-based reporting to revenue-focused outcomes, how to better align marketing with sales, and how to rethink the entire customer journey using more realistic models. The conversation also explores how buyer behavior actually w...

Most companies promote people into management roles based on performance, not leadership ability. That decision quietly drives turnover, disengagement, and poor team performance. In this episode, Kara Yarnot explains why only a small percentage of people are naturally wired to lead, how organizations keep missing great leaders, and what needs to change in hiring, development, and career pathing. T...

Summary: This episode explains why employer branding often fails inside organizations and how to fix it. You will learn how to shift from being seen as an order taker to a strategic partner, how to connect employer brand work to real business outcomes like revenue and retention, and how to build trust with stakeholders. The conversation also covers how to ask better questions, align with business...