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Send a text 2026 kicks off with an awesome new episode of Hiring University with guest Dustin Talley , founder of Direct Collective .  Big takeaway: the market isn’t shrinking, it’s shifting. And the mid-market is where the action is : less noise, more opportunity, and a real need for leaders and partners who can help programs level up. We also hit on the following topics during this episode: Self...

Send a text What a way to close out the year! Our final episode of Hiring University for 2025 just dropped, and we’re finishing strong with none other than Ryan McNair , VP of Workday VNDLY Services at Helios Consulting . Ryan has forgotten more about VMS platforms than most of us know, or however that phrase goes. 😄 Point is, the guy’s been in the game for nearly two decades, and it shows. From...

Send a text 🎙️ New Hiring U! Episode Just Dropped! I’m excited to welcome back Carlos Martinez , Founder & CEO of Lumibuild and Nexxtspace , and officially Hiring U’s first repeat guest! When Carlos and I get together, the conversations are always real, unfiltered, and rooted in what it truly means to build and lead service businesses in today’s market. In this episode, we dig into:  🔥 Why 20...

Send a text 🎙️ Fighting Candidate Fraud in the Age of AI In the latest episode of Hiring University , I sat down with Brian Vesce , Co-founder & CEO, and Vinda Souza , Chief Marketing Officer at RefAssured , for a fascinating (and slightly terrifying) discussion on one of the biggest challenges in today’s hiring landscape…. candidate fraud . We unpacked: How AI-generated resumes and automated...

Send a text 🎧 New on Hiring University! Episode #51 features Katy Eddington-Lesperance , PMP, Manager of Global Contingent Talent Operations at Netflix. Katy shares how her team supports Netflix’s creative “big bets” through innovative, people-first workforce strategies. Some of the many topics we explore include ·      The benefits of Netflix’s in-house contingent talent model ·      How the com...

Send a text Episode 50: Ashley Andersen — Building Mental Strength and Sustainable Culture in the Workplace In this milestone episode, Ashley Andersen , MSW, Founder and CEO of Ezra Sage , joins to discuss how companies can move beyond surface-level onboarding to truly support employees’ mental resilience and emotional well-being. From the dangers of burnout and the illusion of “toughness” to rede...

Send a text James Fitzgerald joins the program to discuss the transition from one side of the proverbial desk supporting Thermo Fisher as an MSP Vice President and now as Director of Human Resources Operations.   James Fitzgerald is currently the Director, Talent Acquisition Vendor Managment at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Before this, they were the Vice President of Program Management at Workspend I...

Send a text Will Ulmer joins Hiring University to discuss the latest and hottest contingent worker topics, including why some contingent programs work better than others and why! Will Ulmer has over 15 years of experience in contingent workforce programs. He is recognized for his strategic, compliance-focused, and results-driven approach. Will has successfully built and managed first-generation pr...

Send a text Allen Chilson , a recognized leader in the talent industry and frequent keynote and panelist speaker, joins Hiring University to talk about the importance of defining and defending company culture, AI pros and cons, and his win/loss prediction for his beloved Dallas Cowboys!  This is an episode you don't want to miss! " The last thing I want to do is totally rely on the data...

Send a text We took notice that staffing, talent, and recruiting events are typically represented by suppliers, clients, technology, and managed service providers. Noticeably absent from these industry forums is YOU, the employee doing the work and making it all possible!   The Ursus Contractor Care and creative recruiting leadership facilitate our quarterly Contractor Council Meeting where recent...

Send a text Angela Westhead joins the program to discuss, among other topics, remote work, BEI, (yes, B not D), AI, and her favorite podcasts!  This is an episode you don't want to miss!   You can have great talent that sits anywhere. They just have to be bought in on being present in a different way than someone who sits in an office. So what we've seen in the last four years since ever...

Send a text Kobie Wagener joins this episode of Hiring U! to share his perspectives as a former leader of numerous talent teams and now as a job seeker himself! "Concerning back to office, I feel like post covid, many people can be a little intimidated by the face-to-face interaction. Like it's it's a tolerance that we need to build up for face-to-face interaction since it is a bigg...

Send a text Tami LaSance , in-house legal counsel at HireArt joins Hiring University to share her insights on the importance of worker classification, advancements, and potential risks in AI among other topics.  "I think more companies aren't as concerned with the risk of incorrect worker classification because there has not been a huge verdict or decision on this since Microsoft and it...

Send a text On this episode of Hiring University, get to know Casey Jacox , Keynote Speaker, Sales & Executive Leadership Coach, Podcaster & Author of "Win The Relationship, Not The Deal".    A twenty-year staffing executive, Casey shares his thoughts on what has changed, what has remained the same, and more importantly the constants that drive success not only in staffing but in...

Send a text On this episode of Hiring University, get to know Michael Beckwith , Category Manager at Xcel Energy who oversees all contingent and project-based labor across Xcel's U.S. footprint.  "I'm super passionate about data. And I think all conversations around worker classification need to start with data.  If we don't have visibility into where these workers are, what th...

Send a text Self-proclaimed "Creative for Hire!"  Andrew Hochradel joins Hiring U! to share what life as a creative contractor/freelancer is all about.   Andrew shares his best practices on finding and creating opportunities, (yes it's possible to create your own gigs- Andrew explains his new product launch with Southwest Airlines !),  as well as his insights about current market co...

Send a text Software industry veteran Shawn McCormick , SVP of Development at Signiant joins Hiring U! to share best practices in building software development teams and specifically the work he and other technology leaders are doing to attract talent to Ottawa, aka, Silicon Valley North.   Prior to joining Signiant, Shawn led R&D, teams at Nakina, Nortel, and Bell Northern Research. "We...

Send a text We are thrilled to welcome Brian Hoffmeyer , SVP of Market Strategies at Beeline to Hiring University!   "Passionate about the extended workforce", Brian shares with us his thoughts on market trends related to technology innovation, contingent workforce management best practices, and the opportunity for improvement via process, legislation, compliance policy, and technology e...

Send a text Steven Kekich , a recognized leader in the Global Contingent Workforce market joins Hiring University to discuss recent trends in the market including the importance of procurement and talent management partnership and interdependence among other topics.  Steven has led global contingent workforce programs including Uber, eBay, PayPal, and most recently Goldman Sachs. "The balance...

Send a text Eric Hudson , Director of Talent Acquisition at DocuSign , joins Hiring University to discuss the state of an everchanging and at times confusing talent market.  As an executive coach, Eric also provides best practices for your job search regardless of whether you are looking for a VP position or if it's your first job out of college! "When you are looking for your next oppor...

Send a text Jam Portus , Director of Alternative Workforce at NetApp joins Hiring University to discuss how this 30-year-old technology stalwart is navigating a job market that has seen plenty of layoffs, yet is ripe with opportunities to acquire newly available talent. "I think it's easier to find top talent because of the recent layoffs. In fact, we are working on a talent strategy to...

Send a text Steven Rothberg , Founder and Chief Visionary Officer at College Recruiter, joins the show to share his observations on the current job market for college grads as well as best practices and guidance for employers looking to attract and hire the next generation of talent. "One thing that's really important to this generation, thankfully, is that they want to leave the world a...

Send a text Adnan Hamid , Division Vice President & CIO at  CommonSpirit Health joins the podcast to discuss best practices and challenges of hiring technical and creative talent to drive digital transformation initiatives in healthcare.  With over 20 years in healthcare technical leadership, Adnan shares where the market has been and what it will take to compete going forward. " The move...

Send a text Ellen Jordan Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner at Alegeus , a leading market leader in consumer-directed healthcare solutions joins Hiring U to discuss recruiting best practices in a hyper-competitive, candidate-driven market.    "When we engage with hiring managers we really walkthrough closely to figure out what are the must-haves; what are the skills or experiences tha...

Send a text Sam Pessin , Co-Founder, and President of Remote Year joins Hiring University to discuss the state of remote work; how far we've come, where there is work left to do, and will some employers revert back to traditional and mandatory in office work models! " If your company does not support remote work or hybrid work options you are losing out on a lot of talent. Especially top...