RecTalk Podcast - Explore Recruitment Insights

Settlement agreements, restrictive covenants, employment disputes, shareholder disagreements and AI in legal disputes… if you run a recruitment agency, this episode is packed with practical advice from one of the recruitment industry's leading legal specialists. In this episode of RecTalk , Nitin Sharma sits down once again with Barry Cullen , founder of recLAW , to break down the legal issues...

What does it take to completely redefine an industry? In this special episode of The Mixed Grill , the official podcast of the Recruitment Curry Club, host Bobby Banerjee sits down with one of Britain's most influential chefs and restaurateurs, Vivek Singh , to celebrate 25 years since opening the iconic Cinnamon Club . While this isn't a recruitment episode in the traditional sense, the l...

What happens when Google stops being the place your clients search? In this eye-opening episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma sits down with Nicole Clarke from Shazamme to discuss one of the biggest shifts the recruitment industry has ever faced: the move from traditional SEO to AI-powered search. As platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini and other Large Language Models become the first place buyers look for a...

AI has changed recruitment forever. Candidates are applying to hundreds of jobs in minutes, CVs increasingly look identical, and employers are struggling to identify genuine talent amongst the noise. Recorded live at IHR Manchester, Nitin Sharma and Sean Kennedy sit down with talent and employer branding experts to discuss AI-driven hiring, skills-based assessments, employer branding and what orga...

Thinking about hiring recruiters or support staff offshore? Success isn't about finding the cheapest option. It's about building the right team. In this episode, Nitin Sharma sits down with Ross Thompson, Founder of Infinity Staff Global, to discuss why more UK recruitment businesses are turning to South African talent, the biggest mistakes agency owners make, and how to build high-performing remo...

Can AI make better hiring decisions than recruiters? Dave Jenkins, founder of Wave, doesn't think so. In this episode, Nitin Sharma visits Wave HQ to explore how recruitment technology is evolving, why candidate attraction matters more than simply posting jobs, and where AI should — and shouldn't — be trusted in the hiring process. Rather than replacing recruiters, Dave explains why techno...

DEI. Diversity. Inclusion. Neurodiversity. Workplace culture. Few topics create more debate in business right now. Recorded live at IHR Manchester, Sean Kennedy and Nitin Sharma sit down with Michael Platt and Parul Singh for an honest, balanced conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, why so many organisations struggle to get buy-in, and whether businesses are approach...

Book your place on Lawspeed’s seminar on 7th July regarding the consultation on zero/guaranteed hours contracts: https://www.lawspeed.com/consultation-on-guaranteed-hours-contracts-seminar/ What could be the most significant change to hit the recruitment industry since the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR)? In this episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma sits down with Adrian Marlowe and Theresa Mimnagh f...

Recorded live from the IHR Live Lounge in Manchester, this special edition of RecTalk sees Nitin Sharma joined by co-host Sean Kennedy from Talking Talent, alongside Peter O'Rourke from Handshake, one of the fastest-growing early talent platforms helping employers connect with students and graduates at scale. In this episode, Peter explains why Handshake is much more than a job board. With ove...

Is Talent Acquisition facing its biggest challenge yet? Recorded live at IHR Manchester, Nitin Sharma and Sean Kennedy sit down with talent acquisition leader Akbar Karenga for a wide-ranging discussion on the future of hiring, the state of recruitment, skills-based hiring, DE&I, neurodiversity, candidate experience and why the industry may have become too reliant on shortcuts. While everyone...

Is AI transforming recruitment for the better, or are agencies getting distracted by the hype? In this week's episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma is joined by Poonam Mawani from Azuki Accounts and AI consultant Dylan Humphreys from First Frontier AI for an honest, practical discussion about how recruitment businesses should be approaching AI today. Rather than focusing on shiny new tools and buzz...

USE CODE RECTALK30RF at check out for 30% off! RecFest 2026 is nearly here, and we sat down to discuss what attendees can expect from the UK's biggest talent acquisition festival. From AI and automation to employer branding, hiring trends, networking opportunities, and the famous RecFest after-parties, we cover it all. Join RecTalk's Nitin Sharma and Talking Talent host Sean "The TA G...

In this episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma sits down once again with Matt Fox, Founder of Exitus Advisory, to discuss one of the hottest topics in recruitment right now: selling recruitment businesses. Matt shares what he's seeing across the SME recruitment market, why more founders are considering an exit, and why buyer appetite remains surprisingly strong despite ongoing economic uncertainty....

What does it feel like to hear voices every day? Recorded live at IHR Live Manchester, Sean Kennedy and Nitin Sharma sit down with talent acquisition leader Jed Shaw for one of the most honest conversations we've ever had on the podcast. Jed shares his experience living with psychosis, including auditory hallucinations, a mental health crisis that led to hospitalisation, and how he rebuilt his lif...

For years, recruiters have focused on email deliverability—getting SPF, DKIM, DMARC, domain reputation, and technical compliance right. But what happens when your emails are landing in the inbox and you're still not getting replies? In this episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma sits down with Ben Fielding, founder of Quinset and one of the recruitment industry's leading experts on email deliver...

Look out for RecTalk podcast at RecFest in Knebworth, 2 July 2026 Use code RECTALK30RF for 30% off tickets: https://recfest.com/uk/tickets/?&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=tickets&utm_campaign=rectalk In this special crossover episode of RecTalk, Talking Talent and Mixed Grill, Nitin Sharma is joined by two familiar faces from the recruitment community: Sean Kennedy and Bobby Banerje...

Is remote work dying? Is AI making content better or worse? And what do candidates, employers and recruiters need to do to adapt? Recorded live at IHR Live Manchester, Nitin Sharma and Sean Kennedy sit down with Michelle Coulson and Victoria Dawe to discuss some of the biggest workplace trends shaping recruitment, talent acquisition and employer branding today. From the growing push to bring emplo...

In this episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma sits down with recruitment sales trainer Jeremy Snell, founder of Your People Engine, for a thought-provoking discussion on one of recruitment's longest-running debates: sales versus marketing. Recorded on Jeremy's farm (with a few unexpected guest appearances from lambs Judy and Erica), this conversation explores what really drives buying decisions...

What if one of the most recognised voices in talent acquisition is right? A few weeks before recording this episode, Jeremy Snell made a bold prediction: Talent Acquisition as we know it won't exist in 18 months. Live from IHR Manchester, Nitin Sharma is joined by Sean Kennedy, co-host of Talking Talent and RecTalk contributor, to unpack one of the most controversial topics currently facing th...

Welcome to a special RecTalk Masterclass, recorded live at The Peg & Grill in Birmingham ahead of a Recruitment Curry Club event. In this roundtable discussion, Nitin Sharma is joined by an exceptional panel of recruitment industry leaders and specialists: Jeremy Snell – Founder of Your People Engine Jo Elwell – Co-Founder of Contractor Financial Bobby Banerjee – Founder of the HAPI Test and T...

Recorded live from IHR Manchester, Nitin and the team took on one of the most important challenges facing the recruitment industry today... reviewing conference merch. After spending half an hour collecting giveaways from exhibitors across the event, they put every item through a brutally honest RecTalk rating system. From Stanley-style cups and branded hats to blue-light glasses, AI-powered gadge...

In this episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma sits down once again with Francis Larson of Ascen to unpack what’s REALLY happening in the US recruitment market right now — and why smaller, smarter recruitment businesses are outperforming the big players. From AI-driven hiring booms to startup funding strategies, Francis shares what Ascen is seeing across hundreds of staffing firms operating in the US ma...

In this episode of Mixed Grill, Nitin Sharma and Bobby Banerjee dive into the messy reality of AI, LinkedIn, recruitment marketing, founder burnout and why human connection still wins in recruitment. From automated outreach disasters and “AI agents for recruiters”, to LinkedIn vanity metrics, community building, networking and the future of recruitment businesses — this is an honest conversation a...

In this episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma sits down with Will Astbury from SourceFlow to tackle one of the hottest conversations happening in recruitment technology right now: vibe coding. Can recruitment businesses really build their own software solutions using AI tools like Claude, Lovable and Base44? Or are founders sleepwalking into security, compliance and operational disasters? This episode...

In this episode of Talking Talent, Sean Kennedy sits down with Josh Reeve to unpack the brutal reality of the talent acquisition market right now. From agency recruitment vs internal TA, to layoffs, AI tools, contractor life, employer branding, stakeholder management and why “job security is a myth” — this is an honest conversation about what it actually feels like working in recruitment in 2026.T...