Talent Acquisition Week Edition: Talk Talent to Me Feb '23 Recap

Catch up on the February 2023 episodes of Hired’s Talk Talent to Me podcast featuring recruiting and talent leaders who share talent acquisition strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry. In this special edition, we’re featuring 4 episodes recorded live at Talent Acquisition (TA) Week, a leading event educating talent acquisition pros!

1. AI tools in recruiting and values-based versus skills-based with April Venables, VP of TA at Moderna 
2. TA challenges in healthcare and implementing high-level strategies with Matt Rimer,  Director of TA at Trinity Health
3. Leveraging online chat forums to recruit with Brian Fink, Talent Partner at McAfee
4. Embedding DEI into TA practices with Tara Turk-Haynes, VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Talent Management at Leaf Group
5. The power of authenticity and human nature related to TA with Mike Cohen, Founder and Sourcer at Wayne Technologies 

1. April Venables, VP of TA at Moderna 

Historically, talent acquisition and recruiting have relied heavily on networking but how has the influence of technology, AI tools, and systems changed these roles? April discusses today’s recruiter and how the role and required skillset have changed over the course of her career. April also talks about the different AI tools she implements to help the recruiting process, values-based versus skills-based, and what makes for a bad (or good) hire.

“The traditional TA model, or strategy, that has worked historically, and what has worked for us here at Moderna to grow so quickly in a short period of time, is not the same strategy that is going to make us successful, long-term.”

Listen to the full episode.

More on TA Week

We recorded the episodes below in person at TA Week, which spotlights critical topics from recruiting, sourcing, and employer branding to talent data analytics and DEI.

Related Success Stories: See how Chase, Bark, and Wayfair boosted their recruitment teams with better employer branding using Hired Events.

Each day highlighted a different talent attraction event: 

1. Social Recruiting Strategies Conference 
2. Employer Branding Strategies Conference
3. Talent Sourcing Strategies Summit

Attendees learned to leverage emerging recruiting practices with a look into the latest global recruiting trends, recruitment marketing, candidate engagement, tools, and technology. Thanks to expert best practices and panel discussions, they left with no shortage of insights. 

Among other impressive exhibitors, Hired joined the floor to engage attendees with an inside look into its innovative talent acquisition and sourcing solution.

Related: Hired helps Unite Us connect with & source high-quality tech talent

2. Matt Rimer, Director of TA at Trinity Health

Kicking off coverage from the floor of TA Week, Matt shares some of the biggest hiring challenges currently facing healthcare and why it’s an exciting time to be involved with healthcare talent acquisition. Matt discusses the strategies Trinity Health is implementing to attract more healthcare talent, particularly nurses. He also offers insight into the involvement of C-Suite in these initiatives and the launch of Trinity’s employee referral program (find out the percent of total hires that should come from referrals!). 

“I think it’s a good opportunity for talent acquisition professionals: To not only put up the strategy but then show that they’ve got the delivery muscle to actually meet the objectives that they’re setting out to do.” 

Listen to the full episode.

3. Brian Fink, TA Partner at McAfee

Brian discusses why conversations must be taken offline and delves into why he offers practice interviews and resume reviews. In addition to sharing how he “hacks Slack,” Brian shares a few tips and tricks. This includes how he recruits on Discord, why you should use your personal email address when joining those communities, how you can find them, and what mistakes to avoid. 

He also mentions why professionals should not miss out on TA Week (be sure to attend next year!) and why he loves Hired.

“I like to think of recruitment as tuning into the channel, WIIFM: what’s in it for me? When you tune into WIIFM, we’re able to have a genuine conversation not built around what we’re trying to serve and the interests that we’re trying to perpetuate but instead the mission that that candidate or that individual is trying to serve.”

Listen to the full episode.

4. Tara Turk-Haynes, VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Talent Management at Leaf Group

During her third appearance on TT2M, Tara discusses embedding DEI into Leaf Group’s talent management strategy. Plus, why she’s more likely to recruit ‘career changers.’ She explains why the industry should pay more attention to how they market to emerging talent and how she recruited Leaf Group’s new Director of Recruiting Operations on a platform that might surprise you. 

Tara concludes the chat with an overview of the current state of DEI. She urges companies to tailor DEI targets to their own needs, instead of law and societal pressures. 

“My mission, and my own personal goal, is to talk about how we [can] embed diversity, equity, and inclusion into our practices, and not making them this separate thing that we talk about alongside talent.”

Listen to the full episode.

5. Mike Cohen, Founder and Sourcer at Wayne Technologies

Mike starts off by sharing why he loves TA Week and how it provides authenticity, vulnerability, and acceptance in the talent world. He explains what DEI hiring is, why it is so important, and how people in talent acquisition need to take the safety of their employees seriously. 

Looking deeper at safety, Mike explains that it is more complex than fire drills. It is about using vulnerability to go beyond the surface level. Finally, hear Mike’s thoughts on why there is no right way to do recruiting and what it means to be human.

“There is no right way to do recruiting. There are a ton of wrong ways, but you’re never going to ‘get it’.”

Listen to the full episode.

Want more insights into recruiting tips and trends?

Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry—straight from top experts themselves.