This series was recorded live at HR Tech 2025 inside the HR Executive studios on the expo floor in partnership with the WRKdefined Podcast Network. Make sure you’re subscribed to the full series and visit HRExecutive.com for the news, analysis, and insights shaping the future of work. Hiring teams are burnt out, candidates are overwhelmed, and tech is changing faster than anyone can keep up. Desiree Goldey and Ashley King break down what recruiters are actually dealing with right now, why the work feels heavier, and where the talent function needs to evolve next. No polish. No filters. Just two recruiters telling the truth.

In this episode we speak with Desiree Goldey, Co-Host, Talentless, and Ashley King, Co-Host, Talentless, about recruiter burnout, broken expectations, messy hiring pipelines, candidate fatigue, and the gap between HR tech promises and real recruiter workflows.

Key Takeaways

Recruiters are carrying emotional labor no one talks about
Hiring velocity hides broken processes
Candidates are overwhelmed by noisy pipelines
Most teams are under-skilled in real candidate communication
Tech doesn’t fix chaos if leaders don’t change behavior
Burnout is coming from expectations, not workload
Honest feedback loops are missing across TA

Chapters

00:00 Why recruiting feels heavier

01:10 The emotional load of TA

02:04 Candidate chaos in 2025

03:22 Broken communication loops

04:40 When tech makes it worse

06:15 Burnout signals recruiters ignore

07:30 What leaders still don’t get

08:55 Where the function needs to go

Host

Desiree Goldey, Co-Host, Talentless Podcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/desireegoldey/

Ashley King, Co-Host, Talentless Podcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleykingdei/

Connect with WRKdefined

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WRKdefined

Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

The Band-Aid Problem Holding HR Tech Back with Talentless Co-hosts Desiree Goldey and Ashley King