Podcast
Re_Boot: AI in Recruitment
Hosted by Kat Kingshott & Nick Rickards · EN
Helping solo and boutique recruiters reboot their relationship with AI - not through expensive enterprise solutions, but through practical, human-centered approaches that actually work for real recruitment businesses.
Hosted by Kat Kingshott and Nick Rickards, and AI educational morsels from Marley!
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Dark Side of Claude Design: What Nobody Tells You Before You Hit Publish
Apr 2200:23:08Tap to summarizeClaude Design has arrived and it's genuinely impressive. Build a polished front-end website, a workflow connecting your CRM to Google Drive, a whole SaaS-style platform. In minutes. With no code. Just a prompt.Which is exactly why Kat and Nick are talking about security this week. Because the easier it gets to build, the more likely you are to skip the step that keeps you safe. And in recruitment - where your platform could be handling candidate data, API keys, and live integrations — that's a very expensive mistake. Nick speaks from experience: early in his platform-building days, he nearly left everything wide open. And that was him, someone who builds this stuff for a living. Now imagine the same thing happening to a recruiter who just discovered they can type a prompt and have a working platform in five minutes. In this episode, they cover:→ What Claude Design actually is and why it's a game-changer for non-technical recruiters→ The specific security risks that come with connecting AI-built tools to real data→ Nick's step-by-step fix: how to use a separate Claude project to generate a security checklist for your own build→ Why hardcoded API keys are a hacker's dream... and how to avoid them→ The ethical hacker agent approach for more complex builds→ Why Gemini 3.1 is worth using as a second opinion No code knowledge needed. Just a bit of awareness. And the right prompting skills. 🎙️ Hosted by Kat Kingshott (Touchstone Talent) and Nick Rickards (Voltaic Group)Find us on LinkedIn and let us know: have you been building with Claude Design? We'd love to hear what you've made.Like our page and connect with us!LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/re-boot-ai-and-recruitment/Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ai-agents-for-recruitment/Kat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkingshott/
Transcribe →LinkedIn Wants to Pay You $70/Hour - To Replace You
Apr 1600:18:22Tap to summarizeEpisode 5 | LinkedIn Wants to Pay You $70/Hour — To Replace YouIn this episode, Kat and Nick (husky voice and all) dig into one of the more eyebrow-raising stories in recruitment tech right now - LinkedIn quietly posting roles to hire top tech recruiters as paid consultants at $70/hour, tasked with training their AI models.The irony isn't lost on either of them. LinkedIn has been charging recruiters significant fees for years to use its platform, and is now turning to those same recruiters to fix what their AI still can't do: understand how recruiters actually think, work, and influence.Nick's take? It's an admission. Nobody he's spoken to thinks LinkedIn's AI recruiting tools are genuinely good. The agents pull back irrelevant candidates, don't ask the right questions, and fundamentally misunderstand what recruitment value actually is. Because here's the thing... recruiters don't just find candidates. They influence them. The nuance, the emotional intelligence, the reading between the lines... that's where the fee is earned, and that's exactly what AI can't replicate. Yet.Kat goes a step further, reading the LinkedIn move as something bigger: a play to eventually build an AI marketplace that cuts recruiters out entirely: employers on one side, candidates on the other, agents doing the matching in the middle. Nick's not convinced it'll work at the senior end. But for high-volume, transactional hiring? They both agree the shift is already happening.The episode also covers some practical ground with Nick flagging Claude's native connectors as one of the most underrated quick wins available right now (the little + button in Claude that lets you hook up Gmail, Slack and more in a few clicks). And there's a timely warning about tools like Claude Cowork and Perplexity Personal. They are genuinely powerful, but dangerous if you ask them to do too much in one go. Context windows fill up fast, mistakes compound, and suddenly you've got garbage data you're manually fixing.The analogy of the episode: treat AI like a trainee. Give it 20 things, not 120. Feed it small, specific, relevant information. And remember, just like a new starter who doesn't want to let you down, it'll confidently make things up before it admits it doesn't know.Context is king. (Yes, it's officially the show's unofficial second tagline now. 👑)Like our page and connect with us!LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/re-boot-ai-and-recruitment/Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ai-agents-for-recruitment/Kat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkingshott/
Transcribe →Down the Rabbit Hole: Why AI Is Stealing Solo Recruiters' Time (And How to Take It Back) Episode 4, Season 2
Mar 2500:18:04Tap to summarizeThe rabbit hole is real — and if you're a solo recruiter, you've probably already fallen down one.In this episode, Kat and Nick get honest about one of the less-talked-about side effects of AI adoption: the hours, days, and sometimes weeks that quietly disappear when curiosity meets a shiny new tool. They dig into why solos are disproportionately at risk, and why that entrepreneurial brain that makes you great at your job is also the one that just cost you three days of BD.Nick shares his system for staying focused — building well-contextualised AI projects that filter the noise before he goes near a demo. Kat adds her take: the rabbit hole isn't always the enemy, but you'd better go in with guardrails.They also take an honest swipe at the LinkedIn hype cycle and the age-old truth that a great sales team and a great product are not the same thing.If you've ever started exploring a tool on a Monday and surfaced on Thursday wondering where your week went — your wake-up call just dropped. 🐇Like our page and connect with us!LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/re-boot-ai-and-recruitment/Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ai-agents-for-recruitment/Kat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkingshott/
Transcribe →The Hidden Cost of AI Agents (And How to Keep It in Check) Season 2 Episode 3
Mar 1700:16:26Tap to summarizeEpisode 3 | The Hidden Cost of AI Agents (And How to Keep It in Check)In this episode, Nick and Kat get into one of the most asked — and least understood — questions in recruitment right now: how much does running AI actually cost, and why does it keep going up?Nick breaks down how AI agents actually work in plain English — think of an agent as a digital employee who shows up at a set time (literally triggered by a timer/alarm), picks up the right tools (LinkedIn, Apollo, your CRM), and gets to work. No distraction, no scattiness — but also no human nuance, unless you train it in.The real conversation starter? Context windows and token costs. The more data you feed an LLM to process, the more it costs — and with agents running daily, that data compounds fast. Monday's four pages of LinkedIn messages becomes seven by Tuesday, ten by Wednesday... and your bill quietly snowballs with it.Nick's solution: a structured database that acts as a memory layer, feeding the agent only the specific, relevant data it needs — not the whole book, just the right chapter. This can cut processing costs by 50–60% and keeps your GDPR exposure in check too.They also touch on the limitations of existing recruitment CRMs (spoiler: most aren't built for this), and why chasing the next shiny agent tool without understanding the cost architecture could hurt more than help.Key takeaway: AI agents are powerful — but they're not set-and-forget. Understanding tokens, context, and data flow isn't just for the technically-minded. It's now a recruitment business literacy issue.Like our page and connect with us!LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/re-boot-ai-and-recruitment/Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ai-agents-for-recruitment/Kat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkingshott/
Transcribe →"Going Solo: How AI is Fuelling the Solopreneur Revolution in Recruitment" Episode 2
Feb 1800:21:38Tap to summarizeThe solo recruiter is having a moment — and AI is the reason why. In this episode, Kat and Nick dig into the growing wave of recruiters breaking away from big agencies to go it alone, and why 2026 might be the most exciting (and accessible) time in history to do it.They explore how AI has shifted the conversation from "can I afford to?" to "why haven't I yet?" — lowering the barriers to entry, removing the manual grind, and giving solopreneurs the tools that once required a full team and a serious budget. But it's not just about efficiency. It's about differentiation, creativity, and building something that's truly yours.Kat and Nick also flip the lens on larger agencies, asking what retention really looks like in a world where your best recruiter could build their own custom GPT and hand in their notice by Friday. Plus, they share their top practical tips for anyone sitting at the start line this year — including Nick's step-by-step guide to using Claude as your strategic business partner and Kat's reminder that mistakes are part of the process, not the end of it.If you're thinking about going solo, this one's for you.Like our page and connect with us!LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/re-boot-ai-and-recruitment/Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ai-agents-for-recruitment/Kat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkingshott/
Transcribe →From Hype to Reality: Our 2026 Predictions for AI in Recruitment - Season 2 Episode 1
Feb 400:27:48Tap to summarizeSeason 2 kicks off with Kat and Nick reflecting on what made 2025 such a challenging year for recruitment—from AI fatigue and "AI slop" to the harsh reality that most tools aren't living up to the hype. They discuss why so many AI products fall short (hint: generic automations without personalization), predict which trends will dominate 2026, and share their bold vision for recruiters building their own bespoke AI infrastructure. Plus, we announce the launch of a new community for AI-enabled recruiters. If you're tired of the noise and ready for practical insights on what's actually working, this episode cuts through the BS.Like our page and connect with us!LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/re-boot-ai-and-recruitment/Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ai-agents-for-recruitment/Kat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkingshott/
Transcribe →Episode 8 - How to measure ROI for RecTech AI tools?
Oct 2100:19:23Tap to summarizeThis episode we get into how to actually measure AI tool effectiveness. What really matters beyond vanity metrics ? A great product is not just defined by what it does, but how it makes you feel! Like our page and connect with us!LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/re-boot-ai-and-recruitment/Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ai-agents-for-recruitment/Kat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkingshott/
Transcribe →Episode 7 - What to ask your CRM vendors? We talk about Metaview, Atlas & CRMs galore!
Oct 2100:21:36Tap to summarizeStuck on what to ask CRM sales reps?Have a listen to our tips on what to ask vendors to help you reach the best decision. Like our page and connect with us!LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/re-boot-ai-and-recruitment/Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ai-agents-for-recruitment/Kat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkingshott/
Transcribe →Episode 6 - What would happen in recruiting if ChatGPT shut off tomorrow?
Oct 100:28:20Tap to summarizeWe discuss the growing reliance on AI (for better or worse) and how agencies might look with and without AI in the future. The robots have definitely got a hold of Nick, are you also in their clutches or still resisting? Like our page and connect with us!LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/re-boot-ai-and-recruitment/Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ai-agents-for-recruitment/Kat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkingshott/
Transcribe →Episode 5 - What will happen when the AI bubble bursts? Answering your recruiter questions
Sep 2400:29:11Tap to summarizeHow can recruiters trust the models we use?What happens once the AI bubble bursts?Will recruiter gaffes be blamed on agents or trainees now?This week we answer your questions - please continue to send these in to us and would love to hear your take too! #figuringitouttogetherLike our page and connect with us!LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/re-boot-ai-and-recruitment/Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ai-agents-for-recruitment/Kat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkingshott/
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