Podcast
Talent Acquired
Hosted by StudioPod Media · EN
Welcome to Talent Acquired, a Chris Edward Consulting podcast hosted by its Founder, Chris Nakiso. Whether you are a company looking to hire, a professional looking to improve your career or a recruiter helping people connect, this podcast was designed to help us understand how we can improve talent acquisition in the modern era.
Join us on this journey through the talent acquisition landscape! We’ll bring you stories, strategies and viewpoints of candidates, hiring managers and recruiters that will help you find the right talent for your team.
Talent Acquired is produced by StudioPod Media.
For more information about Chris Edward Consulting services please visit their website.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Leah Harrigan | AI and the Impact on Talent Acquisition
Mar 2500:23:13Tap to summarizeNavigating AI in Recruitment – Promises, Pitfalls, and the Human ConnectionIn this engaging episode, Chris (Host) interviews Leah Harrigan, a highly experienced talent acquisition specialist with over 20 years of expertise across agency and corporate recruitment. Having worked in dynamic industries such as tech, construction, airline, and agriculture, Leah brings a pragmatic and insightful view into the evolving recruitment landscape. Their conversation dives deep into the influence of AI on recruitment, the challenges faced by job seekers and recruiters alike, and the importance of preserving the human element in the hiring process.Key Themes Covered:Diverse Recruitment Expertise:Leah kicks off the episode by sharing her perspective on the balance between agency and corporate recruitment models in her 20-year career across varied industries. She emphasizes the importance of partnership between these models, highlighting the unique strengths each brings to the table.The Impact of AI on Talent Acquisition Efforts:Leah assesses AI’s role in recruitment, discussing its benefits and drawbacks. While automation ensures faster applicant screening and increased efficiency, AI systems struggle to identify candidates lacking well-optimized resumes or keywords, creating gaps in quality. Chris and Leah discuss scenarios where recruiters face an overwhelming volume of applications, often from bots or AI-generated submissions that sacrifice quality for quantity.AI’s Strengths and Weaknesses in Recruitment:Leah delves into how AI is transforming recruitment workflows, enabling even less experienced recruiters to hit the ground running. However, she thoughtfully critiques that AI may protect weak recruiters while exposing their limits, especially in tasks requiring human judgment and deeper insights. She speaks candidly about some resumes being overly polished through AI tools, which creates mismatches when candidates fail to meet expectations during technical interviews.Authenticity Matters – AI vs. Human Connection:Throughout the conversation, Leah stresses one fundamental truth: AI cannot replace the human touch. She explains that empathy, authenticity, and genuine relationship-building remain irreplaceable aspects of recruitment, particularly during negotiations and candidate evaluation. Leah and Chris agree that while metrics and data dominate the recruitment landscape, the emotional connection often gets lost when systems prioritize speed over thoughtfulness.Advice for Job Seekers – How to Stand Out:Leah offers valuable advice for candidates struggling to break through the noise despite their qualifications. She advocates showcasing personality and individuality in resumes, sharing examples like a candidate adding humor into his achievements section to stand out. Leah also underscores meaningful storytelling, encouraging candidates to quantify accomplishments and give specifics that resonate with recruiters.LinkedIn Validation and AI’s Effect on Communication:Chris and Leah explore the interplay between resumes and LinkedIn profiles, emphasizing LinkedIn’s role in validating claims made on resumes. Leah warns against mass, automated messaging via AI tools, stating it diminishes authenticity in communication and may hurt relationships with candidates.Evolving Expectations in Recruitment:Leah wraps up the episode with advice for employers: focus on the quality of hires rather than speed alone. For job seekers, the message is clear—show your humanity, highlight your intentions, and bring something genuinely unique to the table.Why Listeners Should Tune In:Whether you're a recruiter navigating the rise of AI or a job seeker trying to stand out in today’s competitive market, this episode offers sharp insights and practical strategies suited to your needs. Leah Harrigan’s expert take on AI’s promises and pitfalls in recruitment invites reflection on how technology shapes the future and what must remain deeply human in the process. Thoughtful, captivating, and relevant, this conversation promises to shine a light on the real impact of AI while offering actionable advice for both sides of the hiring equation.Tune in to learn how the right balance of technology and human connection could transform the recruitment world!
Transcribe →Brandon Sorensen | Operational Excellence
Jan 2600:21:46Tap to summarizeThis episode dives into what operations really looks like when a company starts to grow faster than expected — and what leaders get wrong when ops is treated as a reactive rather than a strategic function.1. When Growth Catches You Off GuardA lot of companies don’t plan their way into growth. They back into it.What starts as a small, focused business can quickly turn into something much bigger — sometimes in directions no one anticipated.We talk about:Why fast, unexpected growth exposes operational cracksHow ops often gets pushed aside until it becomes a problemWhat it looks like when operations lead growth instead of chasing itThe big question: Is your ops team driving the business forward or just trying to keep up?2. Patience as an Operational and Leadership AdvantageThere’s a real conversation here around leadership maturity — especially for people early in their careers or stepping into bigger roles.We unpack:Why rushing titles and responsibility usually backfiresThe value of staying in roles long enough to actually learn themHow patience builds better operators and stronger leaders over timeThis isn’t about slowing ambition. It’s about earning depth before scale.3. Solving the Right Problems (Not All the Problems)High-performing operations aren’t built from templates. They’re built by understanding context — where a company is today and where it’s actually capable of going.This part covers:Why companies oversell capabilities before ops can support themHow to prioritize the few pain points that actually matterThe shift from transactional work to deeper, strategic partnershipsInstead of trying to solve everything, the focus is on solving the right problems well — the ones that unlock long-term growth and stronger relationships.
Transcribe →Patrick Kelley | Leveraging Social Media
Dec 1600:25:29Tap to summarizeAuthenticity Wins: LinkedIn Branding InsightsUnlocking the power of personal branding on LinkedIn! Patrick Kelly from Zoom shares invaluable insights on authenticity, content strategy, and overcoming imposter syndrome. He emphasizes the importance of being yourself, embracing failure, and consistently providing value.Key takeaways:Mix business and personal contentFocus on quality over production valueUse a structured approach for postsWant to boost your LinkedIn presence? Watch the full video for more tips and tricks from Patrick's journey.#PersonalBranding #LinkedInTips #AuthenticityMatters
Transcribe →Rick Hill | Sales Leadership - What They Don't Tell You
Sep 2500:25:15Tap to summarizeDive deep into the essence of leadership in our latest podcast episode where Rick Hill, an experienced sales leader, shares transformative lessons that challenge traditional notions of success. With years of wisdom and experience, Rick offers a perspective guaranteed to shift how you approach leadership, influence, and collaboration.Why You Can’t Afford to Skip This Episode:✅ Do you want to be right or rich? 🌟Rick delivers an eye-opening piece of advice from one of his early mentors that strikes at the heart of decision-making in leadership:"Rick, do you wanna be right or do you wanna be rich? You can choose one or the other, but you can't choose both."This poignant moment acts as a guidepost for anyone seeking collective success rather than personal validation.✅ Humility Matters 🤝Ever wrestle with maintaining influence and productivity while keeping your ego in check? Rick highlights critical examples of how humility shapes effective leaders. He contrasts his approach with a mistake he witnessed firsthand—a hyper-controlling leader who sabotaged team meetings, deaf to input and collaboration.✅ The Power of Reflection 🔍Rick leaves listeners pondering a powerful reminder for those navigating the challenges of leadership:"Remember why you started."This episode is packed with actionable wisdom and relatable anecdotes, perfect for aspiring leaders, seasoned executives, and anyone striving to balance ambition with teamwork.You’ll Learn:How to prioritize collective success without compromising authenticity.Key strategies for fostering collaboration and flexibility within teams.The dangers of ego-driven leadership and how to avoid these pitfalls.
Transcribe →Curtis Heath | Building A Winning Culture
Aug 1400:14:24Tap to summarize💡 Most leaders think culture is about perks, pizza parties, or slogans on the wall. The truth? Culture shows up in how your team communicates when no one’s watching.I sat down with Curtis, a seasoned organizational leader, and here’s what stuck with me:👉 Communication is the baseline. “If I’m 100% and you’re 100%, that makes 300%. The invisible entity is teamwork. And that all starts with making sure our words mean the exact same thing.”👉 Red flags in culture are always visible. Watch for inconsistent actions, lack of shared ownership, or behavioral drift in how teams interact.👉 Ego-driven leadership kills trust. Curtis said it best: “If you come in forcing your will over what’s already existing, you’re not gonna get the result.” Observation before action builds buy-in.👉 Empowered leaders own their results. “I don’t set goals for my leadership team. We’re the leaders. Why would I try to do something I have 100% control of? I expect it.”👉 Culture must outlast the leader. The ultimate win? When the team can “call their own plays and still score touchdowns” without you.For executives in hardware, software, or tech integration companies, this isn’t just philosophy—it’s survival. High performers won’t stick around in a broken culture. Neither will your customers.The challenge for leaders isn’t building culture for today. It’s building culture that lasts beyond you.
Transcribe →Ehrika Gladden | Leading Through Transformation: Why Human Capital Matters
Aug 1400:14:23Tap to summarize🚨 Most leaders fail at transformation before it even begins.Why? Their team doesn’t believe them.In our latest conversation, I sat down with Ehrika to talk about the brutal realities of leading through change.Here’s what stood out:👉 75% of communication is nonverbal. Your team reads your body language before they ever hear your words.👉 Top performers disengage quietly. If you’re not paying attention, you’ll lose them without warning.👉 The hardest truth? Leaders usually know who won’t make it through transformation on day one. The challenge is respecting the people who got you here, while preparing for who will take you forward.Ehrika nailed it when she said:“Isn’t leadership the key part of anything we’re doing? People are looking to the leader. Culture is at the heart of every transformation. How you communicate dictates how fast your organization will move.”If you’re a CEO, CRO, VP of Sales, or Ops leader inside a hardware, software, or technology integration company—this episode is for you.Because transformation isn’t just strategy.It’s people. It’s talent. It’s leadership.
Transcribe →Larry Satterfield | Leading Sales Orgs Through Transformation
Aug 1100:10:24Tap to summarize🚨 Most sales leaders underestimate how brutal transformation really is. The truth? You can’t wait for people to get on board; you’ll lose the race before it starts.In our latest conversation, I sat down with Larry and Paul to unpack what it takes to lead effective sales team transformations, especially in private equity-backed businesses.Here’s what stood out:👉 Impatience is a strategy. “The biggest mistake is not being impatient. You have to be impatient.” Waiting for people to adapt costs time and kills momentum.👉 Team transformation is the hardest job in sales leadership. Shifting teams—whether inherited or rebuilt—to align with new goals is where most transformations stall.👉 Frontline leaders reveal the truth. If your frontline managers resist, your sellers will too. That’s the first red flag of deeper misalignment.👉 Sometimes you have to let go of top performers. Larry put it bluntly: “You may have to move away from high performers if they don’t buy into where the company needs to go.” Yesterday’s results can’t outweigh tomorrow’s vision.👉 Succession planning is a blind spot. 90% of companies lack it. Which means when transformation hits, they lose talent they can’t afford to lose.👉 Compensation drives behavior. Shifting from hardware to software models? Incentives must reward the new direction—or the team won’t follow.Transformation succeeds not by strategy alone, but by talent, urgency, and the strength of your leadership.
Transcribe →Mark Barragan | Beyond the Rules: The Truth About Winning in Sales
Jun 300:12:43Tap to summarizeThinking about jumping into sales? Here’s the truth: it’s not about perfect timing—it’s about the mentality you bring to the table.I sat down with Mark, a tech professional who made the leap from engineering to sales, and here’s what stood out from his journey:👉 Perseverance beats instant results. At the 6-month mark, Mark thought he was failing. His boss reminded him: “You’re calling customers. You’re prospecting. You’re building relationships. Keep doing what you’re doing.”👉 Adopt a hunter’s mentality. Mark thrived in roles where he was compensated for opening new doors. His advice? “Where do you start? You gotta pick up the phone and just go for it.”👉 Stick to what you know. Shifting industries was one of Mark’s toughest challenges. His lesson? “Stay in your swim lane. Sell what you understand.”👉 Culture and leadership matter. Great management vs. poor management can make or break your sales career. Do your due diligence before jumping in.Mark’s story is a reminder for anyone in hardware, software, or tech integration: Sales isn’t about being flashy—it’s about consistency, trust, and putting yourself in the right environment to succeed.The leap might feel risky. But if you’ve got the mentality, it can change your career trajectory forever.
Transcribe →Andrew Gross | How Managed Services Shape Tech Integrators' Future
Apr 15, 202500:09:27Tap to summarizeMost Tech Integrators say they want recurring revenue… but few are actually set up to sell it.🎙️ Just recorded a powerful episode with Andrew Gross from Xyte — and this one’s packed with insight.We talked about:✅ What’s changing in buyer behavior across tech✅ Why managed services still feel out of reach for many integrators✅ The mindset shift companies need to compete✅ What type of Talent is needed✅ Where the industry’s headed — and how to stay aheadThis wasn’t just talk. It was the kind of convo that cuts through the noise. If you’re a Technology Integrator in:➡️ Workplace Technology (AV, Video Conferencing, Digital Signage)OR➡️ Building Technology (Access Control, CCTV, Structured Cabling, Data Centers)And you are navigating industry shifts and exploring new ways to serve your clients while growing revenue — this one's worth your time.
Transcribe →Larry Satterfield | The Power of Skip-Level Talks
Jan 28, 202500:09:04Tap to summarizeEver heard of a "skip level talk"? 🤔It's a powerful leadership technique where executives bypass the chain of command to connect directly with frontline employees.This means stepping out of your office to chat with IC's (Individual Contributors) who see everything on the field.It's not about micromanagement... but about staying in touch with the real pulse of your team's process on what is going very well and what can be improved, sometimes even immediately addressed.Why is this important?Because the view from the top isn't always clear, skip-level talks help leaders stay grounded and make informed decisions.If this is not a strategy you are using in your organization, I would highly recommend it. From the talent acquisition lens and from the feedback we get from talent in the market, this is a strategy that could provide a huge ROI.
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