Podcast
The Recruiting Brainfood Podcast
Hosted by Hung Lee · EN
The Recruiting Brainfood Podcast: Your weekly 60 minute dose of brilliant conversation about Recruiting & HR
37episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Brainfood Live On Air - Ep388 - Introducing Next Generation AI Recruitment Agents - Juicebox Live Demo
6d ago00:57:02Tap to summarizeINTRODUCING NEXT GENERATION AI RECRUITING AGENTS Juicebox have been one of the most impressive businesses in the AI recruiting space. Now with 6,000 customers, they are ready to announce a step change in how Juicebox works for recruiters to keep a competitive edge. Juicebox agents now REMEMBER AND SELF CORRECT. When a search isn't surfacing the right people, Agents reflect on their reasoning and proactively edit their own criteria instead of waiting for you to bring it up. THEY ASK QUESTIONS When requirements conflict or something doesn't make sense, the Agent clarifies. For example: "Would you prefer candidates with PLG or demo-led growth experience or both, but with a smaller candidate pool?" THEY ADAPT TO CHANGING REQS Recalibrate by directly chatting to your Agent. For example, you can say: "Add GEO/SEO to the search" and the Agent adjusts and remembers context from your previous conversations. LASTLY, THEY HANDLE OUTREACH Agent writes multi-step sequences in your team's voice, with company selling points and per-candidate personalization, at scale. CEO David Paffenholz with live demo - register here (click on the green button 'save my space') and follow the channel here for updates.
Transcribe →Brainfood Live On Air - Ep383 - How to Hire for AI Fluency - The Zapier Framework
1w ago01:01:56Tap to summarizeEveryone claims they're "good with AI" on their CV. Almost no one can prove it. As AI tools proliferate across every function, talent leaders face a critical gap: we need people who don't just use AI, but wield it strategically—and we have no reliable way to identify them. Enter Zapier. The automation platform that helped democratise no-code workflows has developing and refining a practical framework for assessing AI fluency in hiring. Everyone's been talking about it. But now we've got Soeren Winter to unpack it and tell us what it means for Talent Acquisition teams. • Redefining "AI Fluency" for Hiring • The Portfolio Approach to Assessment Distinguishing candidates who've memorized one interface from those who understand underlying AI principles and can adapt across platforms, models, and use cases • Critical Evaluation as Core Competency • Integration & Workflow Design • The Ethics & Safety Screen • Cross-Functional Translation • Learning Velocity Indicators • Practical Assessment Design • Building Internal AI Fluency Benchmarks AI fluency is now a baseline expectation, not a differentiator—but most hiring processes haven't caught up. Organizations still screening for "AI experience" on LinkedIn are filling roles with candidates who can't deliver. Meanwhile, teams using rigorous, practical assessment frameworks are building workforces that genuinely multiply productivity. The cost of getting this wrong isn't just a bad hire; it's the opportunity cost of teams waiting months for someone to actually become useful. We're on Friday 22nd May at 2pm BST. Register by clicking on the green button (save your spot) and follow the channel here (recommended). Ep383 is supported by our friends at Greenhouse AI is reshaping hiring across the UK, Ireland and Germany. But is trust keeping up? Greenhouse surveyed over 2,200 jobseekers, recruiters and hiring managers to uncover where AI is building confidence in hiring, where it's eroding it, and what the most trusted employers are doing differently. Download the full report
Transcribe →Brainfood Live On Air - Ep381 - How to Hire in Hong Kong (SAR) in 2026
3w ago00:54:18Tap to summarizeHong Kong's talent market has been stress-tested like no other—and emerged with a new identity. The old playbook - expat packages, regional hub prestige, English-only operations - now guarantees mediocrity. Yet for those who understand the new dynamics, Hong Kong offers something rare: a gateway to mainland opportunity with international legal frameworks, a financial center pivoting hard into tech and green finance, and a talent pool that spans Greater China and Southeast Asia. It's more complex, more competitive, and more rewarding for employers who adapt. This webinar delivers the intelligence you need to hire effectively in Asia's most transformed talent market. 10 Critical Shifts Reshaping Hiring in Hong Kong • The Talent Diaspora & Return Dynamics – Who left, who stayed, who's returning, and why the "new Hong Kong" professional has different loyalty drivers, risk appetites, and career expectations than pre-2020 cohorts • Mainland Integration Realities – How increasing economic and professional interchange with Shenzhen and Guangdong is reshaping language requirements, compensation benchmarks, and career mobility patterns • Financial Services Reinvention – Beyond traditional banking: capturing talent in fintech, virtual assets, green finance, and family office services where Hong Kong is aggressively positioning against Singapore • The Trilingual Imperative – Why "English + Mandarin + Cantonese" capability is now table stakes for client-facing and leadership roles, and how to assess proficiency beyond self-reported fluency • Visa & Mobility Restructuring – Navigating the Top Talent Pass Scheme, General Employment Policy shifts, and the new competitive landscape for global talent attraction against Singapore and Dubai • Compensation Compression & Expectation Shifts – Addressing the end of expat premium packages, localized salary structures, and the rising importance of housing allowances, schooling support, and tax optimization in total rewards • Startup Ecosystem Maturation – Tapping into Hong Kong's evolving tech scene—where government investment, university commercialization, and mainland venture capital are creating new talent competition outside traditional sectors • Work Culture Hybridization – Balancing international professional norms with evolving local expectations around hierarchy, work-life boundaries, and organizational loyalty in a post-transition environment • Regulatory & Compliance Complexity – Hiring within Hong Kong's distinct legal framework while managing cross-border data, employment law changes, and increasing mainland regulatory influence on business operations • Employer Branding in a Polarized Environment – Crafting authentic value propositions that resonate across diverse political and cultural perspectives without alienating key talent segments We're on Thursday 14th May, 10am BST. Register by clicking on the green button to save your spot. And follow the channel here (recommended) to be notified whenever we go live.
Transcribe →Brainfood Live On Air - Ep379 - AI Recommendations vs Human Judgement (Part Two)
3w ago01:02:24Tap to summarizeAI RECOMMENDATION VS HUMAN JUDGEMENT - PT2. Can we detect, assess, train for and hire for 'human judgement'? Following our amazing conversation a month ago, we're back with Pt2 of our conversation on AI Recommendation vs Human Judgement. This time, we're going to examine whether it is possible to hire for human judgement, whether this should be a quality we actively look for and cultivate in existing employees? • Defining the Undefinable – Breaking down "judgment" into observable, assessable components - pattern recognition, ethical reasoning, contextual awareness, and decisive action under uncertainty - that separate humans from sophisticated autocomplete • The Automation Paradox – How over-reliance on AI recommendations actually atrophies human judgment skills in your workforce, creating dangerous dependency loops where no one questions the machine • Detecting Algorithmic Deference – Identifying the warning signs in candidate behavior and employee decision-making that reveal someone who executes recommendations versus someone who evaluates them • Assessment Science for Judgment – Moving beyond situational judgment tests to immersive, real-time simulations that reveal how candidates actually react when AI advice conflicts with observable reality • Training Judgment in an AI-Saturated World – Practical frameworks for developing judgment capabilities in employees who've never made decisions without a digital safety net—and why this is now a retention imperative • The Hiring Manager's Dilemma – When your own recruitment process is AI-driven, how do you spot candidates with superior human judgment? Breaking the recursive trap of algorithms hiring for algorithmic compliance • Ethical Override Readiness – Case studies of catastrophic AI failures in hiring, finance, and healthcare—and the specific judgment capabilities that could have prevented them • Cognitive Diversity vs. AI Consensus – Why homogenized "best practice" recommendations produce blind spots, and how to build teams whose judgment complements rather than mirrors algorithmic output • The Speed vs. Deliberation Spectrum – Redesigning workflows and roles to protect space for human judgment without sacrificing the efficiency gains AI legitimately delivers • Future-Proofing Leadership Pipelines – Why succession planning must now explicitly screen for judgment autonomy—and how to identify high-potentials who won't become mere executors of AI strategy We're on Friday May 8th, 2pm BST. Save your seat (click on the green button) to register and follow the channel here (recommended) to be notified whenever we go live with a new show. Ep379 is sponsored by Greenhouse What do high-performing TA teams look like in 2026? Greenhouse analyzed data from over 6,000 companies and over 640M applications over the last 3 years to understand how recruiters are really doing and how hiring teams can keep up with industry standards. Check out their new benchmarking report, The Hire Standard.
Transcribe →Brainfood Live On Air - Ep378 - How to Hire in China in 2026
4w ago01:03:12Tap to summarizeHOW TO HIRE IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IN 2026 The post-pandemic recovery, shifting regulatory landscape, and explosive growth of domestic tech giants and surprising resilience of export economy in face of Trump Tariff War, have completely rewired how Chinese professionals evaluate opportunities. What attracted top talent five years ago - multinational brand prestige, expat packages, hierarchical titles—now falls flat against the priorities of a new generation. Meanwhile, local competitors are mastering AI-driven recruitment, offering unprecedented flexibility, and tapping into talent pools Western companies barely know exist. This webinar cuts through the noise to reveal what's actually working in China right now. If you're serious about building teams in the world's most complex talent market, this is your competitive intelligence briefing. 10 Critical Shifts Reshaping Hiring in China • The Rise of "Quiet Loyalty" vs. "Lying Flat" • Domestic Giant Competition – How BYD, ByteDance, CATL, and Huawei are rewriting compensation, perks, and career development benchmarks—setting expectations that foreign employers now struggle to match • AI-Native Recruitment Platforms – Why LinkedIn's China exit created a fragmented ecosystem of super-apps (WeChat, Maimai, Boss Zhipin, Xiaohongshu) and how AI-powered matching algorithms on these platforms now determine candidate visibility • The Regulatory Tightrope – Navigating 2026's evolving data privacy laws, cross-border data transfer restrictions, and employment contract requirements that can derail hires before day one • Localiaation Beyond Translation – Why "glocal" strategies fail in China and how winning employers build autonomous, culturally-embedded talent teams rather than exporting Western HR playbooks • The Returnee Talent Wave – Tapping into the growing pool of overseas-educated Chinese professionals returning home - what they expect, what they're leaving behind, and why they choose local over multinational • Flexible Work Realities – Confronting the gap between China's 996 legacy and younger workers' demands for work-life balance, remote options, and mental health support—without sacrificing productivity expectations • Skills-First Hiring in Practice – Moving beyond degree pedigree and brand-name resumes to competency-based assessments, as China's education inflation makes traditional credentials increasingly unreliable signals • Employer Branding on Chinese Social – Mastering Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), Douyin, and Zhihu for talent attraction—platforms where candidates research your reputation through employee-generated content, not corporate career pages • Succession-Proofing Your China Leadership – Addressing the critical shortage of ready-now local leaders and why 2026's winners are accelerating executive development programs rather than importing expat talent All this and more as we tackle what it's like to hire on of the main drivers of the global economy. We're on Tuesday May 5th, 10am BST / 5pm CST. Save your seat (click on the green button) to register and follow the channel here (recommended) to be notified whenever we go live with a new show. Live session includes extended Q&A on your specific China hiring challenges. Recording available exclusively to registrants.
Transcribe →Brainfood Live On Air - Ep377 - Job Advertising on Social Media in 2026
4w ago01:02:54Tap to summarizeJOB ADVERTISING ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN 2026 Front line work - in healthcare, retail, hospitality & logistics, construction, warehousing and the rest remain the most in-demand jobs in almost every economy. And the only way people know how to hire them is through advertising on Facebook! Whilst old school techniques might still work, the manual effort is exhausting, cost inefficient and increasingly susceptible to risk. What does great job advertising on social media look like in 2026? There's a ton to get through: • AI-Powered Creative Generation • Programmatic Media Buying 2.0 • Dynamic Candidate Journeys • Predictive Audience Modelling • Conversational Apply Flows • Video-First Job Storytelling • Privacy-First Targeting • Cross-Platform Attribution Intelligence • Authenticity at Scale • The Algorithm Arms Race If you're hiring for front line and want to keep up-to-date with the latest techniques of advertising on social media, this is the show for you. Limited seats. Live Q&A included. Recording available to registrants only. We're on Friday 1st May, 2pm BST. Register by clicking on the green button (save my spot) and follow the channel here (recommended) Ep377 is sponsored by our friends Joveo As the global leader in AI-powered, high-performance recruitment marketing, Joveo is transforming talent attraction and recruitment media buying for the world’s largest employers, staffing firms, RPOs, and media agencies. The Joveo platform enables businesses to attract, source, engage, and hire the best candidates on time and within budget. Powering millions of jobs every day, Joveo’s AI-led recruitment marketing platform uses advanced data science and machine learning to dynamically manage and optimize talent sourcing and applications across all online channels, while providing real-time insights at every step of the job seeker journey, from click to hire. For more information about Joveo’s award-winning platform and solutions, visit www.joveo.com.
Transcribe →Brainfood Live On Air - Ep376 - We're Going To Do An OpenClaw Install
Apr 2501:02:26Tap to summarizeWe're Going To Do An OpenClaw Install (Live Demo) Meet OpenClaw - the open-source AI that's been the sensation of the year so far. Imagine an actual 24/7 AI Agents that does the work for your automatically. Can it work for real world recruiting? We're not just talking about it - we're showing you. In this live demo session, watch us tackle: • How fast can you spin up a custom application workflow from scratch? • Native integrations: does it play nice with your existing HRIS and assessment tools? • Compliance and data privacy: where does OpenClaw stand on GDPR and security? • Custom reporting: can you build the dashboard your executives actually want? • API flexibility: how deep can technical teams customise the backend? • Cost reality check: where are the hidden expenses vs. proprietary platforms? We're pressure-testing Openclaw in real time—no slides, no sales pitch, just raw functionality and honest verdicts. Recruiters, HR tech leads, and TA innovators—this demo is for you. Follow the channel here (recommended) and register for the show by clicking on the green button 'Save My Spot' Episode 369 is sponsored by Juicebox PeopleGPT is the leading outbound recruiting platform built on Generative AI. Find talent across 30+ data sources, get interactive Talent Insights, and reach out with personalized AI email campaigns. Key features include: PeopleGPT (Search): the world’s first people search engine that uses natural language. Describe who you’re searching for and find the perfect match from over 30 data sources. Talent Insights: Visualize your talent pool with 15+ interactive charts. Refine your search and dive deep into stats based on location, employers, job titles, skills, and more. Email Outreach: Maximize candidate engagement with AI-powered email campaigns. Personalize messaging at scale using AI commands, and boost response rates by 40%. Get 15% off your Juicebox subscription with code: BRAINFOOD15 Trusted by 5000+ companies including Scale AI, Mindbloom, and Patreon. Free trial available. Try Juicebox today
Transcribe →Brainfood Live on Air Ep385 - Screening at Scale Metaview Applicant Review Live Demo
Apr 2401:03:10Tap to summarizeYour recruiters are drowning. 474 applications per role. 385% volume increase since 2022. And your screening process still relies on humans reading resumes one by one. The maths doesn't work anymore - yet quality can't slip. Metaview has built something different: an Applicant Screener that doesn't just automate rejection emails, but actually understands candidate fit at scale. In this session, CEO Siadhal Magos goes live with the product - no slides, no case studies, just the actual interface processing real applicant volumes. Watch how AI-native screening handles the flood without washing away the human judgment that makes great hires. If your team is spending Sundays catching up on application review, this is the demo that changes your next quarter. We're on Thursday 23rd April, 5pm BST. Register by clicking on the green button (save my spot) and follow the channel here (recommended) to be notified whenever we go live.
Transcribe →Brainfood Live On Air - Ep375 - How to Hire in Japan in 2026
Apr 2201:09:14Tap to summarizeHow to Hire in Japan in 2026 Japan's talent landscape is shifting fast—and foreign employers are scrambling to catch up. With accelerating demographic decline, evolving work culture norms, and new government visa reforms, 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for recruitment in the world's third-largest economy. The old playbook - post on Daijob, hire a bilingual coordinator, hope for the best - isn't just outdated. It's expensive. Whether you're scaling your Japan presence or hiring remotely from abroad, you need intel that matches the market's velocity. In this essential briefing, we're covering: • Which visa categories are expanding (and which are tightening) in 2026 • The rise of "side job" culture: how moonlighting rules unlock hidden talent pools • Beyond Tokyo: where to find undervalued talent in Osaka, Fukuoka, and satellite cities • English-first hiring: realistic expectations vs. localization requirements • Employer branding that actually resonates with Gen Z Japanese professionals • Compensation benchmarks: when "competitive" means something different here • The remote work negotiation: what's legally possible vs. culturally acceptable • Partnering with Japanese staffing firms: red flags and power moves • Compliance landmines: labor law updates every foreign HR lead must know • Building retention in a market where lifetime employment is dead—but loyalty still matters This is ground-level intelligence from operators who've scaled teams across Tokyo, Kyoto, and beyond. Global TA leaders, expansion strategists, and Japan-market entrants - register now. The window for building competitive advantage in Japan is narrowing as talent scarcity intensifies. This session gives you the 2026-specific playbook to hire smarter, faster, and more locally than your competitors. Don't enter this market blind. Follow the channel here (recommended) and register for the show by clicking on the green button 'Save My Spot'
Transcribe →Brainfood Live On Air - Ep374 - Automation is Eating Recruiting (And What Recruiters Should be Doing Now)
Apr 1701:07:20Tap to summarizeAutomation is Eating Recruitment! 10 Tips for What Talent Acquisition & HR Should Be Doing NOW The robots aren't coming - they're already here. AI sourcing, automated screening, chatbot scheduling, and predictive analytics are devouring the recruitment tasks we used to own. So what should recruiters be doing now? This isn't a eulogy for recruiting. It's a battle plan for the talent professionals ready to evolve. In this high-energy session, we're breaking down: • Which recruitment tasks to automate immediately (and which to protect at all costs) • How to reposition yourself as a strategic advisor when AI handles the sourcing • The "automation audit" every TA team should run this quarter • Why candidate relationship building is your new competitive moat • How to upskill your team for a hybrid human-AI workflow • The metrics that matter when bots handle volume and you handle value • Red flags that your automation is alienating top talent • Building the business case for tech investment (with numbers executives actually care about) • Future-proofing your career: skills that w on't be automated by 2026 • The one automation mistake that's costing you your best candidates right now This is tactical, zero-fluff intel for TA leaders who refuse to be outpaced by their own tools. TA leaders, HR directors, and recruitment innovators - register now. We're Friday 17th April, 2pm BST / 9am EST. Follow the channel here (recommended) and register by clicking on the green button 'Save My Spot' Ep374 is supported by Maki At Maki, we help organisations like BNP Paribas, PwC, Booking.com, Nestlé, and H&M transform hiring with AI agents for screening, interviewing, and assessment. By combining automation, behavioural science, and data, Maki enables talent teams to hire faster, fairer, and smarter. Our global partnership with H&M saved 250 000 recruiter hours, cut time-to-hire by 4×, and reduced turnover by 22 %, delivering $85 M ROI. Beyond automation, we’re building a continuous reinforcement system where every recruiter judgment and employee outcome makes our AI agents smarter; creating a unique data moat in HR. Learn more: makipeople.com
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