Afleveringen
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In the latest episode of the Meet My Network podcast, I had the privilege of diving deep with Mark Leon, a seasoned professional who has transformed the way we think about recruiting and talent marketing. Mark's journey is a testament to the power of human connection and strategic thinking in the world of talent acquisition.
The Unexpected Path to Recruiting
Mark's story begins like many in our profession - not as a carefully planned career, but as a serendipitous discovery. Starting as a resident advisor in college, he was introduced to the world of human resources through a mentor who saw potential in him. What started as uncertainty quickly became a passionate pursuit of understanding people and their potential.
Pioneering Recruitment Marketing
One of the most fascinating aspects of Mark's career is how he became a pioneer in recruitment marketing before it was even a defined role. At Aon Consulting, he pitched and implemented the concept of creative talent sourcing and community building - a revolutionary approach at the time.
His work at Warner Media is particularly impressive. In just three months, he expanded their talent community from 27 to 17,800 people. But for Mark, it was never just about numbers. He discovered something far more profound - the human stories behind each potential candidate.
Beyond Numbers: The Human Element
Mark shared a powerful moment from his Warner Media project where he connected with aspiring professionals from around the world. One story that particularly struck me was about a young transgender woman in game development who feared breaking into the industry. These conversations revealed that recruitment is about so much more than filling roles - it's about understanding individual journeys and potential.
Embracing Change and Technology
When it comes to AI and technological changes, Mark offers a refreshingly balanced perspective. Drawing from a quote by Robert Zemeckis, he believes in continuous adaptation: "Film, like anything else, is about continuous change. You adopt it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You don't lose your traditional values."
For Mark, AI is a tool - valuable for developing templates, job descriptions, and optimizing processes. But the core of recruiting remains deeply human: building relationships, understanding nuanced communication, and seeing potential beyond the obvious.
Key Takeaways
* Recruiting is an art of human connection
* Be curious and open to unexpected opportunities
* Technology should enhance, not replace, human interaction
* Look for the stories and potential behind every candidate
A Message to Recruiters
Mark's journey is a powerful reminder that our profession is about more than filling roles. It's about understanding human potential, creating opportunities, and sometimes, changing lives.
As we navigate an increasingly technological world, let's remember the core of what makes recruiting powerful - our ability to see, understand, and champion human potential.
Listen to the full podcast episode to hear Mark's complete insights and inspiring journey. And as always, keep embracing the human side of recruiting.
Subscribe to Talent Grind for more insights from recruiting leaders who are changing the game.
Hi, Iâm Michael, a recruiting exec based in the SF Bay area, who specializes in startup recruiting and HRTech building. I previously built recruiting functions at Oyster, Bolt, and Dropbox. Now I am co founder at TeamSourced, where we offer a free platform along with our recruiting service business.
On this substack, I share frameworks, case studies, stories, and links from inside the recruiting and future of work worlds. Not yet subscribed? No worries. You can check out the archive, or sign up below:
Talent Grind is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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Welcome to another episode of Talent Grind's Meet My Network podcast! I'm excited to share my conversation with Brian Piotrowski, Director of Talent Acquisition at EXP, a leading engineering consulting firm.
Brian has built an impressive career in recruiting, starting at a boutique staffing firm before moving to corporate talent acquisition, where he's spent over a decade growing his leadership capabilities. His journey from individual contributor to director overseeing three regional managers and a team of 12 recruiters offers valuable insights for anyone in talent acquisition.
Highlights from our conversation:
On transitioning to leadership:
"I was always curious and always wanted to learn more... I was always asking more questions, always learning to see what was next, what more we could be doing. That constant curiosity helped my manager notice me."
When Brian first moved into management, he experienced imposter syndrome - questioning why he was selected and if he had the right answers. He learned that effective leadership isn't about knowing everything, but about leveraging your team's collective knowledge.
On measuring success in recruiting:
Being part of a professional services organization, Brian focuses on getting the right people in quickly so they can immediately contribute to projects. His team measures success through hires per quarter, month, and week, while also considering utilization rates and ensuring staff aren't burning out.
On the changing landscape of recruiting:
"We came from COVID where everybody was looking for a new role - we had the great resignation. Now people are looking for stability... everybody wants longevity right now."
On AI in recruiting:
Brian isn't an AI doomer - he sees technology as helping create "a cleaner path forward" in recruiting:
"I think the candidate experience should get better. I think the hiring manager experience should get better. The recruiter's experience should be getting better."
He's particularly excited about emerging tools that measure quality of hire and longevity, using data to understand what makes a successful employee both short and long-term.
On what makes a great recruiter:
Brian looks for curiosity and engagement - people who stay informed about industry trends, attend conferences, and constantly learn. As he puts it, "If you're not staying up with the times, you will fall behind. Those are the people that will get replaced by AI."
What keeps him passionate about recruiting:
After years in the industry, Brian still finds joy in the human connections:
"Within recruiting, you get to learn what makes everybody tick within the company - why they are in their role, why they come to work every day, what makes them passionate about what they're doing. When I get to sit down and talk to somebody about what they do on a day-to-day basis and just see the passion light up their face - that's actually the part that I enjoy the most."
My takeaways:
I loved Brian's perspective on AI as an enabler rather than a replacement. We both agree that while recruiting technology will evolve dramatically in the coming years, the human elements of relationship-building and closing candidates will remain essential.
I've been saying this for a while now: AI isn't going to replace recruiters - it's going to transform how we work. Instead of spending 80% of our time on administrative tasks and 20% building relationships, AI will flip that ratio, allowing us to focus more on the human connections that make recruiting so rewarding.
Brian also echoed my sentiment that recruiting offers unique insights into organizations that few other roles provide. We get to see the inner workings of companies, understand what drives different teams, and learn directly from experts across various domains.
Hi, Iâm Michael, a recruiting exec based in the SF Bay area, who specializes in startup recruiting and HRTech building. I previously built recruiting functions at Oyster, Bolt, and Dropbox. Now I am co founder at TeamSourced, where we offer a free platform along with our recruiting service business.
On this substack, I share frameworks, case studies, stories, and links from inside the recruiting and future of work worlds. Not yet subscribed? No worries. You can check out the archive, or sign up below:
Talent Grind is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Get full access to Talent Grind at talentgrind.substack.com/subscribe -
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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When Marc Lipkin started his recruiting career in the late '90s, the tech world looked dramatically different. Armed with a catalog of company listings and a phone, he was hunting for software engineers in the nascent days of the internet boom. Today, he brings a wealth of experience from working with tech giants like Amazon, Google, and innovative startups like Material Bank.
In this fascinating episode of Meet My Network, Marc takes us on a journey through the dramatic transformation of tech recruiting:
* The Early Days: Discover how recruiting worked before LinkedIn, when finding top talent meant creative networking and physical catalogs
* Tech Recruiting Insights: Learn about Marc's experiences recruiting for cutting-edge projects at Amazon, including work with academic scholars and innovative technology teams
* Career Evolution: Hear how Marc transitioned from an individual contributor to a leadership role, sharing invaluable lessons about team building and talent acquisition
Key Highlights:
* Recruiting for world-class teams at Google and Amazon
* The art of identifying exceptional talent beyond traditional profiles
* Insights into the changing landscape of tech recruiting
Whether you're an aspiring recruiter, a tech professional, or simply curious about the behind-the-scenes of talent acquisition, this episode offers a rare glimpse into the world of high-stakes tech recruiting.
Listen now and dive deep into a career that has shaped the tech talent landscape over the past decades!
Hosted by Michael Doran | Talent Grind Meet My Network Podcast
Hi, Iâm Michael, a recruiting exec based in the SF Bay area, who specializes in startup recruiting and HRTech building. I previously built recruiting functions at Oyster, Bolt, and Dropbox. Now I am co founder at TeamSourced, where we offer a free platform along with our recruiting service business.
On this substack, I share frameworks, case studies, stories, and links from inside the recruiting and future of work worlds. Not yet subscribed? No worries. You can check out the archive, or sign up below:
Talent Grind is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Get full access to Talent Grind at talentgrind.substack.com/subscribe -
Recruiting has come a long way since the days of âpersonnel departmentsâ and faxed resumes. Few people understand this evolution better than Mary Kay Baldino, a recruiting veteran whose career spans decades in both corporate and agency settings.
In this episode of Meet My Network, I had the privilege of speaking with Mary Kay about her unexpected entry into recruiting, how she built a career in corporate talent acquisition and leadership, and how AI, proactive hiring, and strategic workforce planning are shaping the industry today.
From College Career Center to Recruiting Leadership
Mary Kay didnât plan to go into recruitingâit found her. While working her way through college, she discovered an interest in HR (then called âpersonnelâ) and started working in recruiting before she even graduated. That early start gave her an edge, allowing her to skip the usual entry-level HR roles and dive straight into recruiting.
After working in corporate recruiting at Famous Footwear and Manpower, she transitioned to agency recruiting, gaining a broader understanding of hiring at scale. But it was her return to corporate recruiting where she made her biggest impactâespecially in the insurance and healthcare industries, where she spent a significant portion of her career.
What It Takes to Become a Recruiting Leader
Mary Kayâs career took off when she started challenging outdated hiring processes. She pointed out inefficiencies in how recruiting was being handled, leading her to build Manpowerâs first corporate recruiting function. Her ability to see hiring from a strategic and operational perspective helped her rise into leadership.
Her biggest lesson in leadership? Understanding compensation and job architecture. She quickly realized that job descriptions, salary structures, and talent planning needed to be addressed before hiring even startedâsomething many companies still struggle with today.
Key Takeaways for Recruiters and Hiring Leaders
1. Proactive Recruiting Is the Holy Grailâbut Hard to Implement
Most executives donât translate their business strategy into specific hiring needs until itâs too late. Mary Kay believes recruiters must push for workforce planning, even if itâs not naturally built into the companyâs process.
2. AI Is a Recruiterâs Best Friend (Not a Replacement)
Mary Kay sees AI as a tool to remove repetitive tasks, not replace recruiters. She encourages TA leaders to embrace automation for scheduling, resume screening, and outreach, allowing recruiters to focus on relationship-building and strategic hiring.
3. The Best Recruiters Are Intensely Curious
Curiosity is what separates great recruiters from average ones. Mary Kay believes recruiters should ask better questions, learn the business inside out, and push leaders to make data-driven hiring decisions.
Final Thoughts: Recruiting as a Strategic Business Function
Mary Kay sees recruiting as one of the most impactful functions in any organizationâand yet, most companies donât invest in it properly. She hopes the future brings more CEOs and CHROs with recruiting backgrounds, as those who truly understand hiring understand how to build successful companies.
Her message to recruiters? Stay curious, embrace AI, and push for strategic workforce planning.
Want more deep dives into the careers of top recruiting leaders? Subscribe to Talent Grind for exclusive insights from the best in talent acquisition.
Hi, Iâm Michael, a recruiting exec based in the SF Bay area, who specializes in startup recruiting and HRTech building. I previously built recruiting functions at Oyster, Bolt, and Dropbox. Now I am co founder at TeamSourced, where we offer a free platform along with our recruiting service business.
On this substack, I share frameworks, case studies, stories, and links from inside the recruiting and future of work worlds. Not yet subscribed? No worries. You can check out the archive, or sign up below:
Talent Grind is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Get full access to Talent Grind at talentgrind.substack.com/subscribe -
n this eye-opening episode of Talent Grind Live, Michael Doran and Alex Mann tackle "The Big Freeze" - our current economic downturn that economists compare to the Great Recession.
As hiring slows to 2009 levels and competition intensifies, discover why personal branding is no longer optional but essential for recruiters. Michael shares how AI tools can give you back 20% of your workday while elevating your professional profile.
Learn practical strategies for building your digital presence, leveraging relationship networks as a protective "moat," and positioning yourself to thrive when the economy thaws.
Whether you're a seasoned recruiter or new to talent acquisition, this episode delivers actionable advice for navigating uncertain times with confidence and vision.
Don't miss Michael's powerful analogy about "being in the foam" and how to find your way to the surface during economic turbulence.
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In this episode of Talent Grind Live, CEO of TeamSourced, Michael Doran, and Alex Mann, head of go-to-market sales at Elly.ai, discuss the current state of recruiting.
They start with a casual chat about personal experiences and weather before diving into the core topics. Michael provides an overview of his extensive background in recruiting and talks about his new initiative to unify various components into a single vision, including the launch of the Talent Grind community.
He stresses the importance of genuine experience and mentorship in the recruitment industry, critiquing influencers who lack practical recruiting experience. Michael also explains the unique challenges recruiters face, especially during economic downturns, and emphasizes the need for evolving recruitment strategies.
The conversation includes insights into how AI and technology could enhance recruiting efficiency and a call for creating valuable content to share within the community.
The episode concludes on an optimistic note with Michael's commitment to provide tools, resources, and support for recruiters.
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AI in recruiting and talent acquisition is transforming how we work.
Join recruiting leader Michael Doran and AI expert Alex Mann as they analyze LinkedIn's 2025 AI Report, revealing how artificial intelligence is saving recruiters a full day each week.
Learn about AI recruiting tools, automation in talent acquisition, and how to build better candidate relationships with more time.
Essential insights for recruiters, talent acquisition professionals, and hiring managers navigating the future of recruitment.
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AI recruiting tools are changing talent acquisition - but not how you think.
In this debut episode of Talent Grind Live, recruiting veteran Michael Doran and AI specialist Alex Mann debunk AI doomerism in recruitment.
Discover how artificial intelligence in recruiting reduces stress by 90%, why AI gives recruiters an edge in talent acquisition, and how tools like Claude and Otter are transforming candidate sourcing and engagement.
Perfect for recruiters, hiring managers, and talent professionals embracing AI in recruitment.
Get full access to Talent Grind at talentgrind.substack.com/subscribe
