
Everything people and workforce—recruiting, marketing, technology, talent management, and workforce economics—delivered with biting sarcasm and unapologetic snark. Industry misfits Chad Sowash and Joel Cheesman bring their no-holds-barred opinions to dissect news, trends, and the occasional dumpster fire. If you’re a hiring company, staffing firm, or vendor looking for insights (and a thick skin), these two won’t just tell you what’s happening—they’ll tell you why you’re probably doing it wrong. Buckle up, buttercup.
Facebook is in a hiring freeze, crypto is crashing and Uber says it’s going to "treat hiring as a privilege" as a way to cut costs. What, us worry? Hell no. Deel, Rippling and iCIMS are raising money, enjoying some rare, unicorn air and in the news this week. Aspiring unicorns are raising cash too, and the boys play a little buy-or-sell with Manara, Certn and HireLogic. Lucky for them, Chad is enjoying his new digs in sun-filled Portugal, so Buy ratings are aplenty in contrast to Cheese's middle-American bitterness. What the boys can agree on, however, is recent commercials from Mod pizza and Upwork. What's more? This week's shoutouts are particularly entertaining, so don't skip the intro, kids.
The Shred is a bite-sized bit of recruitment news to help make sure you’re in-the-know, even if you’re on-the-go. The Shred is brought to you by Recruitology.
Hangovers and jet-lag be damned! The show must go on. That's why the boys connected after the conference in Ostend this week to chat a little Euro news and breakdown the week in Belgium. Adecco was in the news for bringing on a new CEO. Losing 50 percent of its stock value probably wasn't a good thing for the guy he's replacing. Jobandtalent has embraced acquisitions as a way to spend its hundreds of millions in investment. This time, a Norwegian staffing firm is on the menu. And yes, as promised, the boys wrap-up the conference with takeaways, teaching and teases for next year. Enjoy, and pass the Alka-Seltzer while you're at it.
Recording live from Ostend, Belgium, ahead of the House of HR conference, the boys are in the kind of zone only a pint of Chimay can inspire. LinkedIn loses again and Comparably says it’s probably time to stop thinking Glassdoor is vulnerable (and chalk up another acquisition where terms aren’t disclosed). The boys then play a little buy-or-sell with BarRaiser, Valence and Pando “Don’t Call Us Logical.” Nike vs. Airbnb wraps up the show making us question which WFH policy will rule the future (hint: it rhymes with “hairbnb”). Oh yeah, and you gotta about the boys wild Amsterdam adventure with sponsor Textkernel. Cheers!
Employment branding is hotter than ever. Thanks Great Resignation! However, as our special guest James Ellis, host of The Talent Cast podcast and senior manager at Recursion says, "We're all just figuring it out as we go along." That's why we brought him on this episode of the Cult Brand series with RecruitMarketing.com's Julie Calli. We dig into the state of the profession, how Covid changed everything and what role technology plays in building a strong employment brand.
The Shred is a bite-sized bit of recruitment news to help make sure you’re in-the-know, even if you’re on-the-go. The Shred is brought to you by Recruitology.
Cynthia Owyoung is VP, of inclusion, equity, and belonging at Robinhood. She's also the author of a new book, "All Are Welcome: How to Build a Real Workplace Culture of Inclusion that Delivers Results." So, if you have to ask why we had her on the podcast, then you're not paying attention. The boys discuss the current state of DEI&B in America, implementing inclusive talent strategies, and how to measure success when implementing inclusion strategies.
Beamery me up, Scotty, and get that Delorean to 88 MPH! This show is heavy, and not because there's something wrong with the earth's gravitational pull in the future. No, it's because we have an acquisition of some company called Flux and an update on the HiQ / LinkedIn legal drama. Plus, Predictive Hire is changing its name and the boys play a little Buy-or-Sell with Crafty, Beatrust, and Vivian (sounds like a party we attended back in '94). Anyway, it's another can't-miss weekly episode of HR's most dangerous podcast. You're welcome.
The Shred is a bite-sized bit of recruitment news to help make sure you’re in-the-know, even if you’re on-the-go. The Shred is brought to you by Recruitology.
What's your favorite brick-related song? (She's a) "Brick House? "Another Brick in the Wall"? Maybe Ben Folds' simply titled "Brick"? Anyway, startup Bryq is hoping they'll be your new favorite "brick." Don't worry, we'll cover the name and URL - among lots of other things - on Firing Squad when CEO and co-founder Markellos Diorinos enters the pit to take on HR's most dangerous podcast. Diorinos says his company is "a unicorn-to-be." Oh, really? Well, we'll be the judge of that.
Coming down from the high of the recent iCIMS acquisition of CandidateID, former CEO Adam Gordon of CandidateID and Mike Wilczak, chief product & development officer at iCIMS, join Chad & Cheese for the "morning-after" recap of the deal. Included are tips for startups who want to be acquired, whether it's better to buy or build your next feature set, and what the future looks like for iCIMS and CandidateID customers alike.
Tired of hearing about unicorns in the recruitment space? Doesn't matter, because the parade of glitter-pooping horses continues this week with a double-banger that includes Oyster and Clipboard getting to that billion-dollar valuation. Next, two companies worth well north of a billion, Apple and Starbucks, are in the news, both dealing with unionization efforts from employees. What else? Hirevue passes the buck, California goes after A.I. in recruiting New York State says YES to transparency in monitoring employees. Then a few tequila shots end the show. It's roughly 45 mins. you'll never get back. Sorry, not sorry :)
The Shred is a bite-sized bit of recruitment news to help make sure you’re in-the-know, even if you’re on-the-go. The Shred is brought to you by Recruitology.
The war in Ukraine continues to pull at the fabric of European economies and companies. That's why we invited Neill Dunwoody of Spryt and TechlinkUkraine to join the boys on his take and insight into what the war means for real people trying to escape the horrors of conflict and make a living. Lumped into Ukraine, we talk about how the war could be impacting Europe economies on a macro level, including companies who have to deal with employees in both Russia and Eastern Europe who take opposing sides. It's a messy world, but we're only getting started. Even messier, the episode veers into talking about a company offering "masturbation pods" for employees to relieve some stress. Yup, we went there.
What happens when you get HR's most dangerous podcast together with the industry's most popular TikTok celebrity? Yup, insanity! The boys bring on Leigh Henderson, A.K.A., HR Manifesto, to reveal the secrets of TikTok success for employers. We also dig-in to hear Leigh's story of how she went from Fortune 100 executive to social media darling. We'd write more, but you people apparently have no attention span whatsoever ... thanks, TikTok!
Talent.com Says Nobody Rides for Free There's always a bigger fish. And with the recent acquisition of GoodHire, Checkr - valued at $4.6 billion - shows that it's got an appetite worthy of great white shark status. (Sterling, you have been warned.) And speaking of warnings, freeloaders on Talent.com should know there are no more free lunches on the Montreal-based job board. Canadians aren't so generous after all it seems. Next up, we talk a little remote work, and some recent LinkedIn data, a Google shopping spree, and how white men just can't say no to going back to the office. White men can't jump either, but that's a different podcast. Lastly, like most weeks, it's all about OnlyFans. The episode so nice, you might listen to it twice.
The Shred is a bite-sized bit of recruitment news to help make sure you’re in-the-know, even if you’re on-the-go. The Shred is brought to you by Recruitology.
Who doesn't love a good David vs. Goliath story? That's why we invited Recruit CRM to come onto Firing Squad. This cocky startup run by Sean Mallapurkar thinks it can actually put a dent in Bullhorn's armor and grab a big piece of the staffing CRM business worldwide. Is there bark bigger than their bite, or should Bullhorn and the like be shaking in their boots? Gotta listen to find out.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are still on the tip of many employers' tongues. However, things like a global pandemic and a world on the edge of World War III have stolen a lot of the spotlight in recent years. So, do employers still care as much as they did just two years ago? It's something to consider, and that's why Chad & Cheese have brought back Barb Hyman, founder and CEO of Predictive Hire. And that's just one topic. If DEI is important to your organization - and you know it should be - then this is a must-listen.
Did Chad and Indeed Just Become Best Friends? Think unicorn production is slowing down? Think again, because we not only have a new unicorn on this week's show, we have a triple-unicorn, baby! Welcome to the club, IntelyCare, and Remote! And speaking of remote, it's a topic that makes its way into the show big-time this week, as does idiot execs at Taco Bell, Google "frog boiling," and slider-flippin', onion ring fryin' and shrimp nibblin' robots. Surprisingly, Chad speaks kindly about Indeed's latest customer update .. wait, did I say "speaks kindly," because we really meant "full-on tongue bath"? And we even throw in "innovation" from Snagajob and Dice, with a game of who'd ya' rather? You're welcome, dear listener.
The Shred is a bite-sized bit of recruitment news to help make sure you’re in-the-know, even if you’re on-the-go. The Shred is brought to you by Recruitology.
Axel Springer Needs a Fluffer Europe continues to be a hotbed of workforce news. That's why the boys brought on AIM Group's managing editor Pavel Marceux on the podcast. Pavel wrote a story entitle, "Metaverse hiring: A passing tech fad or future game changer?," so Boner Alert for Cheesman! Additionally, the boys discuss the state of Russian recruitment, Axel Springer taking a bigger stake of No Fluff Jobs out of Poland, Malt drinking up Comatch's milkshake and Hired increasing it's footprint by, oh, like, 100 countries. Listen up, and drink it up people!
Resumes are dead. Sourcing is pointless. Applicant tracking systems have failed us. At least that's the opinion of Maya Huber, co-founder, and CEO of Skillset, an Israeli-based job skills test platform. Is she right? Well, Chad & Cheese have some questions ... let's leave it at that. Have a listen and make up your own mind.
Marketers make great bedfellows. Who knew? Candidate.ID and iCIMS, that's who. The boys dig into the hottest acquisition news of the week, plus review HackerRank's latest funding round. What else? Layoffs at a unicorn, a "GPS for your Career" and a job-related URL that commanded a six-figure price-tag. Say what? Lastly, porn star Bree Olson breaks down The Great Resignation like only a porn star can. Huzzah!
Quit rates have reached record levels and employees are making their voices heard. But how can a company change the narrative and retain employees through empowering their people? The lived experience of an employee working for Trianual is how founder and CEO Chris Ronzio defines culture and he's ready to bet $5,000 cash money that any aligned candidate will buy into his company and culture. Wait a minute, is this really power to the people or a cheap publicity stunt? The numbers do not lie and the mantra of "Hold Us Accountable" can help hiring companies as they peer into the organizational mirror seeking answers. Will this type of strategy help your company thrive? Trianual is thriving, listen to why.