TaPod - We Talk Talent Acquisition.

40 Episodes
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By: Craig

Join hosts - Lauren Sharp & Craig Watson as we explore the wonderful and wacky world of Talent Acquisition & Recruitment. We speak with TA Legends, Thought Leaders & Industry suppliers. We explore challenges, changes & confusion in a world that is crying out for a voice. We aim to be informative... a little controversial... with a side of fun. Join us... won't you?

Episode 554 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop
#554
Last Tuesday at 8:00 PM

It’s your weekly dose of the Scoop from Tapod with all of your TA & Recruitment news from here and abroad. We cover all sorts of headlines, including… Strikes, strikes and more strikes, the nightmarish state of the job market, Callam from Indeed stops by, 1 in 3 plan to quit, and much more.

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 553 - Unpacking the Holy Union of CX & EB with Matthew Lant.
#553
Last Sunday at 8:00 PM

This week on Tapod, we catch up with Matthew Lant – Head of Recruitment and Employer Brand at AFCA. Now every year at the ITAs there is a team that cleans up. Last year AFCA won Excellence in Employer Brand, Excellence in Candidate Experience and Corporate Talent Professional of the Year. Want to hear how they did it?

Thanks to Taly for partnering with us this month. 


Episode 552 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop - brought to you by Indeed.
#552
03/24/2026

It’s your weekly dose of the Scoop from Tapod with all of your TA & Recruitment news from here and abroad. We cover all sorts of headlines, including… Gen Z grads being fired en masse, teachers striking, F2F interviews vs online interviews, working from home challenges, candidate bias, unemployment date – good news or bad? Recruiting AI Agents – WTF? and much more.

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 551 - Graduate Programs & School Leaver pathways - WTF is going on? with Sam Devlin.
#551
03/22/2026

This week on Tapod, we catch up with Samantha Devlin (Sam to her friends), co-founder and CEO of The Careers Department. With the world agog with the AI revolution… Graduate unemployment at record highs and students questioning traditional pathways, we thought it was time to get to the bottom of it all, and who better to speak to than Sam? The Careers Department has a ton of student-led data, including intention shifts on post-school pathways in school-leavers. It’s a fascinating dataset and one that just may contribute to changes in the way we work. And if you are a pa...


Episode 550 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop
#550
03/17/2026

It’s your weekly dose of the Scoop from Tapod with all of your TA & Recruitment news from here and abroad. We cover all sorts of headlines, including… the dawn of the Concierge Recruiter, job cuts at Meta & Atlassian (AI or AI washing?), WhatsApp used to terminate employees, Jack and Jill hacked and much more.

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 549 - How do you incorporate an AI Agent into your Talent Team? with Edan Haddock.
#549
03/15/2026

This week on Tapod we catch up with the ever-brilliant and ever-busy Edan Haddock – Head of Talent and People Experience at Movember, Podcast Host and Community Builder. There is a helluva lot going on at Movember, from a new Global Institute of Men’s Health to ‘Joel’ the AI agent and a global recruitment responsibility – it’s busy, busy, busy! Throw on top of that the Total Talent Podcast; he’s barely got time to scratch himself. Hands up if you have an AI Agent reporting directly to you as part of your Talent Team? Edan does, and he’ll tell us all a...


Episode 548 - Meeting Leaders Where They Live. With Peter Treloar.
#548
03/11/2026

Buckle in for a special episode of Tapod, where we sit down with Peter Treloar – Founder at Taly. Believe us, this is NOT a normal personality profiling solution. From an AI-enabled on-demand org psych to delivering results in video or even podcast form and NO boring reports. It gets the data into your hands when and where you need it. And if you need any further proof, listen to the end, and you will hear an AI-driven podcast unpacking Lauren and Craig’s personalities and how they will work together… or implode. It’s great stuff!


Episode 547 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop.
#547
03/10/2026

It’s your weekly dose of the Scoop from Tapod with all of your TA & Recruitment news from here and abroad. We cover all sorts of headlines, including… AI washing, Kyle & Jackie O, women shut out of leadership, a 4-day work week in Victoria, unions pushing for more holidays, it’s amazing what you see through Meta glasses, Anthropic’s take on jobs exposed to AI, Lauren may just apply for MAFS, and much more.

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 546 - 'It's an Everyone Problem' IWD with Nat Flynn
#546
03/08/2026

This week on Tapod we catch up with the amazing Natalie Flynn, Founder of Equidi, to discuss the latest WGEA gender pay gap and all things International Women’s Day. We are making baby steps into our pay gap, but it’s not enough and we’re not sure we’re even measuring the right data… What we can be sure of is that in many industries, there are still more opportunities at the ‘top end’ of businesses for males, from management to the ‘C-suite'. We touch on AI and its impact on the gender labour market and much more. It’s not a...


Episode 545 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop
#545
03/03/2026

It’s your weekly dose of the Scoop from Tapod with all of your TA & Recruitment news from here and abroad. We cover all sorts of headlines, including… Lauren Anderson from Indeed joins us to talk Health Sector,  Tinder the new LinkedIn, most non-competes to be banned, the latest WGEA numbers, Gen Z playing up again, and Square acting like… well… squares.

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 544 - 'Be a Little Bit Brave...' with Kimberley Lawrie
#544
03/01/2026

This week on Tapod we catch up with Kimberley Lawrie, world-famous Talent Leader from brands such as Telstra, Holden, Jetstar, Myer, Aesop, Mars and Cotton On. But right now… Kimbo is in between roles, and we explore the world of the unemployed Talent Acquisition professional. From Candidate Experience to AI in the Recruitment Process to the state of the TA, and even authoring a children’s book, we unpack what we all fear – searching for a job... It’s compelling and frustrating, but we do it with a smile on our faces! 

Thanks to Taly for partnering with us t...


Episode 543 - Is your company choosable? Or a pig in lipstick – with James Ellis.
#543
02/25/2026

Get strapped in for a special episode of Tapod, where we sit down with James Ellis—Global Talent Strategy Expert, best-selling author, and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. 

EB has evolved into Talent Strategy, and here is your chance to come along for the ride. There are a million different gold nuggets of inspiration here… from helping recruiters escape from the cost-centre box... killer candidates over a full funnel… every company has a point of difference and a heap more.

But don’t take our word for it. T...


Episode 542 - Your weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop
#542
02/24/2026

It’s your weekly dose of the Scoop from Tapod with all of your TA & Recruitment news from here and abroad. We cover all sorts of headlines, including… AI FOMO drives risk, Greenhouse talks 'AI Doom Loop', Public wage growth on the up, job ads rise at a rate not seen since 2022, discrimination against the LGBTIQ+ workers on the job increases in Australia, gender pay gap update, Gen Z proven to be a generation of laziness, the heavens open mid-record and much more…  

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 541 - When DE&I actually means something... with Andy Steeds.
#541
02/22/2026

This week on Tapod we catch up with Andy Steeds—Head of Talent Acquisition at Capgemini Australia & NZ. It’s a great opportunity to revisit Capgemini’s fantastic win in the category of Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the 2025 ITAs. From managing pay gap to working within an environment of the global 'anti-movement', Capgemini navigates DE&I in a modest, understated but passionate fashion, ensuring it is at the forefront of strategy and purpose.

Thanks to Phenom for partnering with us this month. 


Episode 540 - The Talent Function Needs to Grow. With Cliff Jurkiewicz
#540
02/18/2026

Buckle in for a special episode of Tapod, where we sit down with Cliff Jurkiewicz, VP Global Strategy & Futurist at Phenom. I have to say this was one of the most interesting conversations I have ever had. From early life as a touring rock star to piloting his own plane and dealing with family tragedy, Cliff has had quite the life. And it doesn’t stop there… The insights into ‘the death of industrial-age recruitment,' the divorce between HR & Talent and a perfect storm of technological and generational change are mind-blowing. Cliff will certainly be back with us, bu...


Episode 539 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop
#539
02/17/2026

It’s your weekly dose of the Scoop from Tapod with all of your TA & Recruitment news from here and abroad. We cover all sorts of headlines, including… Breaking News in the breakup of 2 HR Tech juggernauts, AI jobs that are 'safe,' rethinking entry-level pathways, IBM tripling their hiring, work is a situationship, ANZ charging $10 for a sausage sizzle. And much more.

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 538 - Getting Down & Dirty with the Ventia Talent Marketplace - with Adam Buxton
#538
02/15/2026

This week on Tapod we catch up with Adam Buxton—GM Talent Acquisition Transformation at Ventia. We ‘get down and dirty’ with the launch of the new Ventia Talent Marketplace—the process in the lead-up, the lessons learned, and the future ahead. It’s a real Rec-Tech success story and could help you in your transformation journey.

Thanks to Phenom for partnering with us this month. 


Episode 537 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with The Scoop
#537
02/10/2026

It’s your weekly dose of the Scoop from Tapod with all of your TA & Recruitment news from here and abroad. We cover all sorts of headlines, including…  Candidates paying recruiters in the US, MAFS is back! Companies scrambling to rehire humans, Good jobs news from the UK, Women in Tech & Finance subject to AI bias. And much more.

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 536 - 'Shaking Babies & Kissing Hands'... or something like that with Amy Schultz
#536
02/08/2026

This week on Tapod we catch up with Amy Schultz—VP Market Development – RPO at Korn Ferry, and weren’t we lucky! Are workforce decisions moving closer to operations? Amy thinks so and puts up some very valid points. From best-in-breed to best-in-suite, getting real input into decision-making, taking control of retention and mobility and even TA working within different business silos.

As always, it’s a must-listen.

Thanks to Phenom for partnering with us this month. 


Episode 535 - Indeed Futureworks. Welcome to the 'Betterverse'.
#535
02/04/2026

On this special episode of Tapod, we sit down with Lauren Anderson – Senior Strategic Advisor from Indeed to talk about the upcoming Indeed Futureworks In Melbourne on February 19. The theme is ‘Betterverse’ how can  we leap forward into the technological future while focusing on the purpose of all of this progress which is to make hiring better? From Lego professionals to Indeed’s chief economist to a ‘real life’ astronaut, Futureworks is the hottest ticket in town and for your chance to win a seat check out the link in the comments!


Episode 534 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop
#534
02/03/2026

It’s time for the Scoop from Tapod with all of your weekly TA & Recruitment news from here and abroad. We cover all sorts of headlines, including… the latest on redundancies, the government announces 30,000 – that’s right 30,000 new casual roles across Australia, the latest on return to office, is the 4-day work week quietly eroding productivity? Hiring times pushing out, Gen Z optimistic about career prospects And much more.

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 533 - Planning is Dead! What's in store for 2026 with Gareth Flynn.
#533
02/01/2026

This week on Tapod we catch up with Gareth Flynn—Talent & Workforce Expert and Founder & CEO at TQ Solutions. As we all try to make sense of the past 18 months and what to expect into 2026. The only thing we can be really sure of is that things will continue to change and at an incredibly rapid rate. We talk deeply about AI, the geopolitical state of play, the great convergence, task intelligence, and a heap in between. There is so much to unpack here, and it affects all of us.  

Thanks to Phenom for partnering with us thi...


Episode 532 - BIG Announcements at SmartRecruiters!
#532
01/28/2026

This week on Tapod we catch up with the ever-brilliant duo of Rich Lewis-Jones and Elle Green from SmartRecruiters. We learn all about the SmartRecruiters-SAP SuccessFactors marriage, new products, the upcoming HireXperience event at Luna Park in Sydney, and a few cheeky predictions for the year ahead. As usual we learned stuff—you will too!

Thanks to People Orbit AI for partnering with us this month. 


Episode 351 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with The Scoop
#531
01/27/2026

It’s time for the Scoop from Tapod with all of your weekly TA & Recruitment news from here and abroad. We cover all sorts of headlines, including… HR tech acquisitions are on the rise. Who is worried about AI? Eightfold test case before the courts, labour market stats, job scams warning, and is AI outpacing workplace reality? And much more.

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 530 - Coles Group gets serious about Talent Attraction... ITAs Serious!
#530
01/25/2026

This week on Tapod we officially kick off 2026 with an ITAs special! We’re lucky enough to catch up with Leah McCabe—Talent Attraction Manager from Coles Group—and Fiona Warren—Business Director APAC at Havas Group. Coles Group nabbed 2 ITAs in 2025—Best Use of Video and Best Vendor Solution with Havas Group. We explore the reasons for their success and cover a million rabbit holes, including Parma vs. Parmi, the toastie challenge, DEI, video magic, accessibility, volume with time constraints… this list goes on and on. A great chat, with a really innovative duo.

Thanks to People Orbit...


Episode 529 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop
#529
01/20/2026

It’s time for the Scoop from Tapod with all of your weekly TA & Recruitment news from here and abroad . We cover all sorts of headlines including… AI & ICE – a marriage made in heaven, hiring to remain challenging in 2026, job-hugging to continue, Australia’s worst boss unmasked, private sector in the job mud, entry-level is no longer entry level and much more. 

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 528 - Summer Series - What's Up in Talent? With Chad Sowash.
#528
01/18/2026

In the last of our Summer Series podcasts on Tapod we catch up with one of the smartest minds in talent & HR—Chad Sowash—co-founder & co-host at Chad & Cheese, ‘HR’s Most Dangerous Podcast’. We cover Recfest US, the need for vendors to push their customers front and centre, AI and the future of our industry….. Chad looks at talent through a different lens. He speaks to industry leaders every week and shares with us his unique and very strong views. I might be biased, but I think we can all learn a lot from experts who podcast :)

This is an...


Episode 527 - We're Back! Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop.
#527
01/13/2026

We’re Back for 2026! The team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News. We cover all sorts of headlines including…  AI jitters everywhere, the top jobs in Australia, phoenixism and side hustles, swinging bosses from the UK and much more

Thanks for taking the time to listen to us throughout 2025 and just wait to see what we have in store for 2026!.

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 526 - Summer Series - 'I can't champion for them, if I'm not championing for myself' Women's Health in the Workplace
#526
01/11/2026

This week on the Summer Series on TaPod, we look back to tackle a really important issue – Women’s Health in the Workplace. We are joined by the amazing Jess Gibson-Jones and Kaz Thorley. From Periods to Peri-Menopause to Menopause to Miscarriages to Endometriosis to Hysterectomy to Cancer and more, we  highlight how Women’s Health Issues are not regarded, or even accepted in many workplaces. It’s raw. It’s educational. And it’s essential that this issue is spoken about… by everyone.

Thanks to PeopleOrbitAI for your continued support of TaPod.


Episode 525 - Summer Series - 'Mind The Gap' Recruitment Metro Trains style.
#525
01/04/2026

This week on Tapod (Summer Series), we catch up with Kyle MacLean, Head of Talent at Metro Trains and today’s episode is all about the Choo choos! With over 1200 train drivers at Metro we explore all kinds of challenges including gender balance, new infrastructure, recruiting frontline staff and more.

We hit all the big issues with no replacement buses in sight.

Thanks to PeopleOrbitAI for partnering with us for the Summer Series. 


Episode 524 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop (Last one for 2025!)
#524
12/16/2025

Today on our final Scoop for 2025, the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News. We cover all sorts of headlines, including…  The AI job ‘rust belt,’ all the latest employment data, Aussies burnt out in the workplace, Gen Z being Gen Z, corporate buzzwords for 2025, and much more. 

Thanks for taking the time to listen to us throughout 2025, and we can’t wait to do it all again next year.

Props to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 523 - Summer Series - The Times You Failed are the Times You Learn the Most
#523
12/14/2025

This week on Tapod, Bonnie kicks Craig to the curb as we welcome Sophie Hirst—Gen Z career coach, former Google marketing manager, TikTok creator, and founder at Work Baby. You might know Soph from her brilliant podcast, Biz, on the Mamamia network. Beginning her career as a magician’s assistant in Japan (yes, you heard right), Soph’s career is so interesting. From fails in the workplace to presenting the real stats on Gen Z, Soph’s insights bring clarity to generational misnomers and how to navigate 5 generations in the office. 

Thanks to People Orbit AI for your...


Episode 522 - How Workday uses Workday with Michael De Graaf
#522
12/10/2025

This week on Tapod we sit down for a special episode with Michael De Graaf—Global Head of Talent at Workday. It’s not often we get to talk to someone from a talent team who uses their own solution (customer zero). Mike is as close as you can get to the product, and we get an opportunity to understand how Workday test and trial. We also touch on acquisitions and how solutions integrate or stand alone. It’s a very interesting discussion that will benefit every talent leader.

Thanks to People Orbit AI for partnering with us thi...


Episode 521 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop
#521
12/09/2025

Today on the Scoop, the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News. We cover all sorts of headlines, including…  Christmas parties and how to behave, El Jannah and the bots, Callam Pickering drops in for a chat, can a worker working OS apply for unfair dismissal from an Aussie firm? Trump to take over AI, the Victorian economy in the mud, Gen Z and sandpaper, and much more. And don’t forget to listen to the upcoming events!

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 520 - The 2025 Yearly Wrap with Jo Vo & Sarah Purches
#520
12/07/2025

This week on Tapod we wrap 2025 and the year that was with two of the greatest minds in our industry, Sarah Purches and Jo Vohland. Nothing is off the table as we cover every single issue we faced over the past 12 months, from AI to acquisitions to the shrinking TA market to the global economy and much more. Not only that, we all give our crystal ball moment for 2026. We don’t always agree, but boy, we had fun! 

Thanks to Greenhouse for partnering with us this month. 


Episode 519 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with The Scoop
#519
12/02/2025

Today on the Scoop the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News. We cover all sorts of headlines, including…  The Australian government throws its hat into the AI world, the French Culture Ministry drugs interviewees, MI5 investigates recruiters, career opportunities for over 50’s, Bunnings nails the 5-generation workforce, Australia’s gender pay gap is improving, and much more!  And don’t forget to listen to the upcoming events!

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 518 - Mythbusting AI with Professor Toby Walsh
#518
11/30/2025

This week on Tapod we sit down with one of the leading minds in AI in Australia—Professor Toby Walsh, Chief Scientist at UNSW AI Institute. Fresh from his keynote presentation at ATC2025, the Good Professor guides us through the myths associated with AI as well as plenty of practical applications. If you are nervous, intimidated, or worried about where technology is headed, rest assured—we have you covered. Oh—and did we tell you the story about Toby and his little challenge with Russia?

Thanks to Greenhouse for partnering with us this month. 


Episode 517 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop
#517
11/25/2025

Today on the Scoop, the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News. We cover all sorts of headlines including… Workday not done with acquisitions, who wants a job paying $300k? AI updates on many fronts, NT raiding NZ for Cops, CSIRO wields the axe, hiring at the Jonas Brothers concert and much more. And don’t forget to listen to the upcoming events!

Thanks to Indeed for partnering with us on The Scoop. 


Episode 516 - From Videos to Hiring Managers. recruitment @hipages
#516
11/23/2025

This week on Tapod we catch up with Jason Lau, Head of Talent Acquisition at hipages. From falling in love with the company 4 years ago when he joined on Valentine's Day, Jason takes us through recruitment processes at an innovative Tech business. Hiring mainly Sales and Tech roles, hipages current employer brand campaign is an absolute cracker and leans right in to the ‘feels’ that allow prospective candidates to push behind the veil. We also explore CX with Hiring Manager boot camps, gender parity and being a certified ‘best place to work.’ If you are looking for something very differen...


Episode 515 - Your Weekly TA & Recruitment News with the Scoop
#515
11/18/2025

Today on the Scoop the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News. We cover all sorts of headlines, including… Lloyds uses banking data in pay negotiations,  Pakistani newspaper has an AI whoopsie - so does Deloitte, whilst KPMG in the UK cuts overtime for juniors, the French cry ‘Sacre Bleu!’ against Meta, Zoom acquires Brighthire, WFH test case in Victoria, the latest workplace sex trend for Gen Z, massive pay gap for people living with a disability in the UK; and much more. And don’t forget to listen to the upcoming events!

Thanks...