Chapters / Timestamps 00:00 – Intro / RecFest Kick-off 00:30 – Guest #1 – Tijal Rives (Amazon) 00:40 The power of speaking your truth & dealing with trolls 01:45 Career path – from recruiting → product at Amazon 02:45 Curiosity as a superpower (“the red-button” story) 03:40 Inside Amazon’s hiring process & the Bar Raiser 05:50 Making the move from recruiting to product 07:10 Curiosity & motivation in candidate conversations 08:55 “How AI Can Change Recruiters’ Lives” – conference preview 10:30 Good / Bad / Ugly of AI tools for recruiters 12:45 Candidates using AI – benefits vs pitfalls 14:30 High-touch recruiting & AI limits 15:30 Hot takes: AI in recruiting | Hot dog = not a sandwich 17:10 Advice for job seekers – burnout plans & mindset 18:20 Open-to-Work banner debate (Helpful!) 19:25 Motherhood & work-life harmony 20:05 – Head of TA @ Aubrey Cirillo (Custom Ink) 20:10 From banking → sales → TA leadership 21:40 Sales skills = recruiting superpower 22:25 Mentorship & self-storytelling 23:00 Aligning hiring with business goals (role clarity) 24:05 Small team challenges & cross-functional recruiting 25:10 Shadowing employees to improve storytelling 26:10 Sourcing stack – LinkedIn, Gem & AI tips 27:30 Balancing open jobs vs intentional hiring 28:40 Using AI without losing the human touch 29:30 Scaling hiring through ambassador programs 30:50 Building trust with hiring managers (proactive 1:1s) 31:45 Equity & accountability in hiring 33:00 Protecting time & energy as a recruiter 34:20 Hot takes: Open-to-Work, Sourcing vs Closing, AI Interviews, and Hot Dogs 35:10 – Guest #3 –Sr. Technical Recruiter @ Heather Colvin (Smart Data) 35:15 Full-circle moment & intro 36:05 Recruiting as a career of creativity (no ceiling ) 37:20 Bridging the trust gap with hiring managers 38:10 Using ChatGPT to close knowledge gaps (trust then verify) 39:00 Lean tech stack & HireEZ vs LinkedIn bias 39:40 Algorithm bias and why you need multiple tools 40:10 The 72-hour pipeline rule 41:00 Transparency with multi-firm searches 41:45 Favorite tools & learning from candidates 42:10 AI interviews = “No” without feedback loop 42:30 Hot takes lightning round & passion project “The Other 99 Athletes” 43:20 – Guest #4 – Mike Piditto (Author, Content Creator) 43:25 Career pivot from TA leader → creator & author 44:10 Balancing authenticity vs relevance 45:20 Handling trolls & mental health boundaries 46:30 “Yes, You’re Being Judged” – book story & purpose 47:15 Behind the book: real emails, rejections & reflection 48:10 Why candidate experience starts at the top 49:15 Favorite tech & why “built-by-recruiters” matters 50:00 Advice for creators – authenticity over algorithm 50:40 Find Mike online & wrap-up
