The Chad & Cheese Podcast

One of our favorite disruptors is back, and she’s brought a countdown clock. The boys welcome Quincy Valencia, VP of Talent Transformation at Korn Ferry, for a session that’s equal parts biting sarcasm and brutal honesty. Between the inevitable age jokes and college football analogies, Quincy doubles down on her "2026 Reckoning" prediction—a warning that AI isn’t actually fixing Talent Acquisition, but rather acting as a high-speed spotlight on the fractured silos and organizational dysfunction we've ignored for decades. While the C-suite chases "pretty dashboards" and faster metrics, the trio explores why accelerating a bad process only leads to mediocre results at record speeds. From the danger of "disposable talent" to the looming leadership shortages of the late 2020s, this episode serves as a sharp wake-up call for any leader hiding behind a tech stack. It’s time to find out if your talent strategy is a cohesive ecosystem or just a collection of expensive pilots—before the 2026 deadline forces the issue. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction to Quincy Valencia 02:10 - The Big Reckoning: Predictions for 2026 05:35 - AI's Impact on Organizational Structure 10:00 - The Challenge of Talent Management 12:59 - The Future of Talent Acquisition and AI 18:15 - Building a Talent Ecosystem 19:31 - The State of Talent Acquisition in Enterprises 24:36 - Challenges in Implementing Skills-Based Organizations 27:58 - The Role of Automation in Recruitment 31:44 - Balancing Technology and Human Interaction in Hiring 36:40 - The Big Reckoning in Talent Management

Get ready for a high-octane episode, as Joel Cheesman and Emi Beredugo take the mic to dissect everything from "bougie" McDonald's Valentine’s stunts to the high-stakes world of Big Tech. The duo dives deep into Rippling’s bold Super Bowl debut featuring Tim Robinson, debating whether the "evil genius" move is a brilliant recruitment play or a calculated nod to Wall Street. While Microsoft celebrates a massive LinkedIn revenue milestone—proving the platform has officially pivoted from a resume database to a short-form video powerhouse—the hosts shift gears to the grittier side of the job hunt. From the rise of "Resume Botox" and ageism to the "resume slop" currently clogging AI-driven hiring funnels, the gloves come off. Plus, don't miss the heated critique of ZipRecruiter’s new "Be Seen First" feature, which Emi and Joel argue might be doing more harm than good for the modern candidate. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and Super Bowl Excitement 05:04 - The Beckham Family Drama 08:58 - Valentine's Day Fast Food Promotions 14:09 - Rippling's Super Bowl Ad 22:01 - LinkedIn's Revenue Growth and Strategy 27:57 - The Rise of Resume Botox and Ageism in Job Market 30:58 - The Age Discrimination Dilemma 35:59 - AI's Impact on Hiring Practices 45:00 - The Clumsy Evolution of Recruitment 56:04 - ZipRecruiter's Controversial New Feature

The Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

Chad & Cheese are back to bite the hand that feeds the recruitment world. In this episode, the boys sit down with Lou Goodman, the industry vet behind the "Job Board Revolution?" report, and Martin Lenz, the tech mind leading Jobiqo, to dismantle the 30-year-old myths holding the hiring world hostage. Between the typical banter and sharp European insights, the group explores why the current "pay-for-activity" model is fundamentally broken and whether the platforms we rely on are actually solving problems or just monetizing chaos. The conversation takes a hard look at the shift from raw volume to meaningful curation, questioning if the "job board" as we know it is evolving into something unrecognizable—or simply becoming an invisible data pipe for AI agents. From the death of the "click" to the rise of specialized niche players, this episode is a wake-up call for anyone betting on the status quo. If you're ready to stop selling the wrong product and start understanding where the talent marketplace is actually headed, grab Lou’s audio book and executive summary below. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction to the Podcast and Guests 03:49 - The Research Behind Job Boards 11:03 - The Role of ATS in Recruitment 22:29 - Activity vs. Outcomes in Job Boards 26:08 - The Quiet Hiring Phenomenon 33:38 - Convincing Arguments for Job Boards' Relevance Job Board Revolution Audio BookFull version (2:38h): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lvphp0qchdefwvjc4zfhd/ElevenLabs_Job_Board_Revolution_Full_report_v6_amends_highlighted_docx.mp3?rlkey=gz0bvrfe6ufjuy2xsn7o1jnhc&st=yl4fbfpo&dl=0 Blinkist style (9 min): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xe0ggzala2prtm7pmy50m/ElevenLabs_Blinkist_Job_Board_Revolution.mp3?rlkey=gudo0tzmgoxwhmpe1ee0ogukv&st=6omm6p11&dl=0

This week on The Chad & Cheese Podcast, AI finally does what it does best: get companies sued. Eightfold gets dragged into the legal spotlight over secret AI scores, mystery data enrichment, and a definition of “responsible AI” that seems to change depending on which slide deck you’re watching. Meanwhile, Randstad says everything’s awesome while 40% of workers quietly grab a second job to keep the lights on. Cool cool cool. Totally normal economy. Then it’s off to Davos, where billionaire AI CEOs confidently explain why white-collar jobs are disappearing, physical labor is the future, and—don’t worry—the government will totally figure it out. The pie will grow. Your slice? TBD. Layer in Amazon and UPS layoffs, CEOs detachment from reality, and enough coded language to power a dystopian bingo card—and you’ve got an episode that asks the real question: If AI is so smart… why is everything getting dumber? 🎙️ Equal parts HR reckoning, tech side-eye, and group therapy.You’re gonna want a drink for this one.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

In this episode, hosts Joel Cheesman and Chad Sowash sit down with Business Insider economy reporter Allie Kelly to unpack the real story behind the white-collar bloodbath sweeping across America. Far from the easy narrative blaming AI for vanishing jobs, Kelly reveals how sky-high Federal Reserve interest rates are choking company hiring, why aggressive deportation policies are quietly shrinking the labor force in key industries, and how a stubbornly low quit rate masks a job market that feels frozen for millions. Despite an unemployment rate hovering just above 4%, white-collar workers in tech and finance are stuck sending hundreds of applications into the void—while a massive skills mismatch leaves hot sectors desperate for talent. If you’re frustrated with today’s job hunt or wondering when the market will thaw, this no-holds-barred conversation cuts through the noise and delivers the economic truths everyone needs to hear. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction to the Podcast and Guest 02:06 - Allie Kelly's Background and Expertise 03:58 - The Current Job Market Landscape 08:20 - Impact of Immigration on Labor Supply 10:12 - Understanding the Sluggish Job Market 12:46 - The Workforce Imbalance and Its Implications 15:41 - The Role of AI in Job Market Dynamics 19:40 - The Cycle of Hiring and Layoffs 20:31 - The Influence of Tariffs on Employment 24:30 - The Fragility of the Economy 27:56 - Navigating the Current Economic Landscape 30:03 - Future Predictions and Economic Recovery 35:22 - The Role of Baby Boomers in the Economy

The boys are back, but with a global twist as "Euro Chad" finally settles into his new life overseas, proving that moving a household might actually be more harrowing than a literal firefight. On this episode, they mix up a spicy cocktail of underdog victories and light geopolitical roasting, questioning if "nostalgia" is a strategy or just a slow death. Between celebrating Delta Air Lines and their massive commitment to people-first models and analyzing a "rupture" in the global order, the hosts explore why being at the table is the only way to avoid being on the menu. The global tech giants are sneezing and it makes us wonder if HR tech players will catch a cold as a result. From OpenAI’s potential pivot toward ads and "Head of Preparedness" roles to the quiet death of Meta’s Horizon Workrooms, no one is safe from the roast. They dive deep into whether Phenom’s acquisition of Included AI is a stroke of "agentic" genius or a "spaghetti at the wall" tuck-in, while casting a skeptical eye on Jeff Taylor’s latest venture, BoomBand. Whether it's the future of ChatGPT's job search ambitions or industry legends attempting to recapture lightning in a bottle, this episode is a masterclass in why you can’t look away from the train wreck of innovation. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and Personal Updates 02:57 - College Football and Indiana's Success 06:00 - OpenAI's New Developments and Challenges 18:56 - Geopolitical Commentary and Industry Predictions 26:41 - Acquisition Insights: Phenom and Included 34:01 - Delta Airlines: Profit Sharing and Economic Concerns 40:26 - The Metaverse: Meta's Retreat from Virtual Reality 50:00 - Boom Band: Jeff Taylor's New Venture

The Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

Before job boards were obvious, before résumés were broken beyond repair, and before “AI in recruiting” was a buzzword, Jeff Taylor was already there building Monster from a dream, a notebook, and a whole lot of pushback. In this special live conversation, Jeff sits down with Joel Cheesman to walk through the real Monster story: the early rejections, the $4M sale that could’ve been billions, the Super Bowl gamble everyone said was a mistake, the LinkedIn deal that never was, and why résumés and job postings are fundamentally failing today. From DJ booths to dot-com booms, from getting humbled by Facebook to getting rebuilt at Bridgewater, Jeff explains why he’s back and why BoomBand might be his most ambitious swing yet. Big ideas. Bigger regrets. Zero nostalgia. And one founder who’s still swinging for the fences.

The latest installment of The Chad & Cheese Podcast kicks off 2026 with a skeleton crew and a surplus of snark. While Chad Sowash is busy plotting his escape to the beach, Joel Cheesman, J.T. O'Donnell, and Lieven dive into a workforce landscape that feels more like a digital battlefield than a job market. The trio explores why today’s entry-level talent might be fundamentally "broken" by recent history and how a new wave of high-tech sabotage—involving hidden AI commands—is forcing platforms like Indeed to overhaul their defenses. Between roasts of industry giants and a deep dive into "agentic" automation, the panel questions if the traditional act of "applying" for a job is officially dead. The chaos doesn't stop at the office door, as the conversation swerves into the bizarre intersection of professional networking and romantic snooping. From high-level CEO shuffles at Oyster and Textio to a major university scandal involving a fake Einstein quote, this episode exposes the growing pains of an AI-saturated world. Whether it’s a "desperate" new ad campaign from ZipRecruiter or the strange rise of job hunting on dating apps, the crew connects the dots between global trends and absolute industry absurdity. Tune in to find out who’s winning the HR tech wars and why 2026 is already off the rails. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and French Fry Debate 02:59 - Impact of COVID on Entry-Level Jobs 05:57 - The Role of AI in Job Applications 09:08 - Leadership Changes in the Industry 11:44 - Indeed's Response to Resume Manipulation 14:55 - The Future of Job Recruitment 17:57 - Wrap-Up and Final Thoughts 28:32 - Leveraging Opportunities in Job Searching 29:57 - The Impact of Quiet Hiring on Job Market 31:29 - Navigating ATS and Job Applications 32:53 - The Evolution of Recruitment Technology 34:41 - LinkedIn's Response to AI and Competition 36:56 - The Future of Agentic Recruiting 39:56 - AI in Job Applications: A New Era 42:56 - The Intersection of Dating and Job Seeking 56:05 - Creative Approaches to Networking and Recruitment

The Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

AI didn’t kill creativity — it buried it under a mountain of soulless slop. The boys are back with Jim Kukral, recovering politician, cancer survivor, proud Clevelander, and Admiral of the Cleveland Floaters — to torch the algorithmic apocalypse. From Coca-Cola’s AI holiday ads to the coming “Chipotle Effect” (when robots make your burrito so perfect it finally creeps you out), Jim says humanity’s last unfair advantage is… being human. So he quit his job and started throwing wild, screen-free boat parties on Lake Erie to prove it. Meanwhile, Chad asks the uncomfortable question:Are we really ready to fight back — or are we already too comfy with our AI girlfriends and digital cages? Laughter, existential dread, sweaty dance floors, and zero filters.This one hits different.

It's our prediction episode. What else could you possibly need to know to push PLAY? We recap 2025 - what we and our friends got right and wrong - and get our crystal ball out for 2026. This year, friends of the show, Jason Putnam, Quincy Valencia, Emi Beredugu and J.T. O'Donnell join the boys - including Lieven - in guessing what's in store for the world of work in the year to come. The usual suspects, like ZipRecruiter, Indeed, iCIMS and others are highlighted, as well as big trends like automation, A.I. and more are discussed. So what are you waiting for? Get a jump on '26 and hit the ground running.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

Chad & Cheese go full rebel mode with Kim Storin, the marathon-running, transformation-junkie CMO at Zoom, who just unleashed the company's biggest brand campaign ever: "Zoom Ahead." Featuring SNL's Bowen Yang in a hilarious workplace uprising (written and produced by Colin Jost's No Notes agency), the spot is a love letter to frustrated users everywhere—lampooning clunky competitors while reminding the world why people actually love Zoom. Kim dishes on reigniting that pandemic-era passion, pivoting from IT buyers to everyday users, embedding groundbreaking AI into workflows, expanding beyond meetings (hello, contact centers, events, and the fresh Bright Hire acquisition for recruiting), and fighting the short-term "coin-operated" mindset with real long-term brand building. She talks partnering with the C-suite for true ROI, the rise of "human-in-the-loop" over AI slop, empowering employees as brand evangelists, and why trust and customer-centric stories trump CEO monologues every time. Raw, strategic, and packed with insights for anyone in HR tech or marketing—this episode is a masterclass in keeping an iconic brand human in an AI world.

2025 didn’t just shake HR and recruiting. Nope, it yanked the curtain back and lit the place on fire. This year-in-review isn’t about press releases and keynote fluff. It’s about what really went down when the doors were closed: job boards locking down your hiring data like it’s nuclear codes, HR tech rivals apparently confusing “competition” with espionage, private equity strip-mining legacy platforms,and founders playing 4D chess while employees got stuck paying the entry fee. From Indeed trying to own the entire hiring pipeline, to the Rippling vs. Deel spy thriller nobody asked for, to Monster France shutting its doors while exec bonuses stayed warm, to Job.com’s bankruptcy unfolding like reality TV — none of this is theoretical. It all happened. Add AI agents ghosting resumes, Slack messages turning into courtroom exhibits, LinkedIn becoming a credibility minefield, and recruiters caught in the blast radius wondering how the hell this became their job. Welcome to 2025's Wrap-Up Show. HR’s messiest season yet. 🍿

In this eye-opening episode, the boys dive deep into the shadowy world of social media algorithms with AI in HR governance expert Martyn Redstone. With over 20 years in recruitment and a focus on ethical AI in HR, Martyn unpacks a viral experiment by Jane Evans and Cindy Gallop that exposed shocking disparities. Is this intentional discrimination? Not quite—it's the insidious "proxy bias" at play. Martyn breaks it down: LinkedIn's algorithm penalizes topics common among women. This creates a vicious cycle where established voices dominate, and emerging ones—often women's—get buried. LinkedIn denies using gender as a factor, but as Martyn argues, the real issue is between the lines. From content visibility traps to calls for transparency, this discussion reveals how tech perpetuates inequality in professional networking. If you're in HR, tech, or just navigating LinkedIn, you won't want to miss these insights on building a fairer digital future.

The Chad & Cheese Holiday Clip Show (aka: HR’s Greatest Hits of 2025) We cracked open the vault and stitched together the smartest, loudest, and most brutally honest moments from this year’s conversations — because nothing says “holiday cheer” like calling BS on broken hiring. This episode delivers a full snack tray of takes from leaders who actually run hiring at scale: 🍿 Fake applicants, AI fraud, and résumé chaos🍿 Why job boards are quietly losing leverage🍿 How companies are cutting spend and improving quality🍿 The real role of AI 🍿 Why owning your candidate data actually matters🍿 Human vs chatbot: where the line really is🍿 What happens when recruiters stop playing defense From Marriott to Domino’s, SmartRecruiters to healthcare, retail, and enterprise — this is the unfiltered stuff people only say when the mics are hot. Consider this your year-end mixtape of truth bombs, hot takes, and “wait… they actually said that?” moments. 🎄 Press play.🎧 Eat the leftovers.🔥 Start 2026 smarter than your competitors.

As the curtains close on 2025, The Chad & Cheese Podcast delivers one of its most explosive episode of the year: the annual Naughty & Nice Lists. Joined by Maureen “Mo” Clough for a dose of holiday chaos, the crew survives Joel’s recent sidewalk wipeout and a round of bourbon-fueled storytelling before diving into the heroes and villains of the industry. On the Nice List, the trio celebrates a small-business CEO’s grit against crushing tariffs, a major tech platform’s "Domino’s moment" of radical honesty that led to a massive acquisition, and groundbreaking data that finally shatters ageist myths in the workforce. They also toast a legendary founder who caught lightning in a bottle twice and an enterprise giant that finally got serious about modernization through an aggressive string of strategic buys. The festive mood shifts quickly as the team unwraps the Naughty List, beginning with a tech titan’s "inhumane" 3:00 AM layoff strategy and a major industry association’s staggering $11.5M legal defeat that exposed some shocking hypocrisy. The drama intensifies with tales of corporate espionage involving a CEO fleeing to Dubai, a global staffing firm accused of stiffing its own people while taking government handouts, and the infamous "Coldplay-gate"—the viral jumbotron scandal that cost two executives their careers and defined the summer of 2025. From industry-shifting pivots to the year’s most cringeworthy memes, you’ll have to listen to the full countdown to find out which brands and leaders earned a crown and who walked away with a lump of coal.