Talent Hunters

Public health is one of the most misunderstood fields in the job market. It’s full of people who quietly hold entire communities together, designing prevention programs, managing data, and saving lives. Yet they’re often underpaid, overlooked, and invisible to recruiters. The irony is that the very professionals trained to serve others often struggle to advocate for themselves.  They’re taught to be humble, to focus on the team, and to chase the same oversaturated government jobs as everyone else. It leaves brilliant, mission-driven people stuck, and a huge pool of untapped talent hiding in plain sight. The problem has never been a lack of skill, but rather a lack of visibility. The industry doesn’t teach them how to translate their experience into the language of opportunity.  And recruiters who claim there’s a “talent shortage” are often just looking in the wrong places, or using job titles no one in public health would ever search for. That’s the gap Dr. Desiree Strickland set out to close with The Public Health Club, a community that helps public-health professionals uncover new career paths, build digital portfolios, and market themselves with confidence.  What can recruiters do to serve the public health dig better?  In this episode, the public health entrepreneur, consultant, and professor shares why public-health talent gets overlooked, what recruiters are missing, and why visibility, not credentials, is the new currency of opportunity.  Guest Bio Dr. Desiree Strickland is an award-winning Public Health Entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Strickland Health Consulting, and The Public Health Club. She is also an Adjunct Professor at South University. Dr. Strickland is a visionary public health professional with over a decade of experience in health equity, strategic planning, and career development. As Founder and CEO of The Public Health Club, she has built a dynamic network of 560+ members, providing mentorship, workshops, and career coaching that have helped professionals secure jobs, launch consulting careers, and achieve significant financial growth. Dr. Strickland is a proven leader in public health consulting and project management, specializing in health equity-focused initiatives. She has developed training programs and needs assessments impacting professionals across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Her work addresses critical topics like overdose response, workplace equity, and community engagement, earning her recognition for creating scalable solutions tailored to diverse populations. With expertise in public health policy, program evaluation, and partnership development, Dr. Strickland has served in leadership roles at the Georgia Department of Public Health and the Florida Department of Health. She has managed multimillion-dollar programs, directed strategic planning efforts, and developed health equity-driven frameworks to tackle chronic disease prevention and health disparities at local, state, and federal levels. To get in touch with Dr. Strickland, send an email to info@publichealthclub.com.    About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years of industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

  Companies constantly talk about hiring and supporting veterans. While that sounds patriotic and well-intentioned, they often miss the mark on execution.  Recruiting campaigns, hiring pledges, and onboarding slide decks look good on paper, yet the results are sobering: too many veteran hires fail.  It’s not because they can’t lead, it’s because both sides underestimate the culture shock of the transition. Employers assume an officer’s leadership skills will automatically translate. Veterans assume their adaptability in uniform will carry them through. Those unspoken assumptions collide, and the fallout results in wasted investment, disillusioned veterans, and a cycle of churn. Most companies think they need veteran hiring strategies when they need veteran employment strategies. Hiring is only the first mile of the journey.  What actually determines success is everything that comes after: how veterans are onboarded, how managers are prepared to lead them, how performance is defined, and how careers are grown. How can we bridge the gap between military leadership and civilian work? What do hiring authorities need to stop asking veterans in interviews?  In this episode, we’re joined by military transition educator, bestselling author, Master Certified Coach, and the CEO of The Grandinetta Group, Emily King Grandinetta. We talk about the right way to hire and onboard veterans, and why so many companies fall short.       Guest Bio Emily King Grandinetta is a military transition educator, bestselling author, Master Certified Coach, and the CEO and President of The Grandinetta Group. She holds a Master's Degree in Organizational Development and Applied Behavioral Sciences from The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School and a Leadership Coaching Certificate from Georgetown University. Emily is also an International Coach Federation Master Certified Coach (MCC) and an Agile Certified Professional (ACP). Emily is passionate about using her executive and leadership coaching skills to support military veterans transitioning to civilian employment. Connect with her on LinkedIn or go to https://www.grandinetta.com/.    About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years of industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

A successful acquisition takes place when an organization that sees something special to invest in meets a company that will be propelled further through a partnership. It’s a perfect marriage allowing both sides to achieve more together than they would separately. This is what HireQuest looks for when they’re looking to acquire a business. It’s not about money - in a people-facing service-based industry like recruiting, the true asset of a business is its employees. An acquisition is about empowering and pouring into organizations that are bringing value to the industry. That’s why HireQuest focuses on not only investing into great companies, but also into talented employees who have the potential to become leaders in their own right. For the target company, the acquisition is an opportunity to escape the corporate administrative burden a lot of businesses are cursed with, which fuels even more growth! In this special replay episode, we’re joined by two people who were on each side of an acquisition - HireQuest Direct and Snelling franchise owner, Kevin Semerad and HireQuest’s VP of Corporate Development, David Hartley. They share why this partnership is the perfect marriage in the recruiting and staffing space.  Guest Bio Kevin Semerad is a Franchise Owner at HireQuest Direct and Snelling. He has 35 years experience in multi-unit growth and management within the staffing industry and 11 of those years were in independent and franchise operations and 14 were in a public setting. Initially, Kevin built a regional staffing company from the ground up (1 to 16 units) that he sold in 2006. His experience is that consistent execution is achieved by hiring the right people for the right positions, clearly communicating goals and expectations, and empowering them while continually providing the training, tools, and support that is required to be #1. Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn.  David Hartley is the Vice President of Corporate Development at HireQuest Inc., specializing in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), strategic growth initiatives, and corporate strategy. With nearly a decade of investment banking experience prior to joining HireQuest, including the 2019 HireQuest-Command Center merger, David brings a wealth of expertise in deal execution, valuation, and integration strategies. At HireQuest he has led 13 acquisitions of staffing/recruiting companies and franchisors significantly expanding the size and breadth of HireQuest’s franchise network. Before investment banking, David honed his skills in corporate development within the medical device industry. He holds an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a BA from Johns Hopkins University. Connect with David on LinkedIn.    About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships. Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

In healthcare, hiring used to be about credentials and clinical experience. Post-pandemic, it became a desperate race to fill open shifts. Care delivery has exploded beyond hospital walls. It’s expanded into outpatient clinics, rural settings, and even tech-driven virtual care. The problem is, healthcare workforce pipelines haven’t caught up to this change.  If we don’t radically re-engineer how we bring in nursing talent, the system will buckle under the weight of an aging population, chronic illness, and burnout. Recruiters play a huge role in this.  It’s not just about solving today’s vacancies; it’s about building a long-term talent engine that will serve the industry for generations to come.  How can we bring more people into healthcare? How can technology help the talent pipeline catch up? Are recruiters approaching healthcare hiring authorities the wrong way? In this episode, we’re joined by VP of the Cancer Service Line at The Nebraska Medical Center, and Clinical Lead for the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Theresa Franco.  We unpack how she’s reimagining workforce strategy in one of the most critical and complex areas of medicine - nursing.  Guest Bio Theresa Franco, MSN, RN, is a retired Vice President of Cancer Center Clinical Operations at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center across the Nebraska Medicine NM) / University of Nebraska Medical Center(UNMC) enterprise.  She was responsible for the comprehensive management of cancer care activities in the inpatient and ambulatory environments.  She spearheaded strategic planning, workforce development, program creation, physician recruitment,  and service partnerships. She served as Vice President of Pharmacy and Diagnostic Imaging for the health system. Theresa was volunteer faculty in the College of Nursing at UNMC, has published and presented on a variety of care topics, and served on national and regional advisory boards. She also accepted the role of clinical consultant for Project NExT, a transformational public-private partnership to create a federal, all-hazard health security disaster response space that extends UNMC /NM’s global leadership in infectious diseases and biopreparedness. Connect with Theresa on LinkedIn.   About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years of industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.     Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

Contract staffing used to mean plugging holes; covering maternity leaves, bridging gaps until a full-time hire came on board, or filling in while HR caught up.  But in today’s economy, it’s something very different. In a world that has grown comfortable with gig work and fractional talent, contract staffing has become a strategic weapon.  The rise of the gig economy normalized the idea that not every role needs to be permanent. What started with Uber drivers and freelance creatives has now permeated every sector where fractional and project-based work is not the exception, but the norm.  Add to this a landscape filled with volatility, and contract staffing becomes more than just a stopgap. It’s a survival tool. A way for companies to keep moving forward while staying nimble enough to pivot tomorrow.  From seasonal demand spikes to large-scale project rollouts to executive-level interim hires, contract staffing is the flexible, scalable answer for companies that can’t afford to be rigid.  And in an environment where hesitation can mean losing the best candidates, on-demand labor isn’t just convenient, it’s a competitive advantage. Why is contract work the perfect staffing solution for today’s world? What’s currently happening in the recruiting space?  On this episode of Talent Hunters, Tim Ozier, Senior Director of Sales at HireQuest, pulls back the curtain on how contract staffing has evolved into a solution built for uncertainty. With more than three decades in the industry, Tim explains why today’s smartest companies are treating contract staffing not as a fallback, but as a core part of their workforce strategy.      Guest Bio Tim Ozier is a Sr. Sales Director, HireQuest Inc. Tim brings close to 30 years of experience in staffing and recruiting to MRI, where he leads the contract staffing division. Having worked for three of the five biggest staffing companies in the world, Tim is an expert in global workforce solutions and has helped countless organizations ranging in size, structure, and industry scale their operations with strategic contract hires. His main focus is on contract staffing for IT, accounting and finance, engineering, legal, life sciences, and similar professional roles. Tim is highly skilled in business development, account management, and expansion. He is a hands-on leader, consultative strategist, and clear communicator. Visit https://mrinetwork.com/ or https://hirequest.com/ to learn more.  About Your Host Ashley Smith is the Head of Marketing at HireQuest Inc. She is a seasoned marketing executive and powerful relationship cultivator with 30 years of experience in the entertainment, staffing/recruiting, and sports industries. Ashley has a track record of developing marketing strategies that generate effective reach, drive digital conversations that translate to customer conversions, and grow brand awareness. She has expertise in partnership development and execution, marketing team architecture, and integrated marketing campaigns. Ashley is an innovative leader with experience overseeing $40M+ marketing and media budgets, achieving revenue growth, and fostering team excellence. Visit http://hirequest.com/ to learn more.      Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you! 

Today’s recruiting landscape is full of challenges, hurdles, and hiccups. Tariffs are squeezing certain sectors. AI has brought change to the industry. Economic uncertainty is making candidates hesitant to move. Hiring managers are harder to reach.  And when business does come in, it’s often from existing relationships, leaving you wondering how to keep your pipeline alive when the phone stops ringing. For recruiters, the temptation is to hunker down and focus only on current searches. But in this market, stopping your marketing is the fastest way to run out of work.  The people who are still growing are doing three things well: keeping relationships warm, carving out time every day to market, and even partnering with competitors to fill client needs they can’t meet alone. Scott Clark knows this firsthand. A 25-year recruiting veteran and founder of DirectPath Recruiting Services, Scott joined us last year to talk about his transition from recruiter to recruiting office owner.  Now he’s back to share how the past year has gone, the surprises, the hurdles, and the strategies that are working right now to generate business when the market’s slow. In this episode, we unpack the realities of recruiting in 2025’s manufacturing and automotive sectors and the unconventional moves that can keep your desk profitable when others are treading water. Guest Bio Scott Clark is the Owner of DirectPath Recruiting Services. With over twenty-five years of rich experience in talent acquisition leadership, his expertise lies in orchestrating end-to-end recruitment strategies that align with organizational goals at DirectPath Recruiting Services. DirectPath’s mission is to bridge the gap between leading manufacturing firms and exceptional talent, particularly in the automotive, defense, and solar sectors. Rooted in the values of building strong relationships and cultural fit, Scott is committed to enhancing the recruitment landscape with a focus on diversity, innovation, and client satisfaction. To learn more, go to DirectPathrs.com and connect with Scott on LinkedIn.  About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years of industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.     Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

Smart factories, where machines that think enable the manufacturing process, aren’t science fiction anymore. They are already here. AI-powered smart factories are transforming how rockets are built, hiring decisions are made, and how manufacturing lines adapt in real time. As this tech accelerates, it’s easy to ask what this means for humans. Will humans be eliminated from the manufacturing process? No. It’s just going to require an evolution of the human workforce. Smarter, more adaptable people who can bridge the gap between physical and digital systems, wield generative AI like a second brain, and make mission-critical decisions in milliseconds. So AI isn’t a replacement, it’s a workforce multiplier. It’s not automating people out of jobs; it’s elevating the ones who know how to use it well. So, how do you find talent that can thrive in this new world? How do you retrain leaders to think fast, think differently, and lead alongside machines? In this episode of Talent Hunters, we’re joined by the Director of GenAI and Smart Factory at Blue Origin, Richard Tabassi. He shares how AI and manufacturing are converging, the surprising skills that are suddenly in demand, and why leaders who don’t embrace this shift risk falling behind.     Guest Bio Richard Tabassi, PhD, MBA, is the Director of GenAI & Smart Factory at Blue Origin. With over 15 years of experience at the intersection of data science, AI, and MLOps, he thrives as a forward-thinking leader who builds transformative, data-driven strategies. Richard is passionate about harnessing innovative technologies, ranging from generative AI to advanced cloud architectures, to unlock tangible business value across diverse tech ecosystems. In his current role at Blue Origin, he leads a dynamic team of professionals dedicated to revolutionizing manufacturing through the Smart Factory concept. By integrating cutting-edge automation with deep analytics, his team is significantly reducing manufacturing cycle times and boosting overall operational efficiency. Richard’s expertise in machine learning, forecasting, optimization (including linear integer programming), and AWS architecture enables him to streamline supply chain analytics and craft robust AI/ML roadmaps. Driven by a commitment to data storytelling and problem-solving, he is constantly exploring novel ways to blend technical rigor with strategic business insight. Richard’s unique background, anchored by a PhD in Medical Physics and an MBA, equips him with the tools to navigate today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape and drive sustainable innovation. Connect with Richard on LinkedIn.      About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years of industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.     Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

The resume gap…it used to feel like it spelled the end of a career, but that’s not true, especially now.  We’re living in a time when career gaps (once seen as red flags) are becoming part of the new professional norm. Whether it's stepping away to raise a family, navigating layoffs, or hitting pause for personal growth. The question isn’t whether you’ve had a break, it’s how you tell the story of that break. Returning to the workforce after time away can feel like starting from scratch, but what if your so-called "gap" is your greatest strength? What if the skills you gained while off the corporate track are exactly what hiring managers need right now? What steps can you take to get call-backs and start landing interviews? How do you package your time away?  In this episode, we’re joined by Erika Price, founder and head coach at Root Cause Coaching. We discuss how professionals can confidently reenter the job market and reshape their career narratives.  She shares how she helps professionals transform “career gaps” into value-packed stories.    Guest Bio Erika Price is the founder and head coach at Root Cause Coaching. She’s led teams at tech giants like Microsoft and Intel, been both a recruiter and a hiring manager, and navigated her own successful return after a long career break. With 20 years of business experience, Erika has seen firsthand how careers evolve, both the planned pivots and the unexpected ones. While at Microsoft, she created an award-winning coaching program that helped hundreds of colleagues navigate career challenges. Today, she’s a career coach with 500+ hours of coaching experience, working with professionals from Google, Microsoft, PwC, Morgan Stanley, AWS, and more. She helps high-achievers break through roadblocks, step into leadership roles, and find careers that align with their values and strengths. To learn more, visit https://rootcausecoaching.com/.    About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years of industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

If technology’s impact on the sales profession was up for debate before, 2020 turned the dial all the way up. The digital transformation that was already in motion accelerated at lightning speed during the pandemic. Now, salespeople face a new challenge: making sure screen time doesn’t become a barrier to the face time that drives success. Technology can make us more efficient, but it will never make us more effective. To thrive, we still have to do everything we did before the digital shift, and then some. Technology should be a tool, not a trap. That means resisting the urge to hide behind emails, automation, and slide decks, and instead stepping forward with real conversations, insight-driven questions, and authentic value. In a world where it’s easier than ever to reach people, the hardest part is still truly connecting with them. So, how do we leverage technology without losing the human edge? What does it really take to go beyond the elevator pitch and deliver real value? In this episode, Julie Thomas, President and CEO of ValueSelling Associates, shares how salespeople can maintain and even increase their effectiveness in a tech-driven world. She breaks down the key questions we should be asking and offers a smarter way to think about technology in sales. Guest Bio Julie Thomas is the President and CEO of ValueSelling Associates, Inc. She works with revenue leaders across many industries to help them realize results they never thought possible. She is passionate about guiding revenue organizations through uncertainty and helping them build resilient, engaged teams that drive predictable, sustainable results and create customers for life. Julie is responsible for ValueSelling Associates, Inc’s company’s global expansion and its position as a market leader in on-demand, instructor-led, virtual instructor-led, and hybrid (blended) learning solutions delivered throughout the world in more than 17 languages. In a career spanning more than 24 years, she credits her mastery of the ValueSelling Framework® for her own meteoric rise through the ranks of sales, sales management, and corporate leadership positions. Julie began her sales career at Gartner Group (now Gartner, Inc.) In 1999, she became Vice President of Gartner’s Sales Training for the Americas. Her role included successfully onboarding new sales hires and driving adoption of the ValueSelling Framework. She has extensive experience applying, coaching and reinforcing the ValueSelling Framework, ValueSelling Essentials® and their application to all customer-facing roles across the revenue engine. In 2003, Julie joined ValueSelling Associates as Chief Executive Officer and President. She led the company to become an industry leader in competency- and process-based training for escalating sales performance in business-to-business sales organizations worldwide. She takes pride in the fact that ValueSelling Associates is consistently honored as an award-winning Sales Training Service Provider. Visit https://www.valueselling.com/ to learn more.  About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

Most people think sales is all about getting deals and hitting targets. That mindset misses a much bigger opportunity. The fact is: even the best salesperson won’t win every deal, that’s just the nature of the game. But what if you could lose the deal and still win the relationship? What if you could deliver value even when someone chooses not to work with you? When we shift from chasing transactions to building trust, we gain something far more lasting. Because long after the deal is off the table, the relationship can still be intact, and still be meaningful. Relationships don’t grow through pressure tactics or perfect pitches. They grow through curiosity, humility, and a willingness to show up as a human, not just a salesperson. How do we make that shift? What are recruiters and sales leaders getting wrong in their approach? In this episode, we’re joined by Casey Jacox, speaker, coach, sales and leadership expert, and author of WIN the RELATIONSHIP – Not the DEAL. Casey shares how to rethink your entire approach to sales and why recruiters, hiring managers, and business leaders can get better results when they focus on connection over conversion.   Guest Bio Casey Jacox is a speaker, coach, sales and leadership expert, and the author of "WIN the RELATIONSHIP – Not the DEAL." Throughout his career, adversity has been his strength. At Kforce, Casey held the top national sales position for ten consecutive years before becoming President of Client Strategy and Partnerships. In March 2019, Casey left Kforce as the all-time leading salesperson to author his debut non-fiction book. With over 100 organic Amazon reviews, it's reshaping how teams build customer relationships and internal cultures. Drawing on lessons from my college quarterback days, he embraces adversity and leads Winning The Relationship, LLC, where he offers executive sales leadership and coaching. Casey also hosts The Quarterback DadCast, sharing stories and wisdom on fatherhood and leadership. To learn more, visit https://www.caseyjacox.com/.    About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years of industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

Most people think tech jobs are just about building complex systems, but that’s only scratching the surface. Technology doesn’t exist for its own sake. It exists to solve real problems for real people and companies. At its core, working in tech means standing at the intersection of two worlds: the product and the business, the hard technical skills and the soft human ones. The challenge? That intersection is often ignored in hiring. Too many tech companies treat roles like a checklist of tools and buzzwords. They build convoluted hiring processes that favor keywords over clarity. In the process, lose sight of what drives innovation: people who can connect the dots between code and customer, solution and strategy. Tech gets outdated. People don’t. The smartest companies invest in both. Recruiters and hiring authorities need to bridge the gap between technology jobs and all the other aspects of the business. If not, we’ll end up with corporate jargon, vanity metrics, and shortcut language that creates more confusion. In this episode, we’re joined by Vlas Lezin, CEO of the Silicon Valley Innovation Center, to talk about the hidden pitfalls in tech recruiting. Vlas breaks down why misalignment between recruiting, engineering, and leadership is hurting hiring outcomes and how recruiters can play a central role in fixing it.   Guest Bio Vlas Lezin is the CEO of Silicon Valley Innovation Center. He is a seasoned business professional who works between business, finance, and technology. Vlas helps companies find their narrative, build products, and grow their customer base. His experience started with designing, building, and managing various quantitative models for a variety of front, middle, and back office functions in the financial sector. Vlas has founded, mentored, and helped a variety of startups to achieve their strategic goals. Additionally, by partnering with top minds in Silicon Valley and beyond, he has delivered actionable insights to global business players. Vlas enjoys leading the digitization, automation, and overall execution of complex and unstructured problems in the modern world.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlaslezin/   About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

If you ask five recruiters what they think of AI, you’ll get five different answers, ranging from “total game-changer” to “the end of the profession.” The truth is somewhere in the middle. AI isn’t a magic button, and it’s not a death sentence. It’s the perfect tool for subject matter experts who want to cut out the busy work and spend more time where they truly add value.  That makes it a natural fit for recruiters who know how to leverage it. But AI has its limits. It’s not human. It doesn’t feel. It can’t build trust or navigate the nuance of candidate conversations. It won’t make a bad recruiter better, but in the hands of a great one, it can be transformative. It doesn’t work against you. With the right strategies, it can work alongside you. So, how do you use AI to elevate your impact, not erode it? How do you offload low-level tasks while dialing up the work only humans can do? In this episode, we’re joined by Debra Senra, founder and CEO of Hyphenate. She shares the real-world promise and pitfalls of AI in recruiting, along with practical strategies for making it work for you.     Guest Bio Debra Senra is the founder and CEO of Hyphenate. With 15+ years of revenue experience with 10+ years of revenue leadership experience, she has a proven track record of helping organizations grow and scale profitably. Experience leading all revenue functions, including sales, account management, customer success, revenue operations, demand generation/marketing, implementation, and customer care. Connect with Debra on LinkedIn.      About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

If you’ve ever bought something on Amazon with one click, you’ve seen embedded payments in action. But that same seamless experience is now making waves in the B2B world.  And it’s changing how money moves between businesses and how fintechs and banks collaborate. As organizations modernize operations, they’re looking for talent that can not only keep up but lead the charge.  They need people who understand automation, spot inefficiencies, and speak the language of finance and tech.  If you’re in talent acquisition, understanding the evolution of B2B payments can help you source, attract, and place better talent.  How do we find talent for this brave new world of payments?  In this episode, we’re joined by Senior Treasury Sales Officer at Fifth Third Bank and C-suite advisor, Richard Dooley. He breaks down all the latest developments in the payments world and how to staff for this digital transformation.    Guest Bio Rich Dooley is a senior treasury sales officer with Fifth Third Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina. Now Richard serves as a trusted advisor to C-suite executives and treasury teams to understand their processes and goals so he can help deliver maximum effectiveness and efficiency in working capital and treasury functions involving emerging payment industry trends and best practices. Within the payments industry, Rich is a frequent conference speaker and author of The Signal, a curated LinkedIn newsletter focusing on payments and finance. He serves on several committees of the Accredited Standards Committee X9, focusing on faster and real-time payments, artificial intelligence, and blockchain in the payments space, and the ISO 20022 Financial Data Standard. Rich was one of the authors of the ISO 20022 Remittance Content Market Guide published by X9 (ISO 20022 Remittance Content Market Guide), and also served on the education advisory committee of the Southern Financial Exchange (SFE Education). Connect with Rich on LinkedIn.  Subscribe to Rich’s newsletter here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7063677977468833792/.      About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.     Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you! 

For most of the workforce, the chaos, uncertainty, and intensity of COVID are in the rearview mirror.  But for the healthcare workforce and hospital systems, it’s still very much the present.  Not only has the sector struggled to recover from the effects of the pandemic, but in many ways, working conditions have worsened. From unsustainable hours to shrinking margins, the human toll has been immense. Simply put: we’re not attracting doctors and nurses like we used to, and we’re rapidly burning out the ones we still have. Something has to change. We need to rethink talent acquisition and retention in ways that weren’t necessary before.  Data and AI offer the most powerful tools to do this. Healthcare generates more data than any other industry, and that data can be leveraged to solve some of the sector’s most urgent challenges. So, how do we use data and AI to get a handle on what’s really happening in the workforce? What pressures are healthcare workers and hospital systems facing? In this episode, I’m joined by two workforce leaders from Mercer, John Derse and Will Self.  They unpack the current state of healthcare and share how we can use data to improve working conditions and support the well-being of the people behind the care. Guest Bio John Derse is a Senior Partner and Healthcare Provider Industry Vertical Leader at Mercer. His consulting is in the area of People Strategy, which includes strategy, alignment/change management and workforce analytics, and rewards, providing clients with "end-to-end" strategic advice concerning the design, implementation, and operation of human capital and the HR function. Healthcare is an incredibly important industry to Mercer. $1 of every $10 of Mercer’s revenue in the US comes from a hospital or health system. Our commitment to this industry runs deep, and our powerful and unique research has helped us to understand this world today, but more importantly, tomorrow as well.  John’s clients include some of the largest health systems and academic medical centers in the United States. John has also collaborated with organizations and brought innovative work for a broad range of clients across various industries, including financial services, consumer products, retail, manufacturing/distribution, and entertainment. Connect with John on LinkedIn.  Will Self is the Workforce Strategy and Analytics Leader at Mercer. As the global leader of Mercer’s Workforce Strategy & Analytics business, Will has the opportunity to work with clients at the unique intersection of data science, artificial intelligence, workforce strategy, and human resources. He is passionate about building HR functions that create value through advanced strategy, actionable insights, and unique sources of competitive advantage. The WSA team consists of data scientists from a diverse range of disciplinary backgrounds, including labor economics, I/O psychology, computer science, and statistics. They are united in their desire to help clients develop people AI, drive productivity, and enhance the employee experience. Connect with Will on LinkedIn.    About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

Week after week on Talent Hunters, our host Vince Holt has brought out powerful insights from guests across every corner of the business. From former governors to top-tier doctors and seasoned recruiters. But today, we’re switching things up. Vince is stepping out of the host’s chair and into the spotlight. With over 35 years in the recruiting industry, what does he believe is the key to long-term success?  How can recruiters and franchise owners stay focused on the fundamentals instead of chasing every shiny new trend? In an era of hiring freezes, layoffs, economic uncertainty, and ever-evolving tech, recruiting can feel more complex than ever. But the truth? The formula for success hasn’t changed. At its core, recruiting is a sales job. You’re either selling yourself, the opportunity, or the candidate.  The secret? Listen, identify pain points, and offer solutions. Everything else is either a tool to support that or noise to tune out. So, how do you get out of a slump? What separates good recruiters from great ones? In this special episode, Vince is joined by HireQuest’s marketing manager, Ashley Smith.  He reflects on his journey, shares lessons from industry legends, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s been like to host Talent Hunters.   Guest Bio Ashley Smith is the Head of Marketing at HireQuest Inc. She is a seasoned marketing executive and powerful relationship cultivator with 30 years of experience in the entertainment, staffing/recruiting, and sports industries. Ashley has a track record of developing marketing strategies that generate effective reach, drive digital conversations that translate to customer conversions, and grow brand awareness. She has expertise in partnership development and execution, marketing team architecture, and integrated marketing campaigns. Ashley is an innovative leader with experience overseeing $40M+ marketing and media budgets, achieving revenue growth, and fostering team excellence. Visit http://hirequest.com/ to learn more.    About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years of industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

Most doctors and nurses didn’t choose medicine for the money. They chose it to make a difference. But for many, that purpose feels out of reach. Declining working conditions. Long hours. System friction. Eroding efficiency. Burnout. Too many patients, not enough providers.  It’s turning a calling into a transaction. As older healthcare workers retire and fewer new professionals enter the field, the shortage is only growing. To fix it, something has to change. The treatment of people who work in healthcare should matter as much as the work of healing people.  How do we make medicine worth staying in? Can recruiters and hospital leaders create better working conditions? Can technology ease the load and close the gaps? In this episode, we talk to Dr. Catarina Dolsten, CEO of Aktum Group, and Charles Jones, Director of Strategic Innovation and Partnerships. They share how to transform the healthcare experience for providers, patients, and society at large.   Guest Bio Dr. Catarina Dolsten is the Founder and CEO of Aktum Group. Dr. Dolsten has experience from healthcare, founder-driven organizations, the financial industry, law, and the not-for-profit sector in the U.S. and globally. She received a master’s from Columbia University in Organizational Development and Change Management and is a Certified Coach from NYU. Dr. Dolsten is a Medical Doctor and received a BA in business administration from Lund University, Sweden. She brings extensive and management settings in the United States, Europe, and Africa. Charles Jones is the Director Of Strategic Innovation and Partnerships at Aktum Group. He is an experienced pharmaceutical leader with a proven record of advancing complex commercial strategies, driving innovative platform technologies, and delivering successful product launches. Prior to joining Aktum, he held pivotal roles in corporate strategy, marketing, and commercial development at Pfizer—contributing significantly to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine rollout and leading early commercial strategies for emerging mRNA platforms. He also co-founded and sold a biotech company and consulted on pipeline strategy and product launches in various therapeutic areas. Charles holds a B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, a B.S. in Biochemistry, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Recognized for strategic execution and collaborative leadership, he combines scientific insight with business acumen to create transformative solutions that improve healthcare and expand global access. Visit https://www.aktumgroup.com/ for more information.    About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

One of the biggest trends we’ve seen in the working world recently is the rise of the Boomerang Boomer—retirees returning to the workforce.  There are many factors driving this trend, and while financial necessity might seem like the obvious reason, it’s not the only motivator. Human beings are relationship-forming animals. We’re actually driven by purpose, community, and learning, not just money.  We need to feel useful in ways that go beyond financial contribution. The challenge is that many of the other places where humans used to find these things—connection, identity, meaning—are disappearing.  So work becomes the place where we try to meet those needs. For Boomers returning to the workforce, things might feel a bit unfamiliar. AI and remote work have reshaped what “going to work” looks like.  But here’s the good news: those are just tools. At its core, work is still about relationships, and that part hasn’t changed. So, is the modern workplace really designed for how human beings work best? What do we actually need to thrive at work? In this episode, we’re joined by internationally recognized thought leaders in behavioral science and business management, Dr. Bob Murray and Dr. Alicia Fortinberry. We talk about the psychology of work, and why money isn’t actually the main motivator.   Guest Bio Dr. Bob Murray and Dr. Alicia Fortinberry are internationally recognized thought leaders in behavioral science and business management. Over 30 years ago, their groundbreaking work—rooted in emerging neuroscience and clinical practice—highlighted the central role of relationships in human wellbeing, a now widely accepted idea that was radical at the time. Their research has influenced fields ranging from mental and physical health to organizational culture and strategy, earning them global acclaim and an AAS Science Achievement Award.They developed a practical, science-based method for building strong connections to enhance health, performance, and fulfillment. They've lectured at leading institutions including Duke, Tufts, and the University of Melbourne, and taught graduate courses at the University of California at Northridge and Melbourne Law School. Their bestsellers, Creating Optimism and Raising an Optimistic Child, made their approach accessible to a broader audience. Through their firm Fortinberry Murray, they’ve helped Fortune 500 companies and major organizations build relationship-centered cultures and strategies. They served as keynote speakers, executive coaches, and advisors worldwide, and were appointed by President Obama to lead the U.S. National Workstress Initiative. Bob also serves on the board of the Mental Health Institute of Legal Professions and advises the NSW Law Council on lawyer mental health. Visit https://www.fortinberrymurray.com/ for more information.      About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!    

America’s healthcare system is nothing short of remarkable. We have cutting-edge technology that lets us diagnose conditions we couldn’t detect before, treat illnesses that were once considered untreatable, perform groundbreaking procedures, and even scan and edit DNA. But there’s a catch. These incredible advancements come at a high cost, and that’s led us to a major issue: skyrocketing healthcare expenses. So what’s the fix? Flipping the script and shifting from managing disease to preventing it altogether. Making this shift means rethinking the whole system. It’s about moving away from reacting to health crises and instead focusing on keeping people healthy in the first place. Of course, that kind of change takes people—healthcare workers who can engage more with patients and support this proactive model. The challenge? We’re already facing a huge talent shortage in healthcare. That’s where recruiting comes in. How can we build the workforce needed for preventive care? Can AI be part of the solution to ease the staffing crunch? In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. James Canedy, a retired board-certified orthopedic surgeon and Vice Chairman of Clarkson Regional Health Services. He shares how preventive healthcare can cut costs and how staffing professionals can play a key role in making it happen.   Guest Bio Dr. James Canedy is a retired, board-certified orthopedic surgeon, a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As Vice Chairman of Clarkson Regional Health Services, he is committed to innovative approaches in the health care industry that help health care providers and facilities improve their practices, employers manage rising health care costs and regulation, and individuals lead healthier, more productive lives. Dr. Canedy is also an adjunct associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Connect with Dr. Canedy on LinkedIn.    About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years of industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

In a sales-driven industry like recruiting, making decisions based on data and analytics is critical. You can’t truly improve a process if you’re not measuring it. The problem is, many organizations rely on gut-feel decision-making, and unfortunately, they end up winging it. On a gut-feel level, our prospecting pipeline might look good to us, but drilling down into the data shows us how well we’re really doing. Sales deals often stall because the organization isn’t properly monitoring performance indicators and using those insights to drive their actions. Too often, sales organizations lean heavily on intuition, mistaking short-term success for sustainable strategies. Basing decisions on data and facts, instead of relying solely on gut feeling, can be the game-changer many companies need. After all, how do you know if you're being successful if you're not analyzing your progress? In this episode, I’m joined by Shad Tidler, a consultant and coach at Lushin powered by Sandler. He shares how his engineering background helps sales organizations make better decisions by relying on analytics, not intuition.   Guest Bio Shad Tidler is a leading consultant and coach at Lushin powered by Sandler. Specializing as a leading sales transformation consultant, he is known for crafting scalable strategies and processes tailored for client success. Shad's structured approach instills a sense of calm in clients, guiding them past immediate challenges and toward their goals. Shad helps business owners/presidents/CEO’s/leaders 10X their businesses and take them to the next level. Connect with Shad on LinkedIn.    About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!   

Over the last decade, the way people hire and apply for jobs has changed significantly. We’ve gone from paper resumes and applying in person, to digital resumes and virtual hiring processes.  Recruiters and hiring authorities used to be able to talk to every candidate, now candidates are lucky to even get a reply. At the heart of much of the change is the fact that we’re dealing with a lot more digital noise than we ever have before.  For recruiters, the rise of digital tools and platforms is a blessing and a curse.  On one hand, it adds efficiency to the hiring process but on the other, we can easily lose sight of the foundation of this business - relationships. Ultimately, technology should be supplemental, and not the primary pillar of our business.  Why are relationships key to surviving the ups and downs of recruiting? How do you provide value to the candidate, even if they don’t end up getting the job?  In this episode, I’m joined by Owner/President at Snelling Staffing Agency of Northern Colorado, Trish Banister. She shares how she went from higher education to recruiting, how to navigate rough seasons in business and what tech can and can’t do.   Guest Bio Trish Banister is the Owner/President at Snelling Staffing Agency of Northern Colorado and a board member of the Colorado Staffing Association. The  Snelling Staffing Agency of Northern Colorado team brings 42 combined years' professional recruiting and career matchmaking experience in NoCO and surrounding areas. They specialize in skilled light industrial, engineering, professional construction, behavioral health professionals and office operations roles. Trish is a former educator who came into the recruiting world 10 years ago. Connect with Trish on LinkedIn.    About Your Host Vince Holt is the founder and CEO of Management Recruiters of Mercer Island. With 35+ years industry experience, he is the only MRINetwork team member to win CSAM of the Year, Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In addition to spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Vince has raced motorcycles for over 50 years, winning 5 National Championships.   Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!