Welcome to The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Recruiting, AI, and Talent Strategy, a podcast for leaders building better hiring systems and stronger teams. Hosted by James Mackey, the show features conversations with founders, CEOs, talent leaders, and recruiting experts on how great companies hire, scale, and adapt as technology changes the talent landscape. Episodes cover talent acquisition strategy, recruiting operations, AI, automation, candidate experience, hiring analytics, and executive decision-making. You will learn how to build scalable hiring systems, use AI and recruiting technology effectively, improve the hiring process, and make talent acquisition a competitive advantage. Built for founders, executives, talent acquisition leaders, recruiters, and hiring teams. Thank you to our sponsors, SecureVision and June , for making this show possible.
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What is The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Modern Recruiting, AI, and Talent Strategy?
The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Modern Recruiting, AI, and Talent Strategy is a business podcast hosted by James Mackey, with 227 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.
About the host
James Mackey hosts The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Modern Recruiting, AI, and Talent Strategy, a business show with 227 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Modern Recruiting, AI, and Talent Strategy
EP 226: Navigating Modern TA Operations in 2026
Aug 18, 202639 min
In this episode, host James Mackey talks with Jeremy Lyons , Co-Founder of RecOps Collective, about what recruiting operations really includes, why AI rollouts often fail without clear context, and how hiring culture shows up in the data. They discuss scheduling automation, the hidden cost of automating entry-level roles, and practical ways to stay credible while working with vendors and partners. Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!
The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Modern Recruiting, AI, and Talent Strategy
EP 225: From Animal Behavior to Talent Teams: Leading with Positive Reinforcement
Aug 4, 202648 min
Host James Mackey sits down with Jennifer Anker , a talent acquisition executive who has built and led recruiting organizations at Illumio, Twilio, Wiz, and Okta. Long before recruiting, Jennifer studied animal behavior and worked with marine mammals - an experience that shaped the calm, positive-reinforcement leadership style she still uses today. Jennifer and James explore how to deliver direct feedback with empathy, use positive reinforcement as a genuine management philosophy, and build teams that feel empowered to challenge ideas - including their leader’s. They also discuss overcoming imposter syndrome, creating a culture of “disagree and commit,” and adapting coaching to what motivates each individual. The conversation closes with a practical look at AI in recruiting, from note-taking tools to custom AI agents, and why recruiters who learn to work alongside AI will have a significant advantage over those who don’t. Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!
The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Modern Recruiting, AI, and Talent Strategy
EP 224: The Coaching Mindset Behind Great Hiring
Jul 21, 202634 min
We sit down with Michael Prem , Head of Recruiting at Skyflow , to explore how growing up across Sri Lanka, Zambia, and Toronto shaped his coaching-first approach to hiring and leadership. He explains why he values hard work over “perfect-for-the-moment” talent, especially in fast-moving startup environments where priorities shift every few months. Along the way, we connect competitive sports, startup pace, and the rise of AI in recruiting to one core idea: adaptability and trust win over time. Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!
The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Modern Recruiting, AI, and Talent Strategy
EP 223: The Recruiter Who Learned to Look Past the Resume
Jul 7, 202657 min
Vincenzo Fasulo grew up in Benevento, Italy, a city older than Rome. After moving to the U.S. during one of the most uncertain chapters of his life, he built an unconventional path from receptionist to Head of Talent at SafeBreach. In this conversation, he shares how that journey shaped the way he leads TA today: looking past the resume, giving people a chance, and building recruiting systems that can keep up with AI. Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!
The Breakthrough Hiring Show: Modern Recruiting, AI, and Talent Strategy
EP 222: Inside Qonto's AI-Native Recruiting Stack
Jun 23, 202658 min
Aurelien Drieu is Qonto's Head of Talent Acquisition. Over the past six years, he's helped scale the company from 200 to 1,700+ employees. In this conversation, he shares how his team uses AI to move faster without trading off on quality - from automating dashboards and building in-house agents that take on repetitive but high-leverage prep work (persona finalisation, interview grids, job descriptions, case studies) to note-taking, AI interviewing tests, and testing candidates' AI fluency during the interview process. The result: a 25% productivity gain between late 2025 and Q1 2026, and a clear point of view on why the next phase of recruiting won't be won by the most automated teams, but by those that pair automation with sharper human judgment. Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision , for making this show possible! Follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/ SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2! https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews Thanks for listening!
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