The Jim Stroud Podcast

OpenAI's plan to automate hiring threatens to replace not just recruiters, but the human instinct to choose and be chosen—the last frontier of work going digital. / Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly a million young people in England are disappearing from work and education pipelines, exposing a broken system that keeps failing those it claims to help. / Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech giants are proving they can add a trillion dollars in revenue while barely hiring, revealing an economy that grows richer by making people optional. / Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal lawsuit exposes how America's H-1B visa program can turn opportunity into captivity when employers weaponize immigration status to control workers. / Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a government shutdown erases the nation's job data, recruiters and job seekers are left flying blind in an economy where trust is the only metric left. / Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uber's paying drivers to train the very AI that could replace them—proof the gig economy's latest side hustle is teaching workers how to disappear. In the race for efficiency, we've gone from driving for Uber to driving ourselves out of a job. | Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Microsoft Teams is about to blur the line between “connected” and “surveilled” — using Wi-Fi to tell your boss whether you're truly in the office or just logged in from Starbucks. | Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The H-1B debate isn't just about visas—it's about value. Raise the bar too high, and we lose the next Google; leave it too low, and we price out our own grads. America has to decide whether it's protecting jobs or building the future. | Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The AI boom is minting billionaires while making workers obsolete—a digital gold rush where coders cash in and everyone else gets coded out. If we keep celebrating innovation without protecting people, we won't just have smarter machines—we'll have a dumber society. | Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI isn't coming — it's already here, and it's flipping the script on how we hire, manage, and work across the globe. In this episode, I sit down with Laura Maffucci, VP of HR at Globalization Partners (G-P), to break down how AI is reshaping everything from recruiting to compliance—and what it really means for people on both sides of the hiring table. We talk about the good, the bad, and the “uh-oh” moments of bringing AI into the workplace. Is it making hiring fairer or just faster? Can we trust it to make big decisions? And what happens when employees start wondering if the robots are coming for their jobs?

Google's not bringing interviews back in person for nostalgia — it's doing it to prove the humans are still human. | Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter at JimStroud.com to keep up with what's happening now and next in the world of work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China's 996 culture didn't vanish — it just learned to smile for compliance photos while burning people out in silence. | Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter at JimStroud.com to keep up with what's happening now and next in the world of work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hiring isn't broken — trust is, and now companies are paying premium rates just to be believed again. | Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter at JimStroud.com to keep up with what's happening now and next in the world of work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon didn't kill jobs — it rebranded erasure as “innovation” and taught us that efficiency is just empathy with the batteries drained. | Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter at JimStroud.com to keep up with what's happening now and next in the world of work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Small talk didn't die — we just got too busy performing meaning to remember how to mean nothing together. | Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter at JimStroud.com to keep up with what's happening now and next in the world of work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

South Africa's jobs crisis proves the harsh truth: in the age of AI, skills beat degrees every time. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The next diversity metric isn't gender or race—it's proving there's still a human on the payroll. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America's biggest unions just told Silicon Valley: the code doesn't get the final say—workers do. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

JP Morgan's new $3 billion HQ trades keycards for fingerprints and eye scans—a shiny monument to how workplace security just became workplace surveillance. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A $75M VC firm just fired every human analyst and let AI run the show—proof that the future of work isn't coming, it's already replacing you. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Australia might make hybrid work a legal right—and CEOs are panicking. --- Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bernie says if AI takes your job, the robots should pay for it. --- Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology is moving faster than ever — and your comfort zone might be your biggest liability. In this inspiring episode, Jim Stroud speaks with Allister Frost, former Microsoft marketing leader and author of Ready Already, about what it truly means to develop a future-ready mindset. Frost argues that “if it works today, it's already obsolete,” and challenges professionals to rethink the myths of stability, future-proofing, and the comfort zone. Together, they explore how to stay adaptable in the AI age, why curiosity is a superpower, and how “augmented intelligence” — not artificial intelligence — can elevate your work instead of replacing it. Why Leaders Should Listen: • Learn how to break free from the “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” mindset. • Discover the Ready Already Growth Cycle — a model for constant personal and organizational reinvention. • Understand why future-proofing is a myth — and how to become future-ready instead. • Hear how curiosity and naïve questioning fuel innovation across generations. Whether you lead teams, manage change, or simply want to stay relevant in a world of accelerating disruption, this conversation will help you rethink how you learn, adapt, and lead. Learn more:

Scammers are flooding LinkedIn—and they're getting smarter. In this episode, Jim Stroud talks with Jay Jones (aka “The Profiler”), a copywriter-turned-scam hunter who has personally helped take down 31,000+ fake jobs and 7,000+ bogus profiles. Jay breaks down the most common grifts hitting job seekers and employers—from ATS “resume score” shakedowns to hijacked recruiter identities, one-way video “interviews” used to clone you, and brand-impostor company pages—then shares a clear playbook HR and TA leaders can use to protect their pipelines, reputations, and people. You'll learn: • The top red flags: Gmail “recruiters,” zero-activity profiles, low connection counts, camera-off interviews, missing requisitions, too-fast timelines. • How fake “ATS scores” and resume rewrites become gateways to identity theft. • Why hijacked profiles + brand impersonation are skyrocketing—and how to spot them fast. • Practical verification steps your recruiters should follow every time. • What companies can do beyond a website disclaimer to actively deter fraud. Resources & CTA • Jay's Scam Detection Guide (Vol. 1 – Free): Find it in the Featured section of Jay's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonesdoyoucopy/ • Volume 2: Advanced tactics, psychology of scams, and hijacked-profile forensics. https://theprofiler.gumroad.com/l/volume2 • Book Jay to brief your team or campus: mrjones@jonesdoyucopy.com • More info about Jay Jones https://theprofiler.gumroad.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this thought-provoking conversation, Jim Stroud sits down with Dayna Guido, a licensed clinical social worker and ethics consultant, to explore one of the most urgent questions facing HR leaders today: Where does humanity end and artificial intelligence begin in the world of work? Together, they unpack the ethical gray zones of AI in hiring, employee monitoring, and layoffs — and what transparency, accountability, and compassion look like in an age of algorithms. Dayna brings 46 years of experience in clinical supervision and ethics to this nuanced conversation, reminding leaders that the future of work is still human at its core. From AI-driven interviews to predictive analytics that “guess” who might quit, this episode challenges HR pros to reflect: Are we using technology to empower people, or to replace trust? Why HR Leaders Should Listen: * Discover how ethical frameworks can guide AI adoption in recruitment and employee management. * Understand the hidden risks of bias, surveillance, and AI fatigue on workforce mental health. * Learn how to build ethical resilience inside your organization — before regulators force your hand. If you believe in the power of people, this episode is a must-listen. --- Contact Dayna Guido via her website https://daynaguido.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal workers found their out-of-office messages hijacked and rewritten with partisan blame—without asking, without warning, and possibly breaking the law. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California just told employers: if your AI discriminates, you own it—vendor, algorithm, and all the receipts for four years. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI interview scorers are docking Indian candidates for sounding Indian, not for being less qualified—and nobody's checking under the hood. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Humans follow biased AI hiring recommendations 90% of the time, even when they know it's garbage—so much for being the guardrails. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The EEOC just stopped chasing policies that accidentally discriminate—right when AI is about to accidentally discriminate at scale. | Subscribe to "Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this thought-provoking episode of The Jim Stroud Podcast, host Jim Stroud sits down with Tullio Siragusa, a seasoned executive coach and founder of TullioSiragusa.com, to explore a timely question: Can emotional intelligence survive—and even thrive—in a world increasingly driven by artificial intelligence? Tullio unpacks how empathy, self-awareness, and authentic leadership aren't just “soft skills” anymore—they're strategic differentiators that determine whether organizations adapt or fall behind. From the pitfalls of command-and-control cultures to the neuroscience behind rewiring self-belief, this conversation dives deep into what it really means to lead with wisdom in a digital-first era. Listeners will discover: Why EQ-driven leaders will outperform AI-powered systems in the next decade How emotional intelligence can be developed intentionally, not just “inherited” The hidden self-esteem issues that quietly undermine executive decision-making How to build psychologically safe, self-managed teams that move faster and innovate more Why most AI adoptions fail—and how culture, not code, determines success Plus, Tullio introduces AICMO.io, an AI-powered tool built with design thinking and empathy at its core—helping brands express purpose and connect more authentically with customers. (Podcast listeners receive a free 30-day trial at AICMO.io). If you're a leader navigating the intersection of humanity and technology, this episode offers both wisdom and practical tools to help you thrive in the age of AI.

Trump's H-1B crackdown sparks chaos—balancing fraud concerns against fallout for skilled workers and U.S. competitiveness. | Subscribe to ⁠The Recruiting Life⁠ newsletter to find out what's happening now and next in the world of work. http://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When anger meets misinformation, corporate boardrooms turn into bullseyes—and the crosshairs keep widening. | Subscribe to ⁠The Recruiting Life⁠ newsletter to find out what's happening now and next in the world of work. http://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Europe's workers love remote work—but not enough to sell their paycheck for it. | Subscribe to The Recruiting Life newsletter to find out what's happening now and next in the world of work. http://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Desperate job seekers are chum in the water—and LinkedIn's sharks smell the blood. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Workplace friendships aren't perks—they're survival gear in a job market built to burn you out. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Job seeker Arshon Harper's 150 digital rejections exposed the machine's learned hatred. ... Subscribe to The Recruiting Life at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The EU's enforcement machine just awakened, turning every HR algorithm into a weapon aimed at the fragile dreams of job seekers trapped in digital purgatory. ... Subscribe to The Recruiting Life at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Salary transparency is still a shell game; post real ranges on every job under one national rule, or admit you're hiding. ... Subscribe to The Recruiting Life at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We toast long careers, then park 80-year pros at minimum wage counters; kill the birthday bias and pay for the skill, or admit the system eats its old. ... Subscribe to The Recruiting Life at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Half the office secretly hired a ghost intern named AI—quit pretending, build the guardrails, and turn it into an edge before it turns on you. ... Subscribe to The Recruiting Life at https://jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it really mean to be a digital nomad—and why should businesses care? In this episode, Lesley Pyle, Founder of HireMyMom.com, unpacks the myths, benefits, and challenges of hiring and working as digital nomads. From global talent access to compliance risks, she shares practical tips for HR leaders and small business owners—plus where to grab her Free Smart Hiring Guide. Lesley Pyle, HireMyMom Founder https://www.hiremymom.com/ Free Smart Hiring Guide https://www.hiremymom.com/podcast/ Connect with Lesley Pyle via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/hiremymom-com/ ... Connect with Jim Stroud https://www.jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices