I've spent the better part of two decades watching talent acquisition reinvent itself with the enthusiasm of a newly divorced man shopping for sports cars. What's happening now, however, makes those previous identity crises look like mere costume changes.

While age has made me a little more sympathetic to the concept of a midlife crisis (here I am, a generation later, still writing another specious blog post on talent acquisition trends), the fact remains that our industry faces an existential reckoning, one that promises to be fully on display at this year's Unleash America conference in Las Vegas.

Unleash has long been one of my favorite events on the crowded conference calendar, and has been ever since the halcyon days when it was known as "HR Technology World" (prior to questionable threats issued by the litigious former owners of the HR Technology Conference, for whom IP is clearly a much more critical business issue than, say, relevant session content or driving actual HR buyers to their event).

It's also one of the better barometers of the talent technology industry, given its global scope and unique blend of vendors running the full spectrum of software and solutions, from emerging startups attending their first trade show, to the established (and ubiquitous) enterprise providers whose booths and giveaways generally are far more impressive than whatever legacy tech they're demoing - and proof that for most Tier One vendors, their margins remain healthy, if not exorbitant.

TA's Inflection Point: Meet Me at the Crossroads

This year, I'm a little more excited than normal to get a pulse check on the relative health of talent acquisition, considering that I've been so buried in standing up back office acquisitions these past few months that it's left me feeling, for the first time in a long time, a little bit like an outsider looking in. 

Of course, I know a little bit about what to expect in this most recent iteration of an industry wide existential crisis. After all, we're no longer merely changing job titles or reorganizing reporting structures - we're fundamentally questioning our foundational of what, exactly, it means to be "human" in a human resource function increasingly dominated by the rise of artificial intelligence (or at least, the artifice of AI).

Having attended more HR tech conferences than I care to remember (or my liver cares to acknowledge), I've witnessed the cyclical nature of our collective panic. But this iteration feels different.

The talent acquisition function isn't just adding new tools to its arsenal; it's potentially becoming obsolete while simultaneously being expected to deliver unprecedented results.

The vendors at Unleash will undoubtedly parade their latest algorithms designed to "revolutionize" hiring processes that haven't fundamentally changed since the first newspaper classified. Most will claim their particular arrangement of ones and zeros can magically transform your candidate experience while cutting costs by some percentage they've cherry-picked from a questionable case study.

Meanwhile, talent leaders and practitioners will wander the expo floor clutching their third coffee of the morning, nodding politely at demonstrations while mentally calculating how much of their budget remains and how they'll justify another software purchase to leadership who still think recruiting is just about posting jobs on LinkedIn and responding to inbound resume submissions. 

What makes this moment particularly interesting is that unlike previous technological shifts, AI doesn't merely automate tedious tasks – it mimics human interaction itself.

We've gone from "Let's use technology to help recruiters" to "Do we need recruiters at all?" faster than you can say "prompt engineering."

The data suggests we're approaching an inflection point. According to recent analysis, nearly 40% of talent acquisition teams are now deploying some form of conversational AI in their hiring process. The irony of using machines to identify human potential isn't lost on the candidates who find themselves performing for algorithms rather than people.

Dropping the Mic: Talent Stage A Preview

That's why I'm so excited to be hosting the Talent A stage at Unleash America, where an impressive lineup of top talent leaders from some of the world's biggest brands and best employers, from Comcast to Johnson & Johnson to Twilio, will be covering the full gamut of trending topics and industry impertatives ranging from candidate experience, to talent intelligence and data, to, unsurprisingly, the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of work.

Likely lost in the litany of thought leaders, influencers and people leaders at big name brands populating the Talent A stage agenda, I'll also be moderating a panel on May 8 at 12:30 PM  called Recruitment Transformation: Redefining Talent Acquisition for the Modern Workplace.

That’s a lot of syllables to say: “We should probably talk about why the hell recruiting still looks like this in 2025.”

The subtitle, “Is Your Recruitment Strategy Ready for the Workforce of Tomorrow?”, pretty much gives away the punchline.

Because spoiler alert: it probably isn’t. Unless your idea of transformation is finally replacing the company careers page built using .NET.

So what are we actually going to talk about? The stuff that actually matters.

Not the vendor booth Kool-Aid, not the LinkedIn thought leadership threads about “building community,” and definitely not another session on “how to write inclusive job descriptions” like that’s the magic fix for systemic talent issues. 

Recruiting: Welcome to the Real World.

This isn’t your “10 Tips for Hiring Gen Z” panel (is that still a thing?). We’re unpacking the real, messy, complicated transformation that talent acquisition is being dragged into—kicking, screaming, and often without budget approval.

Forget buzzwords. This conversation is about what happens after the ATS demo ends and the CFO rejects your headcount request.

It's about surviving and evolving in a world where roles are fluid, pipelines are unpredictable, and the line between full-time and freelance is blurrier than your company’s hybrid work policy.

The Panelists: Not Your Typical "Thoughtfluencers"

Let’s start with the people on this panel, because unlike most conference lineups, these folks actually know what the hell they’re talking about:

• Blair Bennett, SVP of Global Talent Acquisition at PepsiCo, runs a hiring operation with more SKUs than the snack aisle at Walmart—and still manages to find a way to innovate without lighting money on fire.
• Steve White, VP of Talent Acquisition at Sam's Club (who's only a couple weeks into his new gig after spending the last few years running the TA show at BECU, one of the country's largest credit unions), is leading TA at an innovative retailer that manages to make a brand owned by a company like Wal-Mart feel like it's cutting edge and innovative. (Hint: It’s not by paying in equity or hosting “culture days.”)
• Tim Wesson, SVP of Global Talent Acquisition at IQVIA, is one of the few people in life sciences hiring who understands both clinical trials and pipeline analytics. The man recruits like your life depends on it—because sometimes, it does.

These are practitioners, not pretenders. You won’t get recycled Gartner graphs or TikTokified career site advice. You’ll get battle-tested strategies and uncomfortable truths.

What We're Going to Cover: Top 5 TA Themes

Like why “recruitment marketing” mostly means repackaging job descriptions in Canva. Or why your employer brand video with stock drone footage of office plants isn’t convincing anyone to apply.

Here’s what’s we’re going to cover:

1. Tech Bloat versus Tech Strategy

TA teams are being crushed under the weight of their own tech stacks. Every platform promises “end-to-end” solutions, yet somehow recruiters still spend half their week toggling between tabs and praying the SSO doesn’t time out.

The panel will explore what actual technology transformation looks like—not the stuff you see in sales decks, but what it means to make tech choices that scale, integrate, and ideally, don’t make your recruiters hate their jobs.

This isn’t about chasing the next shiny object (hello, AI-generated video interviews). It’s about creating systems that support humans—not replace them—and using automation where it makes sense, not just where it makes headlines.

2. Candidate Experience: Broken by Design

Let’s be real: most companies are failing the candidate experience test. Not because they don’t care, but because their process is a Frankenstein’s monster of policies, legacy systems, and “compliance concerns” that make applying for a job feel like renewing a passport.

We’ll dig into how modern organizations are rethinking the candidate journey—not as a funnel, but as a product. From application to offer, what does it take to create a process that doesn’t just “optimize” but actually respects people’s time and expectations?

Hint: It’s not another careers site refresh or a glossy EVP video. It’s process, communication, and, shockingly, treating applicants like customers instead of a checkbox.

3. Why Data is Everything in TA Today (Even If Nobody Knows How To Use It)

Everyone loves to say they’re “data-driven,” but let’s be honest: most TA dashboards are glorified vanity metrics designed to keep CHROs off your back. Time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, source of hire... yawn.

What matters now is using data to actually influence outcomes. Predictive hiring. Workforce planning. Forecasting turnover before it hits the team Slack channel. The future of TA isn’t about collecting data—it’s about turning it into action.

And yes, we’ll talk about the ethical landmines that come with algorithmic bias and candidate surveillance. Because the goal isn’t just faster hiring—it’s better hiring, with a side of accountability.

4. The Workforce Has Moved On. Has Your Strategy?

The days of one-size-fits-all hiring are over. So is the fantasy that everyone wants a 9-to-5, an office, or a boss. The modern workforce is fluid, distributed, and increasingly skeptical of your “we’re like a family” pitch (barf).

This panel will cover how the best orgs are rethinking recruitment from the ground up—not just to attract top talent, but to adapt to a labor market that’s evolving faster than periodic cost of living increases.

We’re talking about real flexibility, skills-based hiring, career pathing that actually goes somewhere, and talent models that acknowledge that full-time employment is just one option—but not the option.

5. The Uncertain Future of the TA Function (And Why It's A Good Thing)

Talent acquisition has long been treated as a service function—order-takers with KPIs. But the smartest companies are blowing up that model. They’re embedding TA in workforce strategy, tying it to revenue, and treating it like the competitive advantage it should’ve been all along.

Of course, this evolution comes with friction. Not every TA leader wants to be a change agent. Not every exec wants to be told their org structure is why nobody’s accepting offers. But that tension? That’s where transformation lives.

The panel will surface what it means to lead through that change—how to evolve the function without losing its soul, and how to build teams that can flex, scale, and still sleep at night.

Why You Should Attend: Top TA Takeaways

Because you’re tired of pretending everything’s fine when your systems are held together by duct tape and shared passwords.

Because you want to hear from people actually doing the work—not just speaking at events because they’ve got a “fractional consulting” hustle on the side.

Because you know that “recruitment transformation” isn’t a strategy deck—it’s the hundred micro-decisions made every day by people balancing headcount pressure, hiring freezes, tech fatigue, and the very real desire to do meaningful work.

So come join us. Ask the hard questions. Vent your pain. Share your hacks. Or just sit in the back and silently judge.

And you know what?

That’s fine too. 

Where: UNLEASH America, Talent A Stage
When: May 8, 12:30 PM PT
What: Recruitment Transformation: Redefining Talent Acquisition for the Modern Workplace Why: Because the future of work isn’t waiting for your next quarterly review.