Brad Polo is the Founder & CEO of Candidate Hub. He has 25+ years in sales, marketing, and recruitment.

Key Topics Discussed

The Recruitment Problem

• Only 10% of recruiters actually go back to their candidate database
• The "biggest lie recruiters tell": "We'll keep your resume on file"
• Traditional ATS systems aren't built for candidate nurturing, just processing hires

Candidate Hub's Solution

• Marketing automation for recruitment - bringing quality candidates to recruiters' inboxes daily
• Creating "virtual benches" of candidates segmented by role/industry
• Lead scoring for candidate engagement to prioritize follow-ups
• 90%+ reduction in sourcing costs for clients

The Sports Analogy: Building Championship Teams

Three ways to build teams:

1. Free Agency (job boards) - expensive, competitive
2. Trades (staffing firms) - costly at 25% of salary
3. The Draft (nurturing future talent) - most overlooked but strategic

Major Industry Issues

• Ghost job postings - Brad calls this "extremely unethical"
• Hiring managers need recruitment KPIs - treating hiring as urgent but not prioritizing interview scheduling
• Pay inequity - average internal raise is 2-5%, but external job moves yield 12-15% increases

Remote Work Impact

• Atlantic Canada lost its competitive advantage of lower cost of living
• Now competing globally for talent while trying to retain local workforce
• Companies need new strategies beyond "better way of life" messaging

Lightning Round Recommendations

• Podcast: Chad and Cheese (HR's most dangerous podcast)
• Person/Product: Adam Gordon and Poetry (recruiter enablement platform)
• Superpower: Ability to change and adapt quickly to new technology

Connect with Brad

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/braddipaolo/
• Email: brad@candidatehub.io

Mentioned Resources

• "Don't Work for Beer" video
• Poetry by Adam Gordon
• Chad and Cheese podcast
• How Music Got Free

Lynn Osler is an HR and Culture Specialist. She has worked in a variety of sectors from retail startups to large health care organizations. She is currently a human resources generalist at Pagefreezer, a remote-first software company. In this episode, Lynn shares some of the tools and practices they use to create a strong remote culture and safeguard the well-being of team members.

Links from the episode:

https://ca.linkedin.com/in/lynnosler

https://www.amazon.ca/Coaching-Manual-Definitive-Principles-Personal/dp/1292084979.

https://www.audible.ca/pd/The-Coaching-Manual-5th-Edition-Audiobook/B0CBW3LW6Q

https://sanfordosler.ca/

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This episode is sponsored by Posthaste.ai

Stay up-to-date on Debugging Work by following Derek Hatchard on LinkedIn and subscribing to the Debugging Work newsletter.

Jamar Parris started his career on the technical side, working as a full stack engineer and systems architect. He was a tech lead at Buddy Media, which is Derek and Jamar first crossed paths after Salesforce acquired the company in 2012. His background has always been a blend of the technical and business sides. About 10 years ago, he switched from engineering to product management and has worked primarily in fintech and e-commerce, including companies you know like PayPal and Braintree. The pandemic led to some reevaluations for Jamar and his husband, which led them to quitting their jobs at the end of 2022 and taking a sabbatical. When Derek and Jamar spoke in 2024, Jamar was setting down roots in Lisbon, Portugal.

Links from the episode:

https://blog.jamarparris.com/p/in-search-of-a-different-approach

https://blog.jamarparris.com/p/my-new-reality-in-2024

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamar

https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/redefining-success-purpose-and-belonging

https://pathlesspath.com

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This episode is sponsored by Posthaste.ai

Stay up-to-date on Debugging Work by following Derek Hatchard on LinkedIn and subscribing to the Debugging Work newsletter.