Data. Data. Dada. However you say it, one thing is clear: not all data is created equal.

In this episode of Talentless, Ashley King and Desiree Goldey break down what data actually matters in talent acquisition and why most TA teams are stuck reporting numbers that don’t move the business forward.

This is a practical, no-fluff conversation about data literacy, business impact, and why knowing how to interpret data is the real leadership unlock for recruiters.

We cover:

• Why data literacy is the real glass ceiling in TA
• The difference between symptoms and root causes in recruiting data
• Why attrition and retention matter more than time-to-fill
• How pass-through ratios expose alignment (or misalignment) with hiring managers
• Why volume-based recruiting metrics are misleading
• How to monetize recruiting activity so executives actually listen
• Using qualitative + quantitative data together to drive better hiring outcomes

If you’ve ever felt like TA is stuck at the “reporting numbers” stage instead of influencing decisions, this episode is for you.

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What if the problem with talent acquisition isn’t recruiters… it’s how we set them up?

In this episode of Talentless, Ashley King and Desiree Goldey dig into recruiter enablement and why it’s quickly becoming the difference between TA teams that survive and those that actually move the business forward.

We unpack what recruiter enablement really means (spoiler: it’s not just more tools), why measuring ROI in recruiting is long overdue, and how TA leaders can build smarter partnerships with the business instead of operating like an internal agency no one fully understands.

We also get into:

• Why most recruiting tools never prove their value
• What recruiter performance should be measured on
• How data can help or hurt, depending on how it’s used
• The role of psychological safety in unlocking high-potential talent
• Why education and strategic scaffolding matter more than hustle culture

This is one of those episodes that might make you rethink how your TA org is built and why recruiters burn out when enablement is missing.

If you care about outcomes, not just activity, this one’s for you.

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We took Talentless on the road and dropped ourselves right into the middle of RecFest. Sun out, mics on, chaos fully embraced.

In this episode, we sat down with two of our all-time favorite humans in recruiting, Brooke Freeburg and Krissy Callari from ZRG, and let the conversation do what it does best… wander in the smartest, funniest way possible.

We talked about the realities of recruiting right now, what actually makes this industry fun again, and why relationships still matter more than whatever new tool launched this week. There were laughs, hot takes, and a few “did we really just say that?” moments that make live conversations so damn good.

It was candid. It was chaotic. It was very RecFest.