These episodes of #thePOZcast, live from Unleash 2026 in Las Vegas, are proudly brought to you by our friends at PIN. AI recruiting tools that automate candidate sourcing, screening, and scheduling across 850M+ profiles. Built for recruiters, agencies, and hiring teams.

Learn more and check out a demo: https://www.pin.com/book-a-demo?via=adam-posner

Thanks for listening, and please follow us on Insta @NHPTalent and www.youtube.com/thePOZcast

For all episodes, please check out www.thePOZcast.com

Jess Von Bank is a globally recognized voice on the future of work, AI, and workforce transformation, advising enterprise leaders on how to responsibly integrate AI and emerging technologies into the fabric of work. With more than 23 years in talent and HR technology, Jess has spent her career at the intersection of business strategy, digital transformation, and human experience. She is known for translating complex technology trends into plainspoken insight that leaders can actually use.

A sought-after voice in the future of work, Jess challenges organizations to move beyond AI hype toward agency, accountability, and human-centered design. Her perspective is rooted not only in enterprise transformation but in lived experience as a mother of daughters, a nonprofit leader, and an advocate for women’s leadership and equitable, human systems in which everyone can thrive.

TAKEAWAYS:

• AI doesn’t transform work—it scales existing systems (good or bad)
• Most companies are optimizing old workflows instead of reimagining new ones
• True transformation requires new thinking, not just new tools
• Institutional knowledge and human judgment remain critical differentiators
• Resistance to AI is often less about capability and more about forced adoption
• The future of work conversation is bigger than recruiting—it’s societal
• AI is accelerating necessary disruption in education, workforce development, and economic models
• The biggest opportunity right now is not efficiency—it’s redesign

01:00 Intro to Jess Von Bank
02:30 Early recruiting days (pre-LinkedIn sourcing)
05:00 “Old school” recruiting vs modern tools
07:30 The art of understanding candidate motivation
10:00 Technology in recruiting: good, bad, and ugly
12:00 The biggest mistake with AI today
14:00 “AI scales what you put it on” explained
16:00 Automation vs true transformation
18:00 Why “faster” doesn’t mean “better”
20:00 Rethinking workflows instead of optimizing them
22:00 Institutional knowledge vs AI capabilities
24:00 Teaching experienced professionals new ways of working
26:00 Generational perspectives on AI adoption
28:00 Psychological reactance and resistance to change
30:00 The “AI will take jobs” debate
32:00 “We’re building the Titanic in plain sight”
35:00 The real risks vs the hype
37:00 What AI is actually breaking (and why that’s good)
39:00 Rethinking education and workforce development
41:00 Optimism: what’s moving in the right direction
43:00 Closing thoughts + where to connect

These episodes of #thePOZcast, live from Unleash 2026 in Las Vegas, are proudly brought to you by our friends at PIN. AI recruiting tools that automate candidate sourcing, screening, and scheduling across 850M+ profiles. Built for recruiters, agencies, and hiring teams.

Learn more and check out a demo: https://www.pin.com/book-a-demo?via=adam-posner

Thanks for listening, and please follow us on Insta @NHPTalent and www.youtube.com/thePOZcast

For all episodes, please check out www.thePOZcast.com

About:

Suzan Vulaj is a seasoned talent acquisition leader with a proven track record in global recruitment strategies. Currently serving as the Senior Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition at NBCUniversal, Suzan has been instrumental in creating exceptional candidate experiences through innovative problem-solving for over 20 years. Her expertise spans various industries, including media, technology, and commerce.

Before joining NBCUniversal, Suzan held key roles such as Director of Global Talent Acquisition at Pitney Bowes and Senior Talent Manager for Internal Mobility at McGraw-Hill Financial. She also contributed her skills as an HR Manager at Standard & Poor's and a Staffing Consultant at Google. Suzan's academic foundation includes a degree from Pace University's Lubin School of Business.

Her leadership style embodies a dynamic blend of collaboration, resilience, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Beyond this, Suzan is a champion of innovation, always seeking creative solutions to enhance organizational culture and attract top talent. Her ability to inspire teams and foster growth makes her a transformative force in any professional setting.

00:00 Opening + UNLEASH floor energy
01:10 Intro to Suzan Vulaj (NBCUniversal TA Leader)
02:30 From marketing to recruiting: Suzan’s journey
04:30 Leading a 100+ person global TA team
06:00 What makes a great recruiter today
08:30 Recruiters as brand ambassadors + influencers
10:30 Why hiring managers must be fully engaged
12:30 Fixing broken intake & expectation setting
14:30 TA tech stack: building around the ATS
16:30 AI fear vs reality inside recruiting teams
18:30 How to train recruiters through change (safe spaces)
20:30 The return to “old school” recruiting
22:30 The problem with 8,000 applicants per role
24:30 Candidate fraud + AI-generated applications
26:30 Shortlisting & cutting through the noise
28:30 The emotional toll of recruiting (constant rejection)
30:30 Managing recruiter mindset & engagement
32:00 Re-engaging silver medalists (“for your consideration”)
34:00 Pipelining talent before roles open
36:00 What messages actually get a recruiter’s attention
38:00 The 10-second resume scan reality
40:00 Conference insights: failure, change & adaptability
42:00 Reframing failure as experimentation
44:00 Advice for job seekers today
45:30 Closing + where to connect

• Recruiting today is less about access to talent—and more about filtering overwhelming volume
• The best TA teams are returning to relationship-driven, “old school” recruiting strategies
• AI won’t replace recruiters, but it will force them to focus on higher-value work
• Great recruiters differentiate through influence, communication, and ownership—not tools
• Hiring managers play a critical role and must be fully engaged early in the process
• Candidate experience and recruiter mindset are often overlooked—but deeply connected
• Specificity and intentional outreach are what help candidates stand out in a crowded market
• Building and maintaining pipelines (especially silver medalists) is more valuable than starting from scratch

These episodes of #thePOZcast, live from Unleash 2026 in Las Vegas, are proudly brought to you by our friends at PIN. AI recruiting tools that automate candidate sourcing, screening, and scheduling across 850M+ profiles. Built for recruiters, agencies, and hiring teams.

Learn more and check out a demo: https://www.pin.com/book-a-demo?via=adam-posner

Thanks for listening, and please follow us on Insta @NHPTalent and www.youtube.com/thePOZcast

For all episodes, please check out www.thePOZcast.com

00:00 – Cold open: UNLEASH vs. Transform event dynamics
01:10 – Meet Mary Jo Charbonneau and Kyndryl
02:00 – Why AI is redefining HR transformation
03:15 – HR’s shift to the center of business strategy
04:30 – Why HR leaders must think beyond HR (customer impact)
05:45 – How AI is used on the customer delivery side
07:00 – Translating business demand into skills with AI
08:15 – Matching the right talent to the right work
09:30 – The power of workforce data and skills visibility
10:45 – Internal mobility: finding hidden talent within
12:00 – Real-world use cases of repositioning underperforming employees
13:30 – “Make yourself discoverable” in the age of AI
14:30 – The future of skills-based organizations

1. AI is pulling HR into the center of the business
Not as support—but as a strategic driver tied directly to how work gets done and delivered to customers.

2. The real power of AI is translating work into skills
Understanding what skills are needed—and matching them dynamically—is becoming HR’s most critical capability.

3. Skills data unlocks internal mobility at scale
Organizations already have the talent—they just haven’t had the visibility to deploy it effectively.

4. “Make yourself discoverable” is the new career mandate
Employees must actively surface their skills and capabilities in AI-driven environments or risk being overlooked.

5. AI enables a more human approach to talent decisions
Instead of writing people off, organizations can identify where individuals will actually thrive.

6. HR needs to think beyond HR
The biggest missed opportunity: not connecting AI in HR to how the business serves customers.

7. Transformation is no longer optional—it’s continuous
AI isn’t a project. It’s an ongoing shift in how organizations operate, hire, and grow talent.