Advertise on podcast: Hiring University! Powered by Ursus, Inc.

Send us a text 2026 kicks off with an awesome new episode of Hiring University with guest Dustin Talley, founder of Direct Collective.  Big takeaway: the market isn’t shrinking, it’s shifting. And the mid-market is where the action is: less noise, more opportunity, and a real need for leaders and partners who can help programs level up. We also hit on the following topics during this episode: Self-managed vs. MSP (and why more programs are moving in-house)AI reality vs. hype. Enterprises move slowly, and partners are expected to bring innovationThe hard truth about “partnership”: it isn’t a tagline, it’s behavior, trust, and showing up when things get hard For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text What a way to close out the year! Our final episode of Hiring University for 2025 just dropped, and we’re finishing strong with none other than Ryan McNair, VP of Workday VNDLY Services at Helios Consulting. Ryan has forgotten more about VMS platforms than most of us know, or however that phrase goes.😄 Point is, the guy’s been in the game for nearly two decades, and it shows. From VMS innovation to AI hype vs. reality, self-managed programs, integrations, data transparency, and even the Broncos’ Super Bowl dreams… this conversation delivered. 💥 Ryan and I break down:  Why the VMS world has exploded with vendors  Where companies underestimate complexity  Why SaaS and integrations are the real game-changers  The truth about “AI” in VMS right now  What the next 5 years should look like … and of course, some career wisdom we can all use heading into 2026.If you touch contingent labor, technology, or talent strategy, or want a smart, real, no-BS perspective, this one is a must-listen. For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text 🎙️ New Hiring U! Episode Just Dropped! I’m excited to welcome back Carlos Martinez, Founder & CEO of Lumibuild and Nexxtspace, and officially Hiring U’s first repeat guest! When Carlos and I get together, the conversations are always real, unfiltered, and rooted in what it truly means to build and lead service businesses in today’s market. In this episode, we dig into:  🔥 Why 2026 is already buzzing with momentum  🏗️ The breakneck pace of AI-era office builds  🤝 How service businesses actually differentiate in a “commoditized” world  🧠 Leadership, humility, culture, and protecting your team  ⚠️ The realities (and risks) of AI adoption for small companies  …plus a few laughs and some founder-to-founder truth bombs. If you’re a leader, founder, builder, or anyone navigating the wild ride of scaling a services business — this one’s for you. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here: https://ursusinc.com/media/ Let me know what resonates! #HiringU #Podcast #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #Staffing #Culture #AI #Founders #LUMIBuild  For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text 🎙️ Fighting Candidate Fraud in the Age of AI In the latest episode of Hiring University, I sat down with Brian Vesce, Co-founder & CEO, and Vinda Souza, Chief Marketing Officer at RefAssured, for a fascinating (and slightly terrifying) discussion on one of the biggest challenges in today’s hiring landscape….candidate fraud. We unpacked: How AI-generated resumes and automated screening have created an “AI stalemate” in recruiting, and how RefAssured can help!Why human judgment still matters more than ever, and how to re-center it in hiringThe staggering impact of fabricated candidate profiles (yes, including North Korean operatives inside Fortune 500s)Why resumes might soon be obsolete, and what could replace themHow RefAssured is building the “back of the baseball card for talent” with real, validated dataBrian and Vinda also share an honest look into the future of ethical AI in hiring, redeployment at scale, and how to bring authenticity back into the talent experience. 💡 One big takeaway: candidate integrity isn’t just a compliance issue for staffing firms; it’s a growth strategy! Tune in wherever you get your podcasts or at hiringu.com to catch this episode. For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text 🎧 New on Hiring University! Episode #51 features Katy Eddington-Lesperance, PMP, Manager of Global Contingent Talent Operations at Netflix. Katy shares how her team supports Netflix’s creative “big bets” through innovative, people-first workforce strategies. Some of the many topics we explore include ·      The benefits of Netflix’s in-house contingent talent model ·      How the company approaches AI adoption responsibly ·      Joint accountability in preventing candidate fraud ·      Ongoing efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion across the talent ecosystem Katy also offers leadership insights on balance, adaptability, and staying connected to purpose. 🎙 Listen now: Hiring University.  https://ursusinc.com/media/ For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text Episode 50: Ashley Andersen — Building Mental Strength and Sustainable Culture in the Workplace In this milestone episode, Ashley Andersen, MSW, Founder and CEO of Ezra Sage, joins to discuss how companies can move beyond surface-level onboarding to truly support employees’ mental resilience and emotional well-being. From the dangers of burnout and the illusion of “toughness” to redefining leadership through empathy, vulnerability, and sustainable productivity, Ashley shares practical insights on cultivating healthy cultures that last. For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text James Fitzgerald joins the program to discuss the transition from one side of the proverbial desk supporting Thermo Fisher as an MSP Vice President and now as Director of Human Resources Operations.   James Fitzgerald is currently the Director, Talent Acquisition Vendor Managment at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Before this, they were the Vice President of Program Management at Workspend Inc. from May 2019 to August 2021. James also worked at DCR Workforce from November 2017 to May 2019 as the Program Lead - Managed Service Provider. James Fitzgerald completed a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Management, General at St. Thomas Aquinas College. For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text Will Ulmer joins Hiring University to discuss the latest and hottest contingent worker topics, including why some contingent programs work better than others and why! Will Ulmer has over 15 years of experience in contingent workforce programs. He is recognized for his strategic, compliance-focused, and results-driven approach. Will has successfully built and managed first-generation programs at FanDuel and Epic Games, where he was named a Contingent Workforce Program Game Changer in 2023 by Staffing Industry Analysts. He has led implementations of VNDLY and Monument Consulting on schedule and under budget at Epic Games. At Waste Management, he also managed over $200M in spend and a contractor headcount exceeding 4,000 weekly. "I truly believe that your talent brand attraction strategy can start or should start  with the utilization of contingent workers." - Will Ulmer For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text Allen Chilson, a recognized leader in the talent industry and frequent keynote and panelist speaker, joins Hiring University to talk about the importance of defining and defending company culture, AI pros and cons, and his win/loss prediction for his beloved Dallas Cowboys!  This is an episode you don't want to miss! "The last thing I want to do is totally rely on the data that I'm getting without having a conversation. Because if it's a fiercely competitive market to find the best people and you're throwing out those that are the outliers, you're missing a huge segment of the population. I think that is the risk and you're talking about some of the legal issues that the profiling and where the origin of the AI data is coming from that is going to get some people into trouble." - Allen Chilson For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text We took notice that staffing, talent, and recruiting events are typically represented by suppliers, clients, technology, and managed service providers. Noticeably absent from these industry forums is YOU, the employee doing the work and making it all possible!   The Ursus Contractor Care and creative recruiting leadership facilitate our quarterly Contractor Council Meeting where recent employment trends, market outlook, and general questions about finding and keeping jobs are addressed.  For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text Angela Westhead joins the program to discuss, among other topics, remote work, BEI, (yes, B not D), AI, and her favorite podcasts!  This is an episode you don't want to miss!   You can have great talent that sits anywhere. They just have to be bought in on being present in a different way than someone who sits in an office. So what we've seen in the last four years since everybody went remote is that, yes, you can find great talent outside of large cities, and in many cases, it can cost you less!      - Angela Westhead  For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text Kobie Wagener joins this episode of Hiring U! to share his perspectives as a former leader of numerous talent teams and now as a job seeker himself! "Concerning back to office, I feel like post covid, many people can be a little intimidated by the face-to-face interaction. Like it's it's a tolerance that we need to build up for face-to-face interaction since it is a bigger lift. But we get more out of face-to-face interaction which is why back to the office is such an important topic. " - Kobie Wagener For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text Tami LaSance, in-house legal counsel at HireArt joins Hiring University to share her insights on the importance of worker classification, advancements, and potential risks in AI among other topics.  "I think more companies aren't as concerned with the risk of incorrect worker classification because there has not been a huge verdict or decision on this since Microsoft and it may take somebody being another example. I think there's also so many things going on that it just isn't a priority to pursue these types of claims." - Tami LaSance For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text On this episode of Hiring University, get to know Casey Jacox, Keynote Speaker, Sales & Executive Leadership Coach, Podcaster & Author of "Win The Relationship, Not The Deal".   A twenty-year staffing executive, Casey shares his thoughts on what has changed, what has remained the same, and more importantly the constants that drive success not only in staffing but in life!  "The things that I focus on are humility, vulnerability, and curiosity. Those will never be replaced by AI.  I'm just saying what's what's worked for me when I check my ego every day and I realized that there's a, there's a way for me to get better at something. No matter if I was the number one guy at my job, I still could get better, and vulnerable enough that there's going to be something that someone's going to say that I don't know the answer to focus on  asking great questions and listening to the answers." - Casey Jacox For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com

Send us a text On this episode of Hiring University, get to know Michael Beckwith, Category Manager at Xcel Energy who oversees all contingent and project-based labor across Xcel's U.S. footprint.  "I'm super passionate about data. And I think all conversations around worker classification need to start with data.  If we don't have visibility into where these workers are, what they're doing, how much we're paying them, what contracts they're tied to, you know, we can't formulate a go-forward strategy, nor can we appropriately advise our leaders about how to make decisions." - Michael Beckwith For more Hiring University episodes tune into your favorite podcast player or visit us at www.ursusinc.com