This week, we’re bringing you a special edition of 10x Recruiting live from the Transform conference in Las Vegas. Nolan interviewed an epic lineup of talent leaders at the Metaview booth from companies like Affirm, Greenhouse, and more. Nolan and his guests cover everything from tactical tips on how teams are applying AI in hiring, to market insights on the talent that’s in-demand today, to real-talk on getting leadership buy-in. It’s an episode jam-packed with insights and practical takeaways.
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🔑 Key moments (audio episode) 🔑
00:53 Emerson Croxton, Director of TA at Affirm, on why AI can only enhance whatever is already going on in your hiring process
5:23: Daniel Chait, Greenhouse CEO, on using AI to promote fairness and giving candidates tools to create more signal
14:34 Melanie Naranjo, CPO at Ethena, on strengthening the HR <> CEO relationship
18:30 Matt Staney, VP of Community at Higher on the future of DEI
21:45 Cassie Leemans, VP of Talent at Craft Ventures, on calibrating 1% talent in the age of AI
25:30 Annie Wenzel, Partner at SwingSearch, on the early-stage startup talent that’s in demand today
29:30 Natalie Stones, co-founder of Talent Collective, with real-talk on the fractional vs. full-time debate
34:30 Chloe Glasgow, Head of People & Talent at Normal Compute, on her secret sourcing sauce
37:08 Caitlin Pino, VP of People at Notabene, on hiring a global talent pool
38:50 Virgina Tirado, co-founder of Reku, on the state of leadership recruiting
42:08 Scott Kirsch, VP of Sales & Search at Connery Consulting, on the reality of AI deployment today
44:45 Ed Snook, Director of People Ops & Recruiting at Mysten Labs, on building AI strategies
At Transform 2025, we hosted 12 candid conversations with talent leaders from Affirm, Greenhouse, Ethena, and more to get a pulse on where the industry is heading.
Instead of polished panels, these were fast, unscripted takes on what’s actually changing — from how AI is actually being used to the fading momentum behind DEI to how to earn a seat at the table with leadership.
Here are the five themes we kept hearing.
1. AI is an amplifier, not a fix
AI was the dominant theme at Transform, but not in the way you might expect. Leaders acknowledged the hype but emphasized a key point: AI doesn’t solve recruiting problems. It enhances what’s already in place.
"AI won’t solve any problems. It will enhance whatever is happening. So if the muscle is atrophied, it will enhance the atrophied muscle," said Emerson Croxton, Director of Recruiting at Affirm.
This was echoed by Greenhouse CEO Daniel Chait, who described AI as a tool to promote fairness and inclusivity, not as a replacement for recruiters. For example, Greenhouse’s resume anonymization model reaches 96% accuracy — significantly higher than the industry standard of 80–85% — and helps hiring managers evaluate skills without bias triggered by names or demographics.
Most teams remain in early experimentation. Ed Snook of Mysten Labs noted, “We’ve started playing around with ChatGPT, but that’s nothing earth-shattering.” Scott Kirsch of Connery Consulting echoed this, emphasizing that AI implementations remain surface-level for most companies.
The deeper implication? AI is not a standalone solution. It’s an extension of recruiter strategy — one that demands thoughtful deployment.
Takeaway: The value isn’t in the AI itself. It’s in how recruiters make use of it.
2. Efficiency is the new flex
Growth-at-all-costs hiring is out. Efficiency is in.
Leaders at Transform were focused less on headcount and more on productivity per employee. AI tools that let five people do the work of ten were seen as essential.
"With the right tooling, you don’t need as many people anymore," said Cassie Chao Leemans of Craft Ventures.
She shared how her husband, a recruiter with no coding experience, used a stack of tools like Vercel, Cursor, and Claude to build custom recruiting tools. This shift is raising the bar across functions. If recruiters can build tools solo, what should engineers be capable of with AI copilots?
Hiring is also becoming more aligned with product planning. Ed Snook’s team now plans in six-month cycles tied to product launches. “We ask: ‘What do we need to ship this product in the next six months?’ Then we reassess.”
That approach borrows from Airbnb’s cadence of two major launches a year and reflects a larger trend: Hiring is becoming more integrated with product and go-to-market planning — not just back-office support.
There’s also a broader cultural reset around how teams are evaluated. Speed alone is no longer the goal — impact is. Recruiting teams are being asked to show not just how many roles they filled but how those hires contributed to the company’s trajectory.
Chloe Glasgow, Head of People and Talent at Normal Compute, emphasized "sourcing with intention." Her approach? Recruiting for the "give a shit" factor (GAS). Instead of mass outreach, she targets just 20 highly aligned candidates per role. “I might reach out to just 20 people for a role,” she said. “But I know every one of them could probably get the job.”
Takeaway: Efficiency isn’t just about doing more with less — it’s about doing better with less.
3. The DEI pullback is real
One of the most emotionally charged topics at Transform was the quiet dismantling of DEI initiatives.
"We built process. We built strategy. We invested in technology like Textio to make sure that we’re doing this the right way. And now, companies are reversing course," said Matt Staney, VP of Community at Higher.
There was a sense of being “rug-pulled” as years of hard-won progress were quietly rolled back. Programs were dissolved, tools deprecated, and goals deprioritized.
Still, some innovation persists. Greenhouse’s anonymization tools offer measurable change. Their new "Greenhouse Verified" badge signals when companies follow up with every candidate, not just finalists — a meaningful step in restoring trust in a market where candidate ghosting remains rampant.
"If you're only focused on the risks [of AI], you sometimes don’t see those opportunities," said Daniel. When referring to tools that can help remove bias — like anonymized resumes — he continued, “That's like one small way in which these technologies can be used to improve and promote inclusivity.”
Some attendees suggested the future of DEI may rely less on formal departments and more on embedded practices — inclusion built into every stage of the hiring process. The leaders who will make the biggest impact are the ones doing the slow, invisible work of designing fairer systems, even without formal mandates.
Takeaway: DEI may be losing institutional support, but the leaders who stay committed are finding ways to push forward.
4. In-office is back, but some candidates aren’t buying it
Return-to-office mandates are rising — and not just hybrid setups. More early-stage companies are pushing for full-time, five-days-a-week in-person work.
“I’m seeing five days a week come back,” said Annie Wenzel, partner at Swing Search. “Which I actually don’t want to say out loud because it’s a recruiter’s worst nightmare.” The nightmare being trying to convince candidates who moved to smaller or more lifestyle-driven cities during the remote boom to uproot and come back to the office.
Founders want in-person alignment, speed, and culture-building. But candidates are hesitant — shaped by years of layoffs, instability, and shifting expectations. Many are reluctant to make a change. As Annie noted, “People are scared to make the move right now. More so than in the past.”
Even as hiring velocity picks up, close rates are lagging — a reminder that top candidates still have leverage.
Candidate caution is reshaping funnels. Annie described job seekers doing deeper due diligence — asking around, backchanneling hiring managers, and gathering signal before even responding to outreach. Her advice?
“The worst thing ever is FOMO — looking at TechCrunch in two years and going, ‘Oh my gosh, why didn’t I take that call?’"
Companies that clearly articulate the "why" behind their return-to-office stance — and link it to employee experience, mentorship, or career growth — will fare better. Those that simply issue mandates without context risk alienating top-tier talent before they even enter the pipeline.
Takeaway: Employers need to sell the why behind in-office policies — or risk losing great candidates before the first interview.
5. Fractional talent is rising, but it’s not for everyone
The term fractional typically refers to experienced professionals who take on part-time, high-impact leadership roles — often as heads of talent, people, or recruiting — without joining full-time. It's a model gaining traction with startups and nonprofits that need strategic guidance, but don’t have the bandwidth (or budget) for another executive hire.
But according to Natalie Stones, co-founder of Talent Collective, the term is being misused.
“Fractional really should be reserved for people that have previously been in some sort of leadership position,” she explained. “Maybe they’re responsible for strategy and/or have managed a team. Fractional is not an IC-level role.”
Many independent contributors (ICs) are branding themselves as “fractional,” when they’re actually offering project-based recruiting support — what Natalie calls “consulting,” not leadership.
“If we were to be able to kind of cut out the fat of people that are trying to be fractional recruiters — which really is just recruiting consultants — then I think there could be a good market.”
She’s speaking from experience. After building a full recruiting function as Head of Talent at a Series A company, she stepped away when the role no longer required her full-time presence.
“After maybe nine months, I was like, okay, this is just kind of humming along. But meanwhile, I’m sitting here with, like, a really nice salary and benefits … but I don’t really feel like I’m doing much.”
This clarity led her to co-found Talent Collective, where she helps companies access strategic recruiting support as needed — without over-hiring.
Still, tension exists. Founders often view fractional work with skepticism. As Nolan Church put it: “If you’re not with me full-time, then you’re against me.”
But when expectations are aligned — and the scope is truly strategic — fractional roles can unlock serious value for early-stage and scaling teams.
Takeaway: Fractional hiring isn’t just part-time help — it’s experienced leadership, applied with precision. The companies that benefit most are the ones that define scope, align on outcomes, and treat it like executive leadership — not stopgap support.
The future of recruiting requires reflection
Across all 12 conversations, one message stood out: recruiting leaders aren’t just iterating — they’re rethinking the fundamentals.
They’re asking hard questions:
- What tools actually add value?
- Where are we losing candidate trust?
- What tradeoffs are we making in the name of speed or scale?
Whether it’s experimenting with AI, rethinking DEI, or navigating fractional models, success starts with self-awareness. The leaders who reflect will be the ones who build something sustainable.
