Speaker Info | Talent Acquisition Week

Mike Peditto is a recruiting leader, creator, author, and speaker who became a voice for frustrated job seekers after navigating several layoffs in public. Through his viral platform The Realistic Recruiter, Mike calls out the performative nonsense of modern hiring. As someone who’s built systems to evaluate talent and been caught in those same systems, he speaks with raw honesty about what we’ve lost by treating careers like marketing campaigns instead of human journeys, and has had 400K people follow along for the ride with hundreds of millions of views. His book "Yes, You're Being Judged" was released in August of 2025.

Mike Peditto’s Session(s)

2:05 p.m.–2:45 p.m. PT —

The Future of Recruiting Is Old School: Humanity, Respect, and Transparency

Today’s candidates expect more: transparency, quicker feedback, and real communication. But while hiring teams scramble to adapt with new tools, adding another AI layer, and more complexity, the answer is surprisingly simple: hire like a human. In this session, we’ll explore what candidates actually want in 2026, why most companies fail to deliver it, and practical strategies to fix the gap.

Key Takeaways:

Understand how evolving candidate expectations around transparency, communication, and fairness are reshaping the hiring landscape.
Identify and discuss practical changes to recruiting processes that can easily be implemented no matter your team and company size
Learn why maintaining a “human-first” approach is not anti AI and how to continue moving into the future of recruitment without forgetting the past