Brad DiPaolo on modern recruitment and candidate nurturing

Debugging Work

Brad Polo is the Founder & CEO of Candidate Hub. He has 25+ years in sales, marketing, and recruitment.

Key Topics Discussed

The Recruitment Problem

• Only 10% of recruiters actually go back to their candidate database
• The "biggest lie recruiters tell": "We'll keep your resume on file"
• Traditional ATS systems aren't built for candidate nurturing, just processing hires

Candidate Hub's Solution

• Marketing automation for recruitment - bringing quality candidates to recruiters' inboxes daily
• Creating "virtual benches" of candidates segmented by role/industry
• Lead scoring for candidate engagement to prioritize follow-ups
• 90%+ reduction in sourcing costs for clients

The Sports Analogy: Building Championship Teams

Three ways to build teams:

1. Free Agency (job boards) - expensive, competitive
2. Trades (staffing firms) - costly at 25% of salary
3. The Draft (nurturing future talent) - most overlooked but strategic

Major Industry Issues

• Ghost job postings - Brad calls this "extremely unethical"
• Hiring managers need recruitment KPIs - treating hiring as urgent but not prioritizing interview scheduling
• Pay inequity - average internal raise is 2-5%, but external job moves yield 12-15% increases

Remote Work Impact

• Atlantic Canada lost its competitive advantage of lower cost of living
• Now competing globally for talent while trying to retain local workforce
• Companies need new strategies beyond "better way of life" messaging

Lightning Round Recommendations

• Podcast: Chad and Cheese (HR's most dangerous podcast)
• Person/Product: Adam Gordon and Poetry (recruiter enablement platform)
• Superpower: Ability to change and adapt quickly to new technology

Connect with Brad

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/braddipaolo/
• Email: [email protected]

Mentioned Resources

• "Don't Work for Beer" video
• Poetry by Adam Gordon
• Chad and Cheese podcast
• How Music Got Free