Beyond the buzzword: What “AI-native” really means for your talent tech stack

AI is everywhere in HR—but few platforms are built for it from the ground up. For HRIS and technical leaders, that difference matters.

But how do you separate AI hype from reality? The answer lies in the architecture.

Join Eightfold AI’s Solutions Architects for a behind-the-scenes look at what it means to be truly AI-native, and why that foundation matters for security, scalability, and trust. We’ll show how our Talent Intelligence Platform connects Talent Acquisition and Talent Management through a single, secure model for skills.

Beyond tracking: The evolution of the ATS in an intelligent and agentic era

This Aptitude Research report explores the evolution of the ATS, highlighting the move from a reactive data repository to a proactive, intelligent system that drives strategic talent acquisition. And why now is the time for organizations to move on to a more dynamic system that can respond to today’s pace of change.

The Vision Report Vol. 2

Welcome to The Vision Report, the study that brings together the brightest minds in recruitment marketing and talent acquisition. This is more than a report - it's a conversation starter.

What's inside:

• Future-forward insights from subject matter experts, talent leaders, technology founders, analysts, and influencers.
• Data visualizations summarizing key trends.
• A rigorous methodology rooted in sentiment analysis and feedback from the industry's best.

Experience Match2 at ERE in San Diego!

Match2 is on the move... 🚀

This fall has been a whirlwind of events, conferences, connections, and incredible conversations about the future of recruiting. Next up is the ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit in beautiful San Diego, November 4-5th! ☀️

Doug Berg, Elaine Orler and the entire Match2 team are poised on the edge of an explosive leap as we launch a new category of connection. Not another tool, not another system - Match2 is the spark that ignites your existing tech stack into a red-hot hiring engine. 🔥

Backed by human connection and fueled by compliantly shared data, THIS is the upgrade you've been waiting for. 

Want to learn more? Reach out and schedule a demo.

Don't get left behind...this is going to change the entire game.

Vetty Speeds Up Hiring Where It Matters Most

HHS, a leader in hospital support services, was stuck with slow hiring, clunky systems, and frustrated candidates. They needed more than another vendor; they needed a partner who could help them move at the speed of healthcare. Enter Vetty.

By streamlining screenings, slashing costs, and reducing turnaround times by 60%, Vetty helped HHS not only fix hiring, but also level it up. The result? Faster starts, happier teams, and big wins across the board.

Want the full story? You’ll want to see how we did it.

Must-Know Compliance Changes for Employer Branding

More than 20 states have passed data privacy legislation, and some of the provisions directly impact employer branding content.  The standard media release that many companies use is no longer compliant in all states and employers need to track which assets contain which employees' likenesses, and where those assets have been shared.  Few organizations have the processes or systems to meet these new requirements.  Join this high-level webinar to review the legislation that has been passed and the specific steps necessary to be in compliance.  Leading the discussion is Lisa Moran, JD, an experienced employment lawyer with global perspective.  

Date: Wednesday, September 10th, 2025

Time: 11:00 - 11:30 am EST

Host: Maury Hanigan, CEO, SparcStar

Join us for dinner at HRTech!

We’re thrilled to invite you to an exclusive evening of cocktails, dinner, and conversation hosted by Match2, Shaker, and Paradox! Join industry leaders and peers for a private networking experience where you can share insights, swap ideas, and discuss the future of recruiting. Seats are limited—RSVP now to Elaine at elaine@match2.jobs to secure your place at the table.

Join us for dinner!

We’re thrilled to invite you to an exclusive evening of cocktails, dinner, and conversation hosted by Match2, Shaker, and Paradox! Join industry leaders and peers for a private networking experience where you can share insights, swap ideas, and discuss the future of recruiting. Seats are limited—RSVP now to Elaine at elaine@match2.jobs to secure your place at the table.

Talent Acquisition leaders demonstrate impact and connect with business goals. At Pinpoint, we know that recruiting data is more than just numbers.. It’s the how! Yet many recruiters struggle to access and use the right data, leaving more questions than answers.

Join us on Thursday, October 2nd 2025, starting at 11 AM CDT for an honest conversation with TA leaders who have leveraged metrics to better understand their work and grow their influence.

Our panel includes:

• Mike Bradshaw, VP of Talent at Pinpoint
• Samantha Bussard, Chief Talent Office at Compass Business Solutions
• Katie Lai, Director of TA at Pie Insurance

We’ll explore:

• Getting started with meaningful reporting
• Common challenges with missing or unclear data
• What talent metrics truly matter to executives
• How reporting can support your role and career growth

Register at the following link: https://luma.com/knyij0b2

Boston Scientific is winning the talent race with AI

Boston Scientific develops medical devices that support life-saving procedures worldwide. As competition for life sciences talent grows more intense, outdated recruiting tools could have held their teams back. By leveraging AI-powered talent intelligence, Boston Scientific has found a strategic solution that streamlines hiring, elevates the candidate experience, and strengthens internal mobility.

Hiring Enablement: a Briefing for TA Leaders

Executive Summary Recruiting today faces a paradox: organisations expect more strategic impact from talent acquisition teams, yet recruiters are deluged with manual, repetitive and administrative tasks. Recruiters are expected to undertake extensive market intelligence, create sourcing and recruitment marketing content and build operational assets including hiring manager briefings, interview questions, job descriptions and much more. The same companies that invest millions in sales enablement platforms often leave TA teams with tools that track work, not tools that do the work. Adoption of enhanced processes and generative AI (GenAI) now makes it possible to shift this paradigm entirely. Read more here.

Pinpoint is the ATS that makes complex hiring simpler.

Whether you need to recruit across different cities or countries, desk-based and desk-less workers, or early career and experienced professionals—Pinpoint can help with that.

You’ll get the flexibility, control, and ease of use you need to manage all your hiring without compromise.

Get today’s hiring under control and prepare for tomorrow’s strategy, without adding hurdles for recruiters, hiring managers, or candidates. Move faster, but leave no one behind.

Q1 2025 US Jobs Report

U.S. OVERVIEW

This quarter, job vacancies rose by a sharp 7.7%, approximately 459,000 additional listings between

January 6 and March 3. This growth marks a renewed expansion in the labor market following a

contraction towards the end of 2024, which itself came after a year of little change. Compared to one

year prior, vacancies have declined 0.7%. In the sections that follow, we’ll break down total vacancy

trends in the U.S. generally, by geography, and job categories.

The Vision Lab: Amanda Shaker & John Graham Jr. on Bold Employer Branding Strategies

Earlier this year, Shaker's VP of Employer Brand Strategy, Humanity, and Culture, John Graham Jr., and Chief Creative Officer, Amanda Shaker, sat down in The Vision Lab at Shaker HQ to dive into what boldness looks like in today’s talent landscape, and why it’s more than just a buzzword. Together, they explore:

• The difference between recruitment marketing and employer brand (yes, there’s a difference)
• Why inaction is riskier than ever
• How storytelling builds trust with candidates
• The role of employee advocacy in shaping authentic brand narratives
• Where DEI strategy intersects with employer brand
• And how technology should support and enhance human connection

Watch for an engaging conversation that will inspire you to take your next bold step!

Let’s Cut Through Complexity: Find the Right Recruitment Marketing Tech for You

In today's crowded landscape of HR and recruitment marketing technology (Martech), talent leaders are bombarded with promises of smarter, faster, more efficient hiring solutions. From AI-driven sourcing platforms to automated engagement tools, it’s easy to fall into the trap of chasing innovation for innovation’s sake. But as Shaker’s Sara Elkins Hartmann points out, more tech doesn’t always mean better hiring. 

That’s why we take a different approach, one rooted in clarity, strategy, and personalization. We don’t just know what’s new; we help our clients understand what’s right for them. Because in the end, tech should do what it's designed to do: empower you to lead with confidence. Read our latest blog for more insights!

Webinar: Workforce Transformation Master Class

Every organization must transform its workforce for future readiness, whether proactively driving change or responding to external pressures. 

TalentNeuron helps organizations reimagine their workforce from end to end, combining data and insights to support every stage of the journey. One of the biggest challenges we hear from clients is knowing how to get started in a way that is strategic, practical, and aligned with business goals. 

In this interactive session, we walk you through a proprietary diagnostic designed to assess your organization's readiness for change and development. You will learn how to identify your biggest strengths and opportunity areas, and how to begin prioritizing initiatives that deliver real results.

E-Book: Drive Better Outcomes with HR Data

Data's value in everyday decision-making is undeniable. Research shows more than 70% of HR leaders consider data analytics critical to their HR strategies.

So why aren't more organizations adopting comprehensive people analytics?

Download this guide to learn more about people analytics, including:

Rising demand: HR is evolving to become a more data-centric partner within businesses. 

Business benefits: Make better hiring decisions, address skill gaps, optimize workforce planning, and more.

Implementation challenges: Issues and solutions for tackling them when rolling out people analytics at your company.

Getting started: Three ways TalentNeuron can enable data-powered decision-making.

Eightfold Talent Table: Where HR’s top minds get together to discuss talent

Join us every month for a roundtable discussion with today’s top HR leaders. They’ll tackle the toughest HR challenges head-on with real strategies and advice that works. No topic is too difficult for our talent pros. From hiring hard-to-find talent, retaining top employees, to upskilling their workforces, our leaders are ready to discuss the top challenges facing the HR industry today. Get ready to transform your talent strategies with Talent Table.

Agentic AI in HR

The age of agentic AI is here, but not all “agents” are equal. Beneath the buzz, the way enterprise AI solutions are built and deployed can determine whether you’re investing in true agentic AI or just buying into hype.

True agentic AI replicates the subtle, often invisible cognitive work that people constantly perform, such as shifting context mid-task, drawing connections between unrelated inputs, and rerouting plans in real time.

Without those capabilities, an “agent” is just prepackaged scripts dressed in hype — a false agent.

In this guide, you’ll learn more about this next-generation artificial intelligence.

Drive Better Outcomes with HR Data

A definitive guide to people analytics and how to align it with business strategy.

Data's value in everyday decision-making is undeniable. Research shows more than 70% of HR leaders consider data analytics critical to their HR strategies.

So why aren't more organizations adopting comprehensive people analytics?

Download this guide to learn more about people analytics, including:

• Rising demand: HR is evolving to become a more data-centric partner within businesses.
• Business benefits: Make better hiring decisions, address skill gaps, optimizing workforce planning, and more.
• Getting started: Three ways TalentNeuron can enable data-powered decision-making, avoiding implementation challenges.

Smarter, Faster, Better…12twenty’s Next Gen of Early-Career Recruiting Technology - A Product Preview

This webinar offers a guided preview of 12twenty’s Hiring Cloud—an all-in-one platform for early-career recruiting. Learn how employers can post jobs to 1,600+ schools in one click, match with qualified student talent using AI, and access real-time analytics and compensation benchmarking.

The session covers key tools for streamlining job postings, hosting virtual events, and enhancing employer branding through customizable profiles and targeted outreach.

Ideal for: Recruiters and talent teams hiring interns, entry-level, or campus candidates.

2025 Global Guide to AI in Hiring

AI experimentation to essential use—what’s really happening today

In 2025, weekly AI usage among HR professionals climbed to 72% from 58% last year. Hirevue surveyed over 4,000 HR professionals and workers to uncover the truth about AI adoption. 

Read the 2025 Global Guide to AI in Hiring for this year’s key trends:

• AI is essential—productivity skyrocketed with AI power. 
• Trust in AI recommendations has soared.
• Implementation concerns differ between HR leaders and candidates.
• Teams are turning to AI for decision support

Understanding Talent Intelligence: What to look for and how to choose

Join David Francis, Practice Leader, Research at Talent Tech Labs, and Michael Dunne, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Eightfold AI, for a forward-looking, actionable discussion designed for HR and talent leaders navigating this evolution.

Why should you attend? 

• Gain a clear understanding of what Talent Intelligence is, why it matters now, and how AI is foundational to its success
• Evaluate the value of a platform approach and assess what is best for your organization
• Learn how Talent Intelligence connects components of your strategic talent technology stack
• Explore what’s on the horizon, including how agentic AI and GenAI are redefining user experience and automation
• Gain practical guidance on how to begin integrating agentic AI

2025 Recruitment Marketplaces Report

One thing is for certain: The future is uncertain.

How’s that for nutshelling?

We sent our human, not AI, analysts out to conduct dozens of interviews with CEOs and corporate executives. Spent hundreds of hours researching traffic, revenue and new products at job boards / recruitment marketplaces worldwide.

• Trends: All there. AI, referrals, pay-for-performance
• Top 50: Traffic
• Top 25: Revenue
• Top 15: Freelance
• Top 3 from A to Z: The leaders in 68 countries, from Argentina to Zimbabwe

Check out the preview today! Ready to purchase the full report? CXR readers save 10% with code CXR10

Why Your TA Tech Stack Can’t Be a House of Cards

Is your TA tech stack built to last—or one tool away from collapse? Get the insights you need to future-proof your hiring with a platform that won’t crack under pressure.

Ask these questions before investing in any AI promises from vendors.

Cut through the noise of inflated AI promises with this free, community-built guide. The CXR AI Vendor Evaluation Guide (v2.1) arms talent acquisition teams with RFI/RFP questions to help evaluate any vendor making AI claims. With both Core and Advanced sections, the guide covers critical topics like data sourcing, model bias, compliance, human oversight, and scalability. Whether you're starting early diligence or negotiating contracts, this no-fluff resource - developed in collaboration with TA leaders and solution providers - helps legal, IT, and recruiting teams ask the right questions. No attribution or license required.

A guide to Agentic AI in HR

The age of agentic AI is here, but not all “agents” are equal. True agentic AI replicates the subtle, often invisible cognitive work that people constantly perform, such as shifting context mid-task, drawing connections between unrelated inputs, and rerouting plans in real time.

In this guide, you’ll learn more about this next-generation artificial intelligence, including:

• What true agentic AI is and looks like in action.
• Why agentic AI is needed now to help HR navigate an age of uncertainty and increased agility.
• How to differentiate true agentic AI from false agents.

2024 U.S. Jobs Report

A Look Back at the Jobs Market in 2024

Welcome to the 2024 U.S. Jobs Report, our second full-year report.

Total job listings were lower in 2024 than in 2023, marking a second consecutive year of decline. It’s

worth noting, though, that 2022 was a remarkable year for job listings, as the Great Resignation was

in full swing and employees were leaving jobs confident that they could find something better.

The tide has since turned. And while the labor economy is healthy overall (inflation and interest rates

are down from the start of the year, with unemployment hovering right around 4 percent), employers

and those in recruitment tech have many questions about the future.

Here’s a look at what happened in 2024 and what it tells us about what's to come.

Speaking Hard Truths: What Does Best Practice Look Like For Disclosing Conflicts of Interest in TA?

Clear definitions, policies, and procedures are critical for promoting transparency and trust in talent acquisition. TA leaders share practical solutions for identifying and managing potential conflicts in this second installment of our two-part Conflicts of Interest series.

Jardeg - Doubled Applicant Volume With a Painless Integration

“JobSync’s solution has turbocharged our ability to grow into the largest construction recruitment brand in western Canada.”

Graham Arnett
Workforce Recruitment Manager, Jardeg

Compass Group - 115% More Applicants, 33% Reduction in Advertising Cost per Hire, Zero Business Disruption

“We have reached the pinnacle of ROI”

– Shay Johnson, VP, Strategic HR Partnerships at Compass Group USA

Rosendin - Reducing Cost Per Hire by 89%, While Generating a 2X Increase in Candidate Volume

“After implementing the programmatic job posting, JobSync came in and doubled applications, along with an 89% reduction in our CPA”

– Michael Chonko, Talent Acquisition Director at Rosendin Electric

Davey Tree - Increase Applicant Volume & Stay Compliant

“JobSync solved three problems at once for The Davey Tree Expert Company: increased candidate volume, improved candidate experience, and improved OFCCP compliance.”

Brigitte Orrick
Director of Recruiting and Employee Development, The Davey Tree Expert Company

Allied Universal - Meet Hiring Goals in Key Markets with Increased Applications

“JobSync was a game changer for Allied. By solving our candidate volume needs, we were able to focus on our next-level candidate experience challenges. We now talk about our world in terms of before and after JobSync.”

Donna Singer
National Director of Recruiting Enablement at Allied Universal

Be Bold in Branding...And Here's How

In an ever-evolving talent landscape shaped by emerging technology, economic shifts, and changing candidate expectations, boldness has become a necessity. But how does that translate to Employer Branding? In this article, three of Shaker Recruitment Marketing’s thought leaders - Amanda Shaker, Chief Creative Officer; Shavon Banket, Sr. Director of Strategic Content; and John Graham Jr., VP of Employer Brand Strategy, Humanity & Culture - explore what it means to be bold and how organizations can embrace boldness to attract and retain top talent.

Customer Videos!

Here are some amazing videos from our clients! 

Exclusive Beta Access: Be Among the First to Experience Match2

Gain early access to Match2 and be at the forefront of a hiring revolution. As a beta participant, you'll get hands-on experience with our cutting-edge AI-driven talent engagement platform—designed to make hiring smarter, faster, and more personalized. Streamline your recruitment process, reduce friction for job seekers, and create a seamless candidate experience that strengthens your employer brand. 

By optimizing how talent connects with opportunities, you’ll not only improve efficiency but also boost candidate satisfaction, brand loyalty, and Net Promoter Score (NPS). Don’t just keep up with hiring trends—help shape them. Apply for exclusive beta access today!

2024 Global Marketplaces Report

Transactions are the future of marketplaces. Is your business positioned to dominate? Check out what your competition may be up to (though you should probably already know) and what strategies you may want to consider.

GenAI remains at the front of the trends – but not in our report! It’s almost exclusively generated by our (human) global team of writers, analysts, data geeks and designers. And an AI-generated poem.

Inside the 130 + page report, you’ll find:

• Strategies and tactics of some of the most interesting and largest general marketplaces in the world
• Companies to watch
• Marketplace groups by revenue: The world’s Top 65
• Top 50 list identifies the largest general marketplace and classified sites worldwide
• The leading general marketplaces / classified companies in 67 countries
• And much more

Data Driven Candidate Experience Survey Maturity Model Download

This free four stage model was constructed to guide organizations in how to best incorporate feedback into their talent acquisition process. The Data Driven Candidate Experience Maturity Model provides a capability map that will enable organizations to provide repeatable, data driven experiences to candidates that can:

• Increase Candidate Satisfaction
• Optimize Talent Acquisition People, Processes and Technologies
• Improve Quality of Hire
• Strengthen Employer Brand
• Align Organizations Around Common Recruiting Metrics

Top Recruiting Trends for Healthcare in 2025

As the new year begins, new challenges emerge. Can healthcare hiring teams embrace new technologies? Will the demand in the sector hold up even as the labor market as a whole weakens, and will the focus shift from the all-important registered nurse position to something new? Let’s explore the trends that will shape healthcare recruiting in 2025.  

Talent survey: HR misalignment costs you more than you think - here’s why it matters

This research, conducted by 3Sixty Insights in collaboration with Eightfold AI, explores the misalignment between HR leaders and business strategies and the short-term and long-term issues that result from it.

We partnered with 3Sixty Insights to deploy two surveys:

• An HR Leader Survey taken by 500 HR leaders, VP level and above, at companies with 5000+ employees across six countries.
• An Employee Survey including/covering 1200 respondents who are employed full or part-time across six countries.

Our findings show a high recurrence (82%) of misalignment in businesses where HR departments are not in lockstep with the overall business. This was exemplified primarily in three areas:

• Business strategy development and execution - Only 53% of HR leaders report involvement from the outset in developing and executing their company’s overall business strategy.
• C-suite collaboration - 47% of HR leaders report that their HR department is absent from regular collaboration with the C-suite on long-term strategic initiatives.
• Talent strategy - 56% say their talent strategies do not align with the overall business objectives.

Only 18% of the leaders surveyed execute all three of the above strategy areas effectively. This has downstream effects on the efficacy of talent strategy, the HR organization, and general business needs.

With 69% of respondents to the Leader Survey concerned about their ability to keep up with their company’s rapid changes and the ever-evolving HR needs of their employees, this number will only continue to grow the longer HR remains misaligned.

This report will outline how leaders can solve these problems by aligning HR goals with business goals and prioritizing understanding skills and capabilities to overcome internal and external staffing challenges. We will examine how those who encourage internal mobility, reskilling, redeployment, retention, and employee growth have higher employee satisfaction. The report also looks at the use of AI and technology in HR practices and the positive changes harnessing AI can bolster. This report shows how companies making strategic investments in technology enhance and transform their ability to meet future needs, achieve business goals, and streamline their tech stack.

Talent-centered design: How to build an agile and flexible workforce to deliver the results you need

Change requires a deeper understanding of talent in the context of work. Right now, we are faced with choosing a path for the future at the intersection of business, digital, and talent reinvention.

Unfortunately, too many of us are still using systems, processes, and procedures to manage talent that were built for a world of work drastically different from the one we are facing today.

We need to think beyond process and talent optimization and embrace transformation through skills-based strategies. We need to gain a dynamic understanding of skills mapped to talent in the context of work.

This is an approach that can only be realized through an AI-native Talent Intelligence Platform built using talent-centered design.

In this mini e-book on talent-centered design you will learn:

• Why skills are the key to unlocking your workforce’s potential.
• How AI-native talent intelligence gives you a dynamic, real-time understanding of your workforce and their skills.
• Why pairing people with work based on their skills sets them up for success — and helps your business thrive.

The new talent code to drive organizational success

Today’s conditions are the most challenging in decades, and yesterday’s talent practices aren’t enough. Most HR tech stacks aren’t up to the task of surfacing real-time data and skills insights to inform talent decisions. And they don’t deliver the best experiences — or results — for candidates, employees, HR teams, hiring managers, and business leaders.

To build a world-class organization with the right skills for the future, you must understand what skills employees have today, and what they could learn given the right training and career opportunities.

You must use new solutions to gain a complete understanding of your entire talent ecosystem to drive organizational success. Welcome to the new talent code.

Read this e-book to learn how to:

• Harness AI-powered talent intelligence to recruit top talent faster and enhance employees’ careers
• Deliver a streamlined and improved candidate experience, giving them a faster, smoother, and more transparent hiring experience
• Discover ways to find alternative talent to fill the skills gaps, including contingent workers and project staffing
• Improve DEI and equity with talent intelligence that mitigates the potential for bias

The Relationship Between Recruitment Marketing & Employer Branding

In today’s competitive talent landscape, aligning recruitment marketing (RM) and employer branding (EB) is more than a best practice—it’s a strategic advantage. Though distinct, these disciplines are deeply interconnected. When synchronized, they drive immediate recruitment success while strengthening long-term brand equity.

This in-depth study, backed by insights from leading talent acquisition experts and industry panelists, explores how organizations can effectively merge RM and EB strategies to attract talent that truly aligns with their mission and values.

Download the full report to discover actionable insights that can transform your hiring strategy.