- Custom Job Post Workflows: How One Insurance Client Improved JD Approvals - October 21, 2025
- RecFest Nashville 2025: What Hit, What Missed, and What Made Me Think - October 20, 2025
- AI HR Predictions: Here’s What No One’s Telling You - October 15, 2025
RecFest Nashville 2025 didn’t bring flying cars or Jetsons tech, but it did bring real talk and 100% honesty from the presenters and attendees.
I spent two full days immersed in Nashville’s beautiful chaos, bouncing between Disrupt, Inspire, and Unplugged stages. Here’s my play-by-play of what stood out and what I’m still thinking about.
But first, a few highlights from before and after the main event:
- The night before RecFest, I grabbed dinner at The Hampton Social in Nashville with Natasha Cuomo from Buyer Ads. Great food, even better convo.
- After Day 1, I joined loads of fellow attendees on the buses to “Wild Connections: After Hours at Nashville Zoo” hosted by Career BFF, CultureHQ, Happydance, and Humanly. I sat with Virginia Tirado from Reku, who is not only a selfie-taking pro but a massive motivator.
- From the zoo, we rolled into the rooftop party: Rock The Riviera at Redneck Riviera Bar & BBQ, hosted by JobPixel and Havas People. Shout-out to Omar Khateeb (founder at JobPixel) for the vibes as always!
RecFest Nashville — Sessions That Stuck With Me
Chad Sowash and Joel Cheesman (aka Chad & Cheese) kicked off the Disrupt Stage on day one. The session that followed with David Weinstock, VP of TA at New Story Management, “5 Must-Have AI Agents,” brought the hype, but also the receipts. They walked through practical examples of TA teams already using AI to:
- Automatically build talent pools
- Engage passive candidates
- Schedule interviews and screen folks
- Rebuild and manage career sites
And, day two kicked off strong with Desiree Goldey and Ashley King, co-hosts of the Talentless Podcast, who brought raw honesty, DEIB wisdom, and the kind of energy you wish every morning meeting had.
Here are some of the presentations that really landed on both days. Fun fact: Around 35% of the sessions across both days were about AI.
“From Job Posts to AI Prompts” with Maria Christopoulos Katris: Candidates don’t search for jobs like they used to. Visibility is the new battleground. Maria talked about how Built In supports this in LLMs.
“TA Transformation” with Steve White of Sam’s Club: Real talk on turning TA into a true business engine. Takeaway…we need better alignment between recruiters and hiring leaders.
“5 ATS automations for handling a flood of applicants”: Mike Bradshaw showed real ATS automations that work for their clients at Pinpoint. If I were a Head of TA, I would have been emailing him right after the session ended. Good stuff!
“The Harsh Truth: AI in Recruiting is Falling Short”: Brandon Amoroso (from SCALIS) and Maggie Ark (from GoRascal) didn’t sugarcoat it. If you don’t ask the right questions about AI, you’ll pay for tech that can’t actually help you hire better.
“What keeps you (and me) up at night”: Gerry Crispin who calls himself a “Life-long Student of Hiring,” opened with some family stories and then pulled out some truth bombs about the Class Action AI Bias Lawsuit against Workday. If you are in TA and not following this case, you should be!
“The Talent Trifecta: Delivering Executive Insights to Improve Profitability“: Kara Yarnot (from Meritage Talent Solutions) broke down how a small boost in retention (just 5-10%) can save millions. And why it’s time for TA to stop begging for a seat at the table and start owning the business conversation.
Slides, Quotes & Aha Moments
- 2.5B+ questions are asked in ChatGPT every day. The new job board? Possibly.
- “No matter what tools you use to create, the true instrument is you.” A reminder that AI can help, but you’re still the magic.
- “Talent acquisition is not a well-respected function and probably never will be.” — Carmen Hudson, The Corporate Recruiting Playbook. Ouch, but real. Now what are we going to do about it?
- “The rise of AI has disrupted EVERYTHING.” Yep. From job post discovery to decision-making, candidates aren’t searching like they used to.
- “What would you do with $1.25 million in your budget?” Not just a dream…this was a real prompt used to get us thinking about impact over activity.
- The comparison of ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, NotebookLM, and Grok. It was very helpful to know which tools do what best. I also appreciated Johnny Campbell‘s honest, no BS perspective on AI tools and the people behind them.
- Katrina Kibben’s point: “Job Posts Are AI Building Blocks.” From salary data to performance reviews, your job posts are doing way more work than you realize.
- A role profile slide for Field Sales Engineers (also from my friend Kat Kibben) made me think hard about clarity. If you can’t describe the job simply, your JD is failing you.
Vendor Booths & Swag I Loved
Pinpoint – I stopped by and had a great chat with Janelle Gates and crew. (and snapped a photo!). They make complex hiring simpler, and their team was sharp and super friendly. And they had great straw cup swag with mocktails to go along with them!
Perchpeek – Gave out this hilarious stress bird I’m obsessed with. Bonus: They ran a basketball game challenge and kept the crowd hyped. Spoiler alert: I sucked and only got one parrot in the goal. I told them I should stick to soccer!
Metaview – Custom bandanas made on an old-school sewing machine. Hands-on, creative, and memorable. I made one for my sister’s dog, Willow. She loves it!
ClearCo – Their Swag Bar was fire. Heat-pressing shirts on-site and handing out tees with “I have 99 problems, but sourcing ain’t one.” IYKYK. I went with a grey shirt and the blue RecFest Nashville design.
CLARA – Had a boot-shaped koozie I couldn’t leave without. Plus, comfy couches and cool conversation in their lounge area.
Juicebox – I got to watch a demo live. Their team was showing off agent-powered AI sourcing like pros.
Who I Connected (and Re-connected) With at RecFest Nashville 2025
Along with taking in some great learnings from the speakers, I met (and reconnected) with awesome folks as usual. RecFest is a great place to meet folks in the TA and RM space. Here are a few fabulous folks I ran into during the event (in no particular order):
- Chancelor Dinkins, Corporate Recruiter at Teksouth
- Sebastian Schuler, Co-Founder at HiPeople
- Evan White, Executive Producer at Purple Acorn
- Harsh Verma, Account Manager at Juicebox
- Brad Heber, CoFounder & Chief Growth Officer at Vetty
- Natasha Nuytten, CEO at CLARA
- Nate Kitchen, Sales Development Rep at CLARA
- Marla Lamont, Director of Talent Acquisition at Lifepoint Health
- Sarah Zegarac, Sr. Strategic Enterprise Account Manager at Built In
- Maria Christopoulos Katris, Co-Founder and CEO at Built In
- Kylie Breen, Partner Marketing Coordinator at Clear Company
- Virginia Torado, Co-Founder at Reku
- Laura Washington, Director of Partnerships at Humanly
- Natasha Cuomo, Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Partnerships at Buyer Ads
- Taylor LaCasse, Relationship Development Associate at Buyer Ads
- Ava Wirtz, Sales & Marketing Support Specialist at Buyer Ads
- Jenny Cotie Kangas, VP of Innovation at GBS Worldwide
- Paige Johndrow, Marketing Specialist at Hope Leigh Marketing Group
- Amanda Thompson Buffington, Managing Partner & Co-Founder at Hope Leigh Marketing Group
- Julia Levy, Talent Acquisition Leader | Advisor | Hi2Hired
- Omar Khateeb, Founder at JobPixel
- Adam Posner, Founder & Managing Director at NHP Talent Group
Why I Wrote This
I always get a big boost of motivation after RecFest events. And then I try to tie it to our mission of helping folks in TA manage their problems. Ongig helps talent teams fix the first thing every candidate sees: your job descriptions. AI, ATS automation, branding—it all starts with a strong foundation. If you’re ready to stop ghosting your job posts and start making them your strongest asset, request a demo.
FAQs
- What is RecFest? It’s an outdoor festival-style recruiting event filled with tactical sessions, tech demos, and real talk on hiring.
- Where was RecFest Nashville 2025 held? Nashville, TN – complete with tents, boots, and a rooftop after-party.
- What should I bring to RecFest? Sunglasses, comfy shoes, curiosity, and plenty of space for swag.
- Is RecFest worth attending as a recruiter or talent acquisition professional? 100% yes. You’ll walk away with tools, takeaways, and probably a new friend or three.
