Back to Basics Vol. 1

In this episode, Desiree and Ashley ditch the guest chair and go one-on-one for a back-to-basics refresher — the terminology, habits, and blind spots that trip up even experienced recruiters. After a suitably unhinged icebreaker (where would you not want to die?), they dig into three fundamentals: the real difference between a prospect, an applicant, a candidate, and a new hire — and why mixing these up costs you money with vendors and credibility with hiring managers; how to actually vet a job description before it touches a sourcing tool, including how to spot an unedited AI-generated JD and the "Frankenstein role" problem (rockstar, ninja, unicorn); and a full walkthrough of how to build a comp business case with real, named data sources instead of a gut feeling. Ashley closes with a Talent Outside the Box segment on research showing how gendered language in job descriptions changes who applies. They ran out of time before hitting two more topics on the list — when to challenge a hiring manager, and what to do the moment a req lands on your desk — so consider this Part 1.

In This Episode:

• 0:00 – Cold open: the "where would you haunt after you died" icebreaker

• 3:14 – Why they're doing a two-host, no-guest basics episode

• 4:02 – Prospect vs. applicant vs. candidate vs. new hire, defined for real

• 18:26 – The case for training recruiters instead of blaming them

• 22:07 – Did a hiring manager let AI write this JD?

• 23:40 – The "Frankenstein role" and why rockstar/ninja/unicorn JDs backfire

• 33:01 – Vague JDs create legal and operational liability, not just bad candidates

• 38:07 – Comp 101: BLS, Salary.com, LinkedIn, O*NET, and internal ATS data

• 44:14 – How to actually negotiate comp with a hiring manager who won't budge

• 48:56 – Talent Outside the Box: gendered language and who applies

• 52:26 – Where to find them + fall event schedule

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

• O*NET

• Salary.com · LinkedIn (salary insights) · Glassdoor · Radford

• Kat Kidman (Kat Kibben) — job description writing expert

• Dr. Amanda Diekman — research on gendered language in job descriptions

• HR Data Labs — Desiree's consulting engagement

• Erin Risco — recommended follow for BLS/comp content

• Steve Levy — referenced for his "6/9/12 month" hiring manager question

• RecFest USA 2026 and HR Tech Conference — where to catch them this fall

Note: This episode intentionally left two topics on the table , challenging a hiring manager, and the "got a req, now what" routine for a Part 2.