The Jim Stroud Podcast

The Retirement Map is a Lie

The retirement map you were handed at 25 is wrong. It told you to work hard, hit 65, and disappear. Clean ending. Simple math. It was always a lie. The labor force is aging, and companies are not ready. Artificial intelligence (AI) is eating the entry-level jobs that used to grow the next generation of leaders. And the people with the deepest knowledge, the ones who know where the bodies are buried, are being passed over by hiring managers young enough to be their children. This episode follows the real workforce crisis hiding behind the AI noise. We look at what Japan learned the hard way, what the retention data says about older workers, and what human resources (HR) leaders are getting wrong. The data settled whether experienced workers matter. The question is whether your organization will recognize the opportunity before it closes. This episode brought to you by "The Recruiting Life" and "Career Intelligence Weekly" https://newsletter.jimstroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

College is Not the Only Path to Success

What if college is no longer the only path to a meaningful, high-paying career? In this episode of The Jim Stroud Podcast, Jim sits down with Reuben Ogbonna, co-founder and executive director of the Marcy Lab School, a tuition-free, one-year alternative to college helping young adults launch careers in tech. Reuben shares why the traditional higher education model is failing too many talented students, especially those facing crushing tuition costs, uneven college outcomes, and limited access to professional networks. Together, Jim and Reuben explore how Marcy Lab is preparing fellows for an AI-enabled economy through technical training, leadership development, communication skills, financial literacy, and direct employer partnerships. They also discuss the future of entry-level work, why recruiters should look beyond four-year degrees, and how companies can build stronger, more diverse talent pipelines by opening doors to nontraditional candidates. This is a timely conversation about education, opportunity, AI, and the urgent need to rethink how talent is discovered, trained, and hired. Learn more about the Marcy Lab School at marcylabschool.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Are we becoming less human?

AI is reshaping work, hiring, dating, leadership, and how we connect. But as technology gets smarter, are we becoming less human? Jim Stroud talks with Victor Cho, CEO and founder of Emovid and former CEO of Evite, about empathy, leadership, automation, and building AI that amplifies people instead of replacing them. Learn more at www.Emovid.com [http://www.emovid.com/]. ... Victor Cho CEO and Co-Founder Emovid Corp victor@emovid.com Starting your job search? Start Connecting. Get Noticed. Get Hired. https://www.emovid.com/job-seeker/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

A Tale of Two Resumes

After months of rejections, a 58-year-old man decides to test the system. He submits two nearly identical job applications to the same company—one with his real work history and graduation year, the other carefully scrubbed of any age clues. One gets an immediate rejection. The other gets a callback. What starts as a quiet experiment to beat the algorithm quickly turns into something much darker once he lands a job inside the company. There, he discovers how the hiring software actually works—and who it’s designed to keep out.  A tense, true-story-style account of one man’s collision with AI-powered age discrimination in today’s job market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Are There Really Jobs, or Just Openings Nobody Plans to Fill?

Are there really jobs out there, or just openings nobody plans to fill? In this episode, Jim Stroud breaks down the strange, tangled reality of today’s labor market, where job postings are up, hiring feels frozen, recruiters are stuck in limbo, and job seekers are losing trust in the system. The market is not booming. It is not collapsing. It is entangled. This episode brought to you by: The Recruiting Life & Career Intelligence Weekly. Find both newsletters at https://newsletter.jimstroud.com [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbm92ZXFfNV9hRTRPWGNoSXRsZmlWLTJQeFdMUXxBQ3Jtc0trNV9YTGloTGlhYWhvTzF3d2hES3dPUm9ndWdSWG1oeFdLRm9JVjBJNTY5aVA3a2trbUZMX3JIVllBVFpUU0ExR1ZPbzY5bmIzeW1yTGpRcXdJZDR2Ty1OQ25nRU41Zi0tLTJzYjVlYkQ2M2l1bXpwcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter.jimstroud.com%2F&v=8P5wtsSbVw0] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]